Twenty tracks. Anthony Constantino recorded twenty tracks for an album called Thank You President Trump, and now he wants a seat in Congress. I would prefer a legislative branch that occasionally makes the president turn the volume down.

The Guardian profiles the Sticker Mule chief executive’s campaign for New York’s 21st Congressional District, the seat held by Elise Stefanik. Constantino has put $16 million of his own money into the race. His Democratic opponent, dairy farmer Blake Gendebien, is challenging him in a district still considered likely to stay Republican.

So this is not a prediction that the album will cost Constantino the election. People have won office after considerably worse performances. Some have continued performing them from office.

My objection is to the audition. A representative is supposed to work for the district, including when that requires telling a president something he would rather not hear. Twenty songs of gratitude suggest a man approaching oversight as an opportunity for a deluxe edition.

Constantino also wants Trump on Mount Rushmore. The president already gets Secret Service protection, a plane and an extraordinary amount of attention. At some point, public service requires discovering an unmet need that is not another surface on which to put Donald Trump.

The GOP has already given us congressional recruitment by presidential appearance appraisal. Adding a musical tribute does not solve the independence problem. It gives the independence problem a soundtrack.

Constantino’s business experience deserves examination, not automatic dismissal. So does what he thinks that experience entitles him to decide. The Guardian cites his statement earlier this year that he is not a fan of unionization, which he described as putting a barrier between management and workers.

Yes. Sometimes workers install that barrier deliberately. It is called having someone on their side of the conversation. The boss may find this less intimate than speaking directly to a person whose paycheck he controls. Employees are permitted to find that feature reassuring.

I want a representative who recognizes that independence is useful below the executive suite as well as inside the Capitol. A worker does not become unreasonable by wanting bargaining power. A member of Congress does not become disloyal by using the power voters gave him.

That is the connection between the union complaint and the presidential fan project: authority is more comfortable when nobody interrupts. Democracy, inconveniently, comes with interruptions. You cannot improve it simply by giving the most powerful person a better microphone.

Constantino can make all the music he wants. The First Amendment protects enthusiasm, even at album length. Voters should still ask what happens when their interests conflict with the man receiving all those thank-yous.

The district is hiring a representative, not financing a tour.

If the president wants backing vocals, he can pay for them himself.