What are the elements of being an effective senator?
A. Being effective means getting things done. And being on good sides of issues. I wouldn’t want to be a senator who also seems to be voting for stupid things. Also, it’s focusing on things that are important to the people you represent. Sometimes senators or members of the House of Representatives can get focused on issues that are sort of peripheral and don’t really get to what people in their district or their state are interested in. I try to stay where people are, in terms of what I imagine they want from their representatives, whether it’s the health care issue, in Wisconsin the agriculture issues, education, Boys & Girls Clubs. . . . I don’t ever want to be seen as a huge partisan because, A, that’s not what I’m like, that’s not who I am, and, B, the people in Wisconsin who are on the other side politically maybe need to feel that, regardless, I am there for them when they’re right and I’m willing to listen and respond. . . . One of the big problems in Washington is that people
