My Congressman’s OK, Yours, Not So Much

If you ask the average American on the street their opinion of congress, the opinions will generally come out somewhere between smallpox, and your ex-wife’s lawyer.
If you question them further, they will explain that; their particular congressman is OK, but that ‘other guy’ over there in that ‘other state’ ain’t worth a bucket of warm spit. This absolute knowledge stems from the fact that ‘their’ congressman got them a new, much needed bridge, or a tax break for their own local industry. At the same time, ‘that other guy’ voted for OUR TAX DOLLARS to be spent on wallaby mating habits or condoms for state prisoners. Shocking! Give the guy a break, maybe most of his constituents are wallaby’s and state prisoners…
Consider this: When you got that new bridge built, who paid for it. Everybody. Even those from uncivilized places, that never come here to drive over it. But they bought it just the same. In exchange we paid for a list of things we’ll never use. This is the way it works is, we send our tax dollars to Washington, they siphon off enough money to get re-elected (which is most of it) and then generously return the rest of OUR money to us.
If we only sent enough money to Washington to fulfill their constitutional duties, and we kept the rest at home, within our individual states, most states would have a lot more to work with. Some wouldn’t, but it might be time for them to get their noses out of the trough and go on a monetary diet, or earn their own keep. Maybe something like the 10th amendment would work, but that’s so arcane an out of date…
When a freshman congressman gets to Washington, a large number of his early visitors are lobbyists, bent on telling him how Washington works and how their particular views will benefit the entire universe. If he throws his morals and the wishes of those who elected him under the bus, he’s in like flint, if not, threats are issued, money is spent against him and the carrot & stick method is employed until he gives in. Not giving in, eventually, is not an option. The carrot part of the equation includes perks such as all expense paid boondoggles to exotic foreign destinations, private apartments for his girl friends, and ultimately cash.
People with common sense suggested that maybe term limits would alleviate this problem. The problem with that is: Nobody is willing to vote themselves out of a job. A campaign promise of 2 terms turns into, “We are at a crucial time, I am needed.” Ya, right, the first 535 people in the phone book could do better.
Since the leaders, who, by their own admission, know better than we do, about everything won’t limit their own avarice, it is up to us. This is done at the ballot box. Don’t worry too much about some obvious ‘jack-leg’ in another district; hold your own guy’s feet to the fire. You might check his voting record to see if he agrees with you and add some points, but to my way of thinking, deducting points for various things is a better way. Ask him questions and deduct points for wrong answers! Things like: Are you an incumbent? Deduct 5 for yes. Are you a lawyer? Deduct 10 for yes. Have you read the Constitution you swore to uphold, or is it like those bills you vote on? No matter what, he’s not going to answer this, so deduct 2 for mealy-mouthing. Can you quote the 10th amendment? Deduct 4 for no. Will you abide by the same laws you make for the common man? Deduct 5 for no. Even the most rabid Nancy Pelosi supporter would be hard pressed to come out in positive numbers.
You might say, well, he represents MY party, and if the other guy gets in, old people will be set adrift on ice floes, the earth will be tilled with salt, asteroids will strike my big screen TV, and we are doomed! Doomed I tell ya! Balderdash. There isn’t enough room between the parties to insert a pre-lubricated condom. Like they’d care.
I, for one am interested in some clean shirts. At least they’ll go to Washington with the knowledge that they are our employees. If they don’t work out, run ‘em off after one term, if they do well, give them one more term. I don’t think there is any way a mortal human can resist the temptations of Washington for long. Congress was never designed to be a career. We sent one of ourselves to Washington to represent us on our own issues. Then they came home and resumed their place in the community. Not anymore. If not indicted, they stay in Washington until they need a gps just to find their districts. They are THEM, and we are US. We claimed we wanted ‘change’. Looks like we got it. Time for some clean shirts.