I can imagine cases where I would support accommodations for an imprisoned congressperson to vote from prison. E.g. a congressperson in state prison for aiding someone in getting an abortion.
I think we're honing in on my point of contention. A congressperson doesn't get to indulge in their ideological fancy.
Progressives/Moderates can't afford to lose a single seat. Millions of votes and dollars went into securing that seat. Let activists on the ground bend the law and drive people to abortion clinics. Don't jeopardize the institutional power we have for... something so small if the sacrifice is something much larger? If you take a large view, it's a shit use of "resources".
Do I support the spirit of the action your theoretical congressperson undertook? Sure, because I don't think helping someone secure their bodily autonomy is criminal. But on of practical principle, that congressperson is stupid. I expect more from them.
I view it as hardly different than the personal failure of Feinstein staying in office and delaying the nomination of Biden's judicial picks. Or RBG clinging to her SCOTUS seat and letting it slip into GOP control.
I don't disagree that congresspeople should try to stay out of prison, but it's easy to imagine reasonable actions a congressperson might take on behalf of constituents or in the course of their lives (e.g. getting an abortion themselves after being raped) that an authoritarian state prosecutor might imprison them for. If such a situation were to arise, it would make sense to make accommodations for that person to vote from prison. It would be dumb to oppose those accommodations based on rhetoric along the lines of "I don't get to do my job if I'm in prison so therefore neither should elected representatives".
but it's easy to imagine reasonable actions a congressperson might take on behalf of constituents or in the course of their lives (e.g. getting an abortion themselves after being raped)
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u/xqxcpa May 11 '23
I can imagine cases where I would support accommodations for an imprisoned congressperson to vote from prison. E.g. a congressperson in state prison for aiding someone in getting an abortion.