It's no secret that there aren't many heroes serving in an elected or appointed capacity in Washington, DC. I am a big fan of term limits and think that throwing the bums out is almost always a good idea. Serving (and I use that term in its most generous interpretation) in the congress was never intended to be a career. Yet many come and few leave until they have had their fill...literally, filling their bank accounts and their egos with cash and perks the rest of the nation rarely knows.
As is always the case, there are exceptions to the rule. I think Trey Gowdy might be an exception to the aforementioned rules. I am impressed with his intellect, with his tenacity, and with his forthrightness. He strikes me as a person who gets things done, who doesn't suffer fools lightly, and who places doing the right thing over the politics of Washington.
He has been impressive in his public statements and in hearings about the terrorist travesty in Benghazi and he has been a singular ray of clarity in hearings with career bureaucrat John Koskinen when probing the abject scandal of the IRS turning on citizens based on their political point of view. Gowdy doesn't tolerate the usual Washington tap dance of dodging and obfuscation when asking direct questions. Gowdy expects straight answers and when he doesn't get them he probes deeper until he gets the information requested or forces his questionee into a position of providing obvious falsehoods and misdirection. Gowdy is good. He is very smart. I believe he is up there doing the people's work, not the party's work.
The leftwing media (which is most of the media) is starting to realize that Gowdy is a force on the Hill and have begun their attacks. Gowdy is everything they detest. He is from South Carolina. He didn't go to a swanky prep school or college in the northeast. He got is law degree from an SEC school not an Ivy League school. He is not "one of them", not in the club of sophisticates who revel in the chatter of the theoretical in the faculty lounge.
I hope Trey Gowdy is as good as he appears to be. I hope his star rises on the national stage because we need smart, motivated leaders who are not afraid to break glass and who know how to get things done. His real test will come when the republicans screw up (and we know they will). Will Gowdy be as tough and as relentless digging for the truth when the target has as "R" by their name or was appointed by a republican president? A lot of potentially great leaders have been tripped up by the party line. I hope Trey Gowdy doesn't join that club, but rather starts another, where leaders have the courage to do what is right, party ramifications be damned.
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