Lunch with Senator Warner, Representative Goodlatte and Representative Wolf!

On Wednesday, November 30, JMU faculty and alumni joined the Washington Semester students for a luncheon event entitled, “Crossing the Aisle in a Polarized Political Environment.” Guest speakers Senator Mark Warner, Congressman Frank Wolf and Congressman Bob Goodlatte gave us insight on what it’s like to work in congress at a time when so many Americans are frustrated with their politicians’ lack of effort to compromise and come to an agreement on the tough issues that face the country. Congressman Frank Wolf spoke about a congressional culture that has long since been lost, where those elected to congress used to move their families to live in Washington, D.C. He talked about the difficulties in trying to create policies with people you don’t know, that it was hard to trust other congressional members “when you don’t break bread together.”


All three agreed that American citizens need to tell their representatives that failing to work together and do their job to get the U.S. back on sound economic ground won’t be tolerated anymore. Senator Warner said we all need to do our part. Congress needs to do the job the American people sent them to Washington to do, and Americans need to actively engage in political participation in order to hold our government accountable. And what if congress doesn’t do its part? Senator Warner suggested citizens should “fire us all.” But that’s how the democratic process is supposed to work, right? Citizens should hold their representatives accountable, expecting political leaders to do exactly what they said they would at the time of their election.

This event was definitely a success and a rare opportunity to get the first-hand opinions of three congressmen who represent districts where many of the Washington Semester students reside. The students are thankful to Senator Mark Warner and Representatives Frank Wolf and Bob Goodlatte for taking time out of their busy schedules to speak with us. We are also thankful to the JMU Politicos alumni group, JMU Washington Semester program and JMU Department of Political Science for organizing this event!