Short-sighted at our expense?

No one envies the spot U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry finds himself in these days.

Barely sworn into office, he’s shoved into action. In Washington, D.C., the deficit, wars and politics du jour are calling. At home, BP oil is staining the coast, the economy in Louisiana’s 3rd District is tanking with fishermen and oil workers idle and, just as suddenly, his seat is at stake.

Redistricting will likely eliminate Landry’s House seat as we currently know it. The final redrawn lines are headed to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval. In all likelihood, he’ll soon find himself courting voters all over again in his quest to stay in Washington.

That said, it’s perplexing to hear Landry declined President Obama’s invitation to the White House Thursday.

“I don’t intend to spend my morning being lectured to by a President whose failed policies have put our children and grandchildren in a huge burden of debt,” the freshman congressman announced in an email.

He credited President Obama and Democrats with racking up the nation’s biggest deficits and the lack of both parties to suggest a fix. And, in his email, Landry mentions the de facto moratorium on Gulf drilling as just cause to bow out of last week’s meeting.

Landry’s line in the sand has attracted the applause of anti-Obama folks and many in the mainstream media.

At home, however, the words have left many of us perplexed.

This is the man who promised, if elected, to go to Washington, D.C., and be a voice of south Louisiana’s people. In exchange for our vote, he vowed to work tirelessly to push for causes beneficial to this area including job growth, which was among the items President Obama has been pounding across the country.

Whether this meeting marked the moment the skies would clear and America’s leaders would fix all of our nation’s ills is of little consequence. However, knowing our voice, U.S. Rep. Landry, was not even in the room to be heard is.

Congressman, your constituents expect more.

We agree, the nation’s unemployment rate is deplorable. The energy policy is lacking. We’re all feeling the pain at the gas pumps and in the grocery stores. Our economy is tanking, and raising more taxes is not a solution.

We elected you to have our backs … even if it means sitting through a lecture or two. We elected you on your promise to represent us. Mr. Landry, in return, show up and do your job.