If we had to come up with a list of generic things legislators hate, getting blindsided by important new information would probably be right near the top. Some examples of information you might prefer to find out about ahead of time, rather than via news reports or in real-time during the legislative process, include: an agency you oversee having a major problem; an interest in your coalition coming out against your initiative; another legislator offering a major amendment to your bill; a faction of legislators deciding to come out against a proposal; political actors preempting your public agenda-setting moves; the White House taking a public stance/action on legislation; or any of a million other things. It’s not rocket-science why legislators hate this. It forces them to respond to things quickly with less information and preparation than they might like; it can blow up carefully constructed legislative coalitions; it can derail agendas, both legislative and in the public sphere;…
No comments yet. Log in to reply on the Fediverse. Comments will appear here.