There was a nineteenth-century exhortation to the cavalry: do not wait for orders, mount up and ride to the sound of guns. The sound of artillery meant that there was a battle being waged, and the cavalry needed to be in the fight.

I have placed my name on a ballot every two years for two decades because I wanted to be in the defining political fights of our generation. As a state legislator and a member of Congress, I have not sought places of political safety. As a result, I think I have more to show for my time in elective office than I would have if I had served much longer, but heeded the conventional wisdom to avoid controversy.