A huge part of being able to unite and conquer is being able to work with people that are different than you and being able to make friends with those people. Not only is Sensenbrenner a Glamour Magazine “Do Not,” but he also gets the Unite and Conquer “Do Not” stamp of disapproval.
He’s stuck on the outcomes. No matter the issue, his solution pretty much always has something to do with being behind bars—throughout his career he has proposed and fought for legislation that would turn 12 million undocumented immigrants into felons, subject anyone soliciting illegal drugs to a teenager to ten years or more in prison, and incarcerate college students for not turning in their hallmates for illegal activities. He also wants anyone who utters an obscenity on the air to face criminal charges. And, he has no shame about this, going on the record, he has said, "I'd prefer using the criminal process rather than the regulatory process."
He refuses to work with anyone different than him. In 2005, “Sensenbrenner's iron-fisted rule of the judiciary committee was on nationwide display…during a televised debate over reauthorization of the Patriot Act. When Democrats began discussing the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo, the chairman abruptly ended the meeting and cut off their microphones. When Democrats refused to leave the room, Sensenbrenner's staff pulled the plug on C-Span and turned out the lights.” As Jon Stewart put it, "He literally took his gavel and went home."
He even has trouble working with people like him. "He treats us all equally," said Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA). "He treats us all like dogs."
As a trust fund kid with a $10 million fortune, Sensenbrenner has little compassion for those less fortunate. Several years ago, he won approval for a bill that made it harder for American families who were overwhelmed with debt to declare bankruptcy. And he didn’t stop there. The congressman refused to even think about adding an exemption from the bill's restrictions for victims of Hurricane Katrina—and even voted against the aid package that was to help the victims of the hurricane to recover from the life changing disaster.
If you want to learn anything from Sensenbrenner, it’s definitely what not to do. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that we won’t have to work with our own Congressman Sensenbrenner. And when that happens, it’s obvious that it will get pretty frustrating. My advice is find any common ground you can (shoes, traveling, etc.) that isn’t related to politics, look for any traces of humanity (a love for family, animals, etc.) and work as hard as you can to keep your cool.
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