Predictably, a non-answer response

Apparently it's been just over a month since I last bothered contacting my representative's office.

My question then was quite specific: whether Mr. Faso had a position on James Comey's claim that Trump asked him for personal loyalty, rather than loyalty to the law.

Yesterday I got a "response" (as it says in the subject line of the email, "Response from Rep. Faso"), but not actually an answer - see the letter below.

Or maybe it's a "response" to another series of queries I made to his office about Trump having shared Israeli intelligence with Russia.

But it's not an answer to that, either.

According to his letter, Mr. Faso doesn't take for granted the Congress's authority to carry out oversight of the executive branch.

As your Representative in Congress, I will faithfully represent your interests and reject executive actions which are contrary to the Constitution.

I understand your concerns about the new administration.

Except that, given his inability to say what he thinks of presidents demanding personal loyalty, or of sharing our allies' intelligence with our adversaries, he pretty clearly doesn't understand my concerns.

Or he does understand them, but simply doesn't care in the least.

He continues, "I will take opportunities to work with the Trump administration on policies that advance the common good. To be clear, I do not always share President Trump's views on policy. For instance, I opposed the first Executive Order on travel as overly broad and implemented in an improper fashion."

His disagreement with the travel ban is sort of his "I'm not mini-Trump" card. I've had it referenced repeatedly when I've called or written.

OK, so you disagreed with the travel ban. That's commendable. (Though less so, given how you focus on the problem of it being "overly broad and implemented in an improper fashion," rather than flatly unconstitutional and un-American).

Anything else?

Any other areas where you disagree with the man who thinks climate change is a Chinese hoax?

More to the point, any areas where you're willing to actually do anything?

Probably not.

I'm simply acting under the assumption that it's worth documenting the cowardice.

For the record, John Faso, R-NY-19, is unwilling to say what he thinks of personal loyalty oaths to presidents, or of burning allies' intelligence assets.

Good to know.

Remember that when you fill in the little bubbles on your ballot sheet in 2018.