Bookless U.S. senators are lacking the write stuff

Josh Hawley, the conservative Republican senator from Missouri, has made quite a splash with his new book, "Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs."

I haven't read it — this is a busy time of the year for me — but it's apparently another plan to cure what's ailing America. It's doing well on Amazon, where it ranks as the number one best-seller in the "Christian Men's Issues" category.

Hawley isn't the only senator to be taking pen in hand to write about politics and such.

Three others — Bernie Sanders, Raphael Warnock and Amy Klobuchar — have released books just this year. Five more put works on the shelves in 2022: Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Tim Scott and Sheldon Whitehouse.

In fact, according to records kept by the Senate itself, the senators now sitting in the chamber have written a total of nearly 100 books. Most are about national issues, prescriptions for fixing this or that, or critiques of the people occupying seats on the other side of the aisle.

Elizabeth Warren, the outspoken and unabashed liberal from Massachusetts, is the champ. She's written 14 books, though 10 of them came before she took office. Sanders, her like-minded neighbor in Vermont, has written seven.

Mark Kelly, the former astronaut from the other side of the country, Arizona, has six to his credit. The aforementioned Lee of Utah has six, as well, and Rand Paul, the way-to-the-right member from Kentucky, has five.

In all, 39 of the 100 men and women with seats in the Senate today have written books, many of them just in the past decade.

But in looking over the Senate shelf, I was disappointed to find no opuses by Maryland's senators, none by West Virginia's, zero by Virginia's, and nada by the four lawmakers from Pennsylvania and Delaware.

In other words, the area generally assumed to be the Mid-Atlantic doesn't have a single senatorial book it can call its own.

New Jersey, which is occasionally included in the region, has but two tomes — one by Robert Menendez and the other by Cory Booker.

What gives? We’ve got good universities, lots of authors from other fields of endeavor, and plenty of interesting subjects to cover, but not one of the 10 people who represent us in what is arguably the most august legislative body in the world have found time — or reason — to write a book.

Maybe it's this: Since they live so close to the Capitol, they don't have long commutes and don't have hours to fill sitting on airplanes going back and forth to work.

Perhaps they live close enough to the office that they’re able to spend weekends at home, playing with the grandkids, grilling burgers, or kicking back and watching the game. But could it be they just don't read books themselves, and see no point in writing them?

I’m actually somewhat embarrassed by this. Other regions of the country are also author-challenged, areas like the Pacific Northwest, the Mid-South, and the Great Plains. Nobody from Alaska or Hawaii has their names on book covers, either.

To be fair, these areas, geographically speaking, aren't nearly as large as the Mid-Atlantic. They don't have the long histories we do. They don't have the rich, multi-layered culture we can claim.

But you’d think that some senator from this part of the country would have written at least a Kindle-type work, something maybe not worth paper, but at least requiring a little electricity.

Do the Mid-Atlantic's senior lawmakers need to be reminded of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States?

The region is home to most of the important sites in Civil War history, not to mention many of the Revolutionary War. It claims the Washington Nationals, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates and, of course, the amazing Baltimore Orioles.

Its culture coffers are overflowing. Only West Virginia has an anthem like John Denver's "Country Roads" (not that I want to hear it again, for the 1,997th time).

What state can match the Foo Fighters’ "Virginia"? Is there any other place in the country that can boast a tune as catchy as "Delaware Slide" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers?

And can any place outdo Pennsylvania, which celebrates tunes like Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" and Frankie Yankovic's "Pennsylvania Polka"?

Elections are on the horizon, and we need senators who can produce more than position papers and talking points.

I’d like to see the questionnaires that the League of Women Voters distribute ask candidates what books they’ve written. That might get the lights flickering and the keyboards clicking.

The author of this epistle is a vegetable farmer in Hedgesville, West Virginia. He doesn't read many books himself, but he thinks other people should.

Keep it clean. No vulgar, racist, sexist orsexually-oriented language.Engage ideas. This forum is for the exchange ofideas, not personal attacks or ad hominem criticisms.TURN OFF CAPS LOCK. Be civil. Don't threaten. Don't lie.Don't bait. Don't degrade others.No trolling. Stay on topic.No spamming. This is not the place to sell miraclecures.No deceptive names. Apparently misleadingusernames are not allowed.Say it once. No repetitive posts, please.Help us. Use the 'Report' link for abusiveposts.

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to read or post comments.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.

We welcome your letters and columns!

Use the button below to send us your thoughts.

Remember:

A letter may be up to 400 words. A longer piece might be considered for an op-ed.

Strong preference goes to letters and op-eds about topics specific to Frederick County.

If you cite information we have not covered, provide specific evidence before we can publish it.

Letters should be signed by one person, who may write on behalf of an organization. A maximum of three names on a letter will be considered.

Letters must include your real name and hometown, which will be published.

Our local business directory includes detailed information for featured businesses as well as customer reviews and direct links to related events.

Keep it clean. Engage ideas. TURN OFF CAPS LOCK. Be civil. No trolling. No spamming. No deceptive names. Say it once. Help us. You voted: Remember: