Stacey Hirshman: Burr losing trust of constituents

Regarding the Feb. 2 news article “DeVos nomination triggers huge phone campaign in North Carolina”: I am saddened and dismayed by the comments of Sen. Richard Burr during the vote on Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education.

As he was the recipient of over $40,000 in campaign contributions from the DeVos family, I’m not at all surprised by his vote. However, it’s the way Burr showed disdain for the multitudes of his constituents who wrote and called to voice our concerns about DeVos’ lack of qualifications for this job that truly irked me.

Quoting a remark made by Sen Al Franken to Rachel Maddow, Burr dismissed his constituents’ feedback as part of the Democrats’ “strategy,” rather than hearing our concerns and acknowledging their validity. This is deeply troubling to me as a resident of North Carolina.

Is it not the responsibility of our elected officials to be the voice of their constituents? How can we possibly trust Burr to be our voice when, instead of listening, he dismisses us handily because we don’t share his opinion? The answer, after seeing and hearing his reaction to the credible concerns of so many, is that we can’t.

This story was originally published February 5, 2017 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Stacey Hirshman: Burr losing trust of constituents."