In the mind of a U.S. Senator to be by Al Sikes

The ambitions are vaulting, and the expectations are immense. A U.S. Senator. The United States! What could be better, the ultimate club of 100? Not just any peer group—the peer group.

Well, okay, maybe they don’t measure up to my standards. So I will run.

And then the time arrives. The news media follow my every move. My wife and children glow. My supporters are on their feet. A rush of adrenaline overcomes my sleepless nights. How can I sleep with so much at stake?? And I promise a better America, one that results from my wisdom and sacrifice.

Now in Washington—bedmate absent—sleepless nights are shadowed by disappointment with office and committee assignments. I can’t shake the image. I am now 97th or maybe 100th and when everybody lines up I am in the background.

But most painfully I have lost my courage somewhere. I am not going to make America better because I am now controlled, led by others and I am a first termer. I barely get in the game and then when I do its the last minutes. Legislation looks like an Amazon Prime catalog as our team leader says everything needs to be in one big bill and certainly no more than two.

Is redemption possible? Is there any chance of independence? Can I voice my take on things—or, if I do, will I lose the next election? Or my deep pocketed givers? Will I lose my membership? Will I become barely a footnote in the local paper much less the history books?

And then the guy who was at the top of the ballot says do what I say or you are history. What about my name? If I don’t yield, will he call me a derogatory name that will chase me through life? And if he doesn’t, will I look even worse? At best an afterthought?

But then I look around. I recall that my kids got shots and skipped diseases. What about RFK Jr’s attitude toward vaccines? Should he be our health care leader?

When I look at the Department of Defense I wonder how a guy whose success is framed by being glib on TV can lead the federal government’s largest department. And in many ways the most important one. This is not defense against the local scoundrels; this is facing our most determined enemies.

So what do I do? Do I measure up?  Do I measure up to the expectations of my family? What about the imperative to tell the truth? The one I pledge each Sunday? Am I going to make a difference in Washington or has it already changed me?

The campaigns are over. The rallies a long since forgotten image passed around on Facebook. Truth be told this is now the time for me to stand-up, but damn, the truth is tough. What will the Party faithful say? Will I get invited to the White House? Already there are rumblings of a challenger.

Can I say “who cares”? There is a faint memory; maybe from high school history: the less you care about yourself the more you will care about others.

My choice—a seat with the best or are they the best? Is this the best I can do? Well maybe I can change them. Just then an invitation arrives, I’ve been asked to be a guest on a late night cable show. I text; “let my driver know.”

As afterthoughts: Maryland has a first term US Senator. As the world moves and shakes and challenges will she stick to the same old playbook? Or, will the people who really matter know her name?

Recall: At the end of the 118th Congress the final tally of Gallup was that the Congress was approved by 17%. Think about that, the most important representative body in the world approved by only 17% of its constituents. Will the 119th be any better?

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.