On New Year’s Eve, I received the following email from my congressman Aaron Bean who just completed his first year in Washington.

This exercise in “Bean counting” might be considered “historic,” if and only if, the role of a U.S. representative was just responding to letters, holding town halls and conducting Zoom conference calls.  Kudos to instances where his office intervened in financial disputes that resulted in positive outcomes for his constituents, but that number represents an average return of $1.28 for each resident of Florida’s 4th congressional district (851,000 according to the 2020 census).

 Even Mr. Bean does not believe this is why he ran for Congress.  When he entered the race in June 2022, he promised to reverse the Democratic policies of Joe Biden’s first two years in office which he claimed stifled economic growth and silenced family values (whatever that means).  His top priorities?

• Rising inflation.
• Gas prices that crippled hardworking Americans.
• Unprotected borders.
• Loss of respect for law and order.
• Federal overreach by a government attempting to us that they know what is best.

This is laughable on multiple counts.  How have all the newsletters, meetings, phone calls, etc. impacted a single one of these issues?  More importantly, Mr. Bean does not offer a single piece of legislative enacted during his first “historic” year in Washington that achieved his policy goals.  When it comes to priorities #1 and #2, the U.S. economy continues to grow beyond expectations while inflation this year declined by 67 percent, no thanks to Bean and his GOP colleagues.  (Congressman, can you say Bidenomics?  I know you could.) 

I guess “law and order” does not include following the U.S. Constitution.  Bean voted three times for Jim Jordan and once for Mike Johnson, both of whom remain election deniers despite lack of evidence of any significant voter fraud, to be Speaker of the House.  Not to mention the new definition of the pot calling the kettle black, by someone who decries government overreach, yet fails to speak up about a woman’s right to reproductive health care without having to get the state’s permission.

The Florida 4th deserves better, yet no one has stepped up to prosecute the case against the incumbent’s inaction.  What are the local Democratic Party Committees doing to recruit a candidate?  Taking on Aaron Bean is an uphill fight in a district with a 3:1 Republican registration.  However, if there is not an opposing voice to challenge him on his performance to date, voters will never learn why it is not good enough.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP