Jolie Justus - Let's Keep in Touch

After they get elected, political candidates tend to become like former workmates. When you leave, you promise to stay in touch, and then you get busy, and then a few months go by, and you realize you haven't talked to your old buddy in accounting for a year. Then you run into him at the grocery store, and have a warm and enthusiastic exchange of greetings, and swear you're going to have lunch soon. And you mean it. But then, 6 months later, you see each other at the grocery store again . . .

It's worse with political candidates, because they come around every few years, wanting to re-win our votes, and even, perhaps, a campaign contribution. I used to hold an association office that required running every four years, and I always felt sheepish calling and writing to people I hadn't spoken to since I last needed their vote . . .

It's good to see a local politician do a bit better than that.

Not surprisingly, Jolie Justus is a creative leader in this area of public service. Her blog, Fresh Meat is as fresh, comfortable, and direct as the Senator herself. Through it, she keeps us informed about what she's doing and working on. It's not some PR site run by a focus-group-obsessed consultant - she says what she thinks and serves her self up like, well, fresh meat. You have to appreciate Senator Justus asking for our luck before her first meeting with Blunt, or expressing her admiration for Matt Bartle's filibuster. It's a great read, and a way for Jolie to stay in touch with those of us who appreciate her (and those who don't) while she's not running for office.