For many members of Congress the time for choosing is near - do what the party leadership demands or do what the people have asked you to do. If my colleagues don't mind some advice from a newcomer I'd suggest going with the will of the people.
We also learn that this country and the Western world have no monopoly of goodness and truth and scholarship we begin to appreciate the ingredients that are indispensable to making a better world. In a life of learning that is perhaps the greatest lesson of all.