Franke: An Evening with a Congressman
by Mark Franke
What questions would you ask a newly elected Congressman if you and a few close friends have a long evening of his undivided attention?
My monthly Socratic discussion group faced just this challenge recently as Third District Congressman Marlin Stutzman, an occasional participant in our group, met with us to discuss our post-election outlook on Congress, President Donald Trump and the nation.
We modified our semi-strict rules of engagement by allowing him about 15 minutes of introductory remarks before the questioning began. Truth be told, we couldn’t contain our inquisitiveness for the whole 15 minutes as the questions queued up. That was fine with him, as he is familiar with our methodology of structured questions and answers.
Our group sees our annual federal deficit and mounting national debt as the existential issue for America, an apocalyptic event just waiting to happen. Is there any sense of urgency in Washington about a potential government default on debt service? Yes and no, apparently. Yes, in that any person of average intelligence knows that this can’t go on indefinitely. But no, in that it will take a massive infusion of political courage to stand up and shout “Stop!”
The monkey is on the Republicans’ back in that they won the trifecta on Nov. 5. With control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, they should be able to achieve their legislative priorities. Elon Musk and his Department of Governmental Efficiency generate daily headlines, but let’s see what actually happens after January 20. Recall Trump’s 2016 promise to drain the swamp. It appears to many out here in flyover land that the alligators are meaner and more numerous than ever.
We could have spent the whole two hours on this topic but there are other pressing issues that Congressman Stutzman and his colleagues must address. Artificial intelligence is a hot topic, perhaps the greatest unknown but one just begging for governmental attention, for good or for bad. China is high on the list as an economic antagonist and perhaps also a military one. Both of these topics were addressed by our group in the past year.
It was Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine that received the lion’s share of our time. We had a special guest, a Marine who did four tours in Iraq and earned seven medals before being honorably discharged due to his many wounds.
It’s easy for us armchair generals to propose strategies for thwarting Putin’s designs on former Soviet republics now recognized as independent nations. Putin calls these breakaways as the “near abroad,” a term loaded with menace. Putin, a 21st century Russian tsar, wants them reunited with Mother Russia. Restoring the Russian empire of Peter the Great and Joseph Stalin is very much alive in Putin’s fevered brain. This is a classic case of what political scientists term irredentism, or an attitude of “we had it before and we want it back.”
So how do we stop him? Encourage domestic opposition that results in a coup d’etat? Increase our support of Ukraine through weapons shipments? Involve NATO in a more formal manner, perhaps including the sending of combat units?
All of these ideas have rather significant downsides. Putin is essentially a dictator, able to suppress domestic opposition in a ruthless manner. Will more Western weapons systems or NATO troops push Putin to introduce nuclear weapons in response?
This was the point in time when we asked our Marine veteran guest to offer his opinion. To him the answer was simple: figure out how to work with Putin. A Marine who is risk averse? Yes, if you are a Marine who has seen the business end of war multiple times.
Sometimes, you just have to live for another day.
Therein may lie the problem. We Americans just can’t see beyond today. How many times have you heard superlatives used in describing current events? The most important election in our history! The most critical Supreme Court appointment ever! Climate change will end life as we know it! — it does get tiresome.
Marlin Stutzman participated fully in these discussions, answering our questions and asking his own. He clearly is prepared to engage these difficult issues in the new Congress. The obvious question for Stutzman, who served in Congress from 2010 to 2016, was why would he want to go back? There was a cynicism underlying this question. I should know; I asked it.
Stutzman replied he is more optimistic now than when he first went to D. C. in 2010. Seriously? Yes, due to his high opinion of the uniqueness of the American people in their ability to meet challenges. Then there is all the good the United States has done for the world at large, current woke wisdom aside.
Stutzman’s optimism, not my cynicism, is what the country needs now in abundance.
Mark Franke, M.B.A., an adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review and its book reviewer, is formerly an associate vice-chancellor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
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