Lawmakers Ban Technology

The ever present lobbyist scourge in our government has apparently added technology to the heavy-handed wheeling and dealing arsenal of tricks that they use to swing lawmakers’ votes to their cause.

The Maine House of Representatives is fighting back, however, as representatives contemplate a rule that would ban text messages and e-mails to lawmakers while they are in session.

Maine is not alone.

According to a recent Associated Press story, “More than 30 states have in some fashion restricted the use of electronic devices, such as pagers, cell phones and desktop printers in legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.”

I’m not surprised that technology has infiltrated our government to this degree. In fact, I’m actually happy that our leaders have embraced technology because it will hopefully allow them to craft technology-based legislation that makes sense.

The one thing that does frighten me is that it appears as though lawmakers’ are willing to keep their vote up for grabs until the minute they cast their ballot.

Instead of blaming technology for the problem, perhaps we should expect our lawmakers to base their decisions on the needs of their constituents and not on the whims of lobbyists who voice their opinions through a virtual messenger.

I would like to think that we have elected lawmakers with a high degree of moral turpitude. Apparently that’s not always the case.

Perhaps we should send them a text message and voice our opinion before they ban the electronics from their hallowed halls.