An interview with Congressman John Yarmuth (D-KY)
By Joe Sonka
The morning before U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth filed for re-election in January, LEO Weekly spoke with him at his campaign headquarters on Brownsboro Road. Among the topics discussed with the third-term congressman — founder and former publisher of LEO — were the political landscape in Washington, D.C., his hope that the Democratic Party will take back the majority in the House of Representatives, and why he’s running for office again.
John Yarmuth: One of the things that went into my thought process (on running again) was that as frustrating as it has been this last year in the minority, when you’re frustrated because of what I would consider poor behavior on the other side of the aisle, that’s the worst time to walk away. And I think the more extreme and radical and reckless that the congressional Republicans get, the more important it is for countervailing voices to be heard. And one of the things that you learn very quickly in the House is that if you go to the House expecting to pass all sorts of legislation, no matter if you’re in the minority or majority, you’re going to get a rude awakening, because you’re one of 435 and you’re going to need 217 people to go along with you to get anything done. So you have to look at the other elements of the role…
We’ve helped hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Louisvillians over five years get benefits they were entitled to, helped them with their immigration cases, with their passports. Even some military veterans with their medals they had earned but had not gotten. There’s so many ways you can serve the community in this role, and that compensates for the frustration you might feel when policies you espouse are not implemented in Washington. On the other hand, it’s a very hard job and it’s a physically difficult job, and I don’t want to be there when I’m 80, I can assure you of that. But as long as the emotional rewards are there, which they continue to be, then I love serving. I’ve never done anything as meaningful, even LEO.
LEO: Are you confident the Democrats can take back the House of Representatives in the elections this year?
http://leoweekly.com/news/john-yarmuth-talks-politics-policy-leo-weekly
