Republican. Democrat. Good. Bad. Derplahoman. Asshat.
When it comes to our state’s esteemed lawmakers, it is really easy (sometimes too easy) to categorize their work (or lack thereof) into this simple, digestible, and seemingly all-encompassing language and assume we are doing the legacy justice. This is because politicians are generally polarizing creatures who are painted as straightforward characters, often from their own doing. Platforms, soundbites, and pandering legislation are uncomplicated in that each gives voters just enough information to separate the politician from their opponents along with a few adjectives to remember them by. For as complex as our political system can be, it is easy to forget that even our most beloved-or hated-politicians are people who have both virtues and faults.