Is Ronna McDaniel Romney a government official? What office does she hold?

Why is she being held up for ridicule for voicing an unfounded opinion while actual government officials pass laws based on their unfounded opinions?

"> I actually don't know what a barrel shroud is. I believe it's a shoulder thing that goes up."

— Senator Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), when asked by a reporter why she authored a bill banning barrel shrouds.

"We have federal regulations and state laws that prohibit hunting ducks with more than three rounds. And yet it’s legal to hunt humans with 15-round, 30-round, even 150-round magazines."

— Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)