General Discussion

I thought a member of the Senate would have an eye on the world scene as well as the local scene and the interests of the state's constituents. I explained about the issue of double taxation and how it not only hurt us Democrats Abroad, but also curtailed to potential donor pool for him and other Senators to the tune of tens or maybe even hundred of millions. I asked Senator Brown if he even know how many Americans Abroad there were. When he answered, I understood why he didn't understand at all. He guessed 250,000 to 300,000. There are probably that many Americans Abroad from Ohio alone. There are NINE MILLION of us, and probably a third of those are potential donors to Democratic candidates and causes, and Brown's estimate of our strength was off by a factor of about thirty. How could he NOT know that? 300,000 vs. 9,000,000? I was shocked. We are a population the size of just about the median of all states.

But does David Hogg know that? I surely wouldn't expect him to. It's something a national member of Congress should know, not necessarily a newly minted DNC member. But that doesn't give him the right to pretend to know who our next national candidates should be, either. It is not enough to say, "lookit me, I'm progressive!" To know who a national candidate should be, one has to know a broad ranges of issues those candidates will be voting on as well. THEN an informed decision can be made on whom to back.