The other side’s basic mistake is treating a trading ban as a cure for corruption. Yes, lawmakers trading on nonpublic information is wrong and looks awful. But a blanket ban treats every individual stock trade as suspicious, even ordinary diversified investing, and it can push people toward blind trusts, spouses, or clever workarounds. The real problem is conflicts of interest and insider trading, which targeted disclosure, recusal rules, and stricter enforcement can address without narrowing who can serve. A ban sounds clean, but clean isn’t the same as effective. I’d rather regulate the abuse than the status.