When you’re a politician, talking about your own personal experience can be an effective way of connecting with voters on policy issues. It’s humanizing and makes you seem accessible. Politicians know this, of course, which is why we learned some interesting personal details at the summit today about senators Tom Harkin, Mike Enzi and Jay Rockefeller.
Harkin sold insurance when he was a young man. Enzi and his wife sold shoes and had to negotiate with insurance companies to get affordable rates for small group coverage. And Rockefeller’s son was uninsured for a time, until the senator and his wife found out and ordered him to get coverage.