The best use of political power

In 2008, during my last year in the Montana Legislature, a woman came to me with a problem. I don’t remember much about it. It couldn’t have been important to anyone but her.

Anyway, I told her I would see what I could do. I made a phone call to a government agency and got it fixed, then I called her to tell her the good news.

“Boy,” she said, “I wish I had that kind of power!”

“You do!” said I, “I just used it for you.”’

And that was when I realized that the power of a political office is the collective power of the people the elected official represents.

The odd thing was, the realization came at the end of my political career, not at the beginning. Well, maybe I was a slow learner, or maybe you have to have enough experience under your belt to see what was always there.

In 16 years representing my neighbors while serving in Helena I can remember very few lasting important legislative accomplishments. Those I did accomplish, like any legislative act, soon got changed and the participants forgotten.

But I do remember that a lot of people called me up for help with a problem and for the most part, I was successful in solving it. Why? Because I had their power to use.

Nothing gets a person through to the head of a government department than saying, “This is Senator So-and-So.” There was even a senator from Libby, the wonderful Eleanor Vaughn, who suggested that people just say they were a senator.

Using a title worked amazingly well. People who had never heard of me would give me whatever information I asked for on the strength of my say-so, on the strength of my title.

The only case I can remember where someone wanted to make sure I was actually entitled to call myself a senator or representative was when I called the FBI. “We’ll call you back,” the agent said.

I think that the best use of that power is to help those people you represent with their problems. It might be the collective problem of low wages or high taxes or generic stuff which is where legislative policy comes into play, but more importantly it is the personal problem of an individual who doesn’t know where to turn. It is also the most satisfying use of power.

I was able to help a man get a lung transplant, and to get the Department of Revenue to transfer the Lonepine Store beer license from the address where the store was to the half mile the store had been physically moved to. I was able to point out that Carl Christensen had moved the ENTIRE town of Whitepine to a new location faster than the department was acting on the beer license.

One of the best people at constituent help was the late Republican U.S. Senator Conrad Burns. I had heard that he was good, but when a friend of mine showed me letters she had had from his office I was truly impressed with his concerns and kindnesses.

Some people with power struggle with the ethics of using it. To my knowledge, there are no required courses for powerful people on its proper use, but simply put, if you use the power to help yourself, it’s wrong. If you use it to help others, it’s right.

The problem with power is that once people have it, it’s hard to let go. It’s hard to step aside and let someone else have a shot at it.

Part of the rationale is that an “elder statesman” has accumulated lots of knowledge, expertise, connections, and  – yes – power that they can serve their constituents better than a new person. Trust me, any politician is replaceable with someone who – while not as powerful immediately – can gain everything an older politician can. That’s because they have the power of the people behind them.

So, now that the Montana Legislative session is over for another two years, think of some problem you have but don’t know how to solve, and give your legislator a call. Probably they won’t know how to solve it either, but they might know someone who can.

It could help you and will make your legislator feel important again.

Try it, it’s within your power.

Montana Viewpoint has appeared in weekly and online newspapers across Montana for more than 30 years. Jim Elliott served 16 years in the Montana Legislature as a state representative and state senator. He lives on his ranch in Trout Creek.