The people of Mississippi send four representatives to Washington with a simple expectation: do the job. Show up. Vote. Legislate. Represent the interests of the hardworking people who sent you there.
Instead, what we've gotten is an embarrassment wrapped in a paycheck most Mississippians can only dream about.
Under Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership, the House of Representatives has worked a grand total of 20 days in the first 16 weeks of this session. Twenty days. That's not a work schedule — it's a vacation punctuated by occasional appearances. And according to Johnson himself, they won't be returning to work anytime soon.
Let that sink in for a moment. These elected officials are collecting $174,000 annually — nearly four times the median Mississippi household income — for showing up roughly 20% of the time. Add in the flood of lobbying dollars and campaign contributions that grease the wheels of their political machines, and you begin to understand just how good a gig they've carved out for themselves.
Try explaining that arrangement to the single mother working two jobs, or the local farmer watching his livelihood slip away, or the factory worker wondering if his plant will still be open next year. Tell them you're getting paid a premium salary to work one day a week. See how that goes over.
But here's the bitter irony: when our representatives do bother to show up, they're not exactly fighting for Mississippi. Trent Kelly, Michael Guest and Mike Ezell have demonstrated a remarkable ability to rubber-stamp whatever directive comes down from the executive branch, regardless of whether it serves their constituents.
Take the recent $40 billion bailout of Argentina — a scheme designed to rescue wealthy investors who gambled on foreign markets and lost. While billionaire speculators get their lifeline, Mississippi farmers are left watching their crops rot on riverbanks, victims of tariff wars and trade policies that nobody bothered to think through. Where was the outrage from our delegation? Where was the filibuster, the impassioned floor speech, the demand that Mississippi get the same consideration as Manhattan hedge fund managers?
Bennie Thompson, to his credit, has shown more independence, but one dissenting voice cannot compensate for a delegation that has largely abdicated its constitutional duty to serve as a check on executive overreach.
The Founders designed Congress as a co-equal branch of government precisely to prevent the kind of slavish obedience we're witnessing. Representatives are supposed to represent their districts, not serve as a cheering section for whoever occupies the White House. They're supposed to debate, deliberate and occasionally say no when policies harm the people back home.
Mississippi has never been rich, but we've always been proud. We've weathered economic depression, natural disasters and social upheaval with a resilience born of necessity. What we cannot weather — what no state should have to weather — is representation that doesn't represent, leadership that doesn't lead and elected officials who treat public service as a part-time hobby.
Everyone needs to go register to vote and if you are up for a part time gig that pays well you may want to run for federal office.
Editor’s note: Joseph McCain is the publisher of The Star-Herald. He has worked in the newspaper industry for over 30 years and may be reached at 662-803-5236 or 662-289-2251 or email news1@starherald.net.
