WorldNetDaily, OR
Oct 20 2007

Why Congress is in the dump

Posted: October 20, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

There is a reason why 89 percent of the people disapprove of the job
the U.S. Congress is doing. What Congress is doing, mostly, is
jockeying for political advantage. The recent resurrection of the
Armenian genocide declaration is a classic example. Why is it so
important that Congress pass this resolution condemning an event that
occurred in 1915 at this particular time?

There can be only one reason: It will infuriate Turkey and may result
in either an invasion by Turkey into North Iraq, or it could provoke
Turkey into blocking our military’s primary route to re-supply our
troops. Either of these outcomes would be a be a negative for our
forces in Iraq, which would make for more "bad news" headlines about
Iraq, which the ruling party thinks might help them expand their
majority in the next election.

This political game-playing is idiotic, and the American people see
through it. Consequently, the approval ratings of Congress have
plummeted to an all-time low of 11 percent, well below the approval
rating of an unpopular president.

Many of the bills now pending in Congress are designed to get votes,
not to meet legitimate needs of the nation. For example, HR 1975 will
designate about seven million more acres as wilderness to add to the
existing 107,436,608 acres already designated as wilderness. How much
wilderness does the nation need?

Once designated as wilderness, the land is essentially accessible
only to healthy hikers. The resources are locked up forever. Of
course, that’s the idea – to prevent logging, mining and drilling.
This increases the nation’s dependency upon foreign sources for the
needed resources. Congress is playing to the environmental groups who
have complained bitterly about the absence of such designations
during the Republican era.

Consider the response to the president’s veto of SCHIPS, the bill
that would have provided government-subsidized health insurance to
families with incomes in excess of $80,000 per year. The president
wanted a program for children in families with income of $40,000 per
year and less. Now that the president has vetoed the bill,
congressional leaders are parading to the TV cameras to paint the
president as anti-children.

What happened to honest debate?

Congress is charged with the responsibility of adopting appropriation
bills by Sept. 30 for the following fiscal year. None have been
passed. Congress is using the threat of a presidential veto on bills
that exceed his budget as the reason for its inaction. Budget fights
are common, but the refusal to work on appropriation bills to focus
on a resolution, about an event that occurred in 1915 in Europe, is
the stuff which results in the outpouring of public disapproval.

With the elections only 13 months away, congressmen are thinking more
and more about what it will take to keep their jobs. What the nation
needs is far less important. Ask any congressman why he has not
offered a bill to solve the looming social security disaster. The
president tried in vain to get Congress to deal with this issue
during his first term. Congressional response can best be described
as zero.

There are a few honest, conscientious people in Congress who work
hard every day to advance ideas that will benefit the nation. They,
however, are a distinct minority. They are overwhelmed by leadership
that wants nothing less than complete power in Washington, in the
White House and a veto-proof majority in Congress. This is the
primary goal of congressional leadership from now until the election.

Look for bills that will curry votes for the Democrats, or cause
embarrassment for the Republicans. Don’t expect genuine debate on
anything; look instead, for rhetoric that denigrates Republicans and
extols the virtues of Democrats.

To a very large extent, what’s going on in Washington these days is
not responsible government; it is irresponsible politics. Many, many
people have tuned out and refuse to even listen to the noise rising
from the environs of the Capitol dome. Others, even traditional
political junkies, are disgusted with the bickering and meaningless
rhetoric that fills the evening newscasts. And it’s not likely to
improve soon.

Sadly, it seems the only thing that unites this nation is a national
disaster. And even this unity fades quickly. In a free society, there
must be diversity of ideas, and freedom to argue and advance those
ideas. But when the goal changes from producing the best possible
solution, to nothing more than simply prevailing in order to retain
power, the society is destined for tyranny. Tyranny by Republicans is
no better than tyranny by Democrats. We need a new crop of
representatives who are more concerned about this country than about
the next election.

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