Meeting with my first legislator

Greetings-
Well, what a day. I finally had my first face to face meeting with one of our local legislators on the property tax issue. I met with Larry Seaquist from the 26th district who happens to be a democrat. I really had no idea what to expect, but I have to admit, I liked him.
I did learn one thing right off the bat though, and that was not to just throw out generalities without some facts to back them up. For example, the minute I said I believe there's a lot of waste in government, his immediate reply was "Where?" And I could not answer with specific facts. He showed me that there is still much work to do on my learning curve and also not to generalize without the information to back it up. I'll try not to let that happen again.
As I understood Mr. Seaquist, he's in favor of a system that would freeze our property valuations at the purchase price for tax purposes. But he also said that is just a part of the big picture. He also believes that we need major "tax reforms" in Washington state. But at this time, he did not get into any specifics. I look forward to speaking with him in the future.
I also believe that I learned another big lesson today. It's a lot easier to sit around with your friends and complain about "politicians" then it is to sit across from one and look them in the eye . I saw decent man , a retired navy man and someone who really cares deeply about the issues.
The problems we face today are so great that we absolutely must figure out how to get our politicians to somehow begin to "really put their heads together" to work for the public good. They could really get a lot done if they'd quit worrying so much about who gets re-elected. They could really get a lot done if they would stop worrying so much about who gets the credit.
As far as I can tell, the way our system works now, a Republican could have a terrific idea to solve a problem and the Democrats will attack it because it was a republican idea. And the reverse is also true if the person with the good idea is a Democrat. The madness must stop. The words that were said by president Abraham Lincoln many years ago still ring true today. " a house divided against itself cannot stand"
It's late, I'm tired and it's been a long day... more to come..Be well, Pat