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Name: Ed Lilly
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Name: Disgruntled in NY
Email: disgruntled.blogger1@gmail.com
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Re: Congressional censure for lack of civility?

Posted by Disgruntled in NY on Thursday, September 17, 2009 1:59:29 PM
Ed:
 
Have to say that I'm not in complete agreement with you re. Joe Wilson.  At least you called him a bonehead.  I think the dismissive attitude toward our president is very similar to the attitude of the crazies who would not recognize Bush (#43) as a "legitimate" president or of Alec (the Bloviator) Baldwin who wanted to move out of the US.  I think that part of being a patriot means loving your country and respecting the presidency, the office of the president and its occupant even in those moments when you disagree with those of your fellow citizens who elected him.  The last thing we want is to seem like a bunch of 60s-era protesters whose lack of civility and general rudeness should be castigated and not imitated.  Even Joe Smith's wife referred to the person who disrupted Obama's address as a "nut."  Even though she is now supporting her husband (as she should), we should all recognize that he made a mistake.
 
There are lots of valid reasons, consistent with what we all have been saying for years, to oppose ObamaCare.  However, those reasons don't give us license to abandon the principles we have used to come to the conclusion (in good faith, I would add) that many (most?  all?) of the proposed changes to our healthcare system would only make things worse.
 
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Congressional censure for lack of civility?

Posted by Ed Lilly on Thursday, September 10, 2009 7:13:43 AM

So apparently some Republican clown yelled "you lie!" at BHO during his political rally speech at the Capitol last night, and now the online world obsessed with high school civics class lessons thinks he should, and will, be censured.

Whatever.  Given the esteem with which I hold Congress, I think I'd wear their censure as a badge of honor.

And something tells me the bonehead who yelled during the speech will do the same thing.

I guess the difference between my boneheadedness and the congressman's is that I wouldn't have bothered to show up for the speech, much less yell during it.

I mean, come on, U.S. Open night coverage was on again last night!  Who in their right mind wouldn't prefer that to a political rally?


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Re: In which I respond to Jeff Jacoby's Boston.com op-ed on "Read the Bill"

Posted by Disgruntled in NY on Monday, August 03, 2009 11:16:51 AM
 
I think the "read the bill" issue is resonating with many voters because it is an issue that does not require any specific knowledge or expertise to understand.  Voters by necessity delegate decision making authority to elected officials who are supposed to immerse themselves in details needed in order to determine a prudent course of action (for example, with respect to healthcare or any one of a number of other different complex issues).  Many voters are upset with those of their representatives who don't "read the bill" because such representatives appear to have abandoned the trust that many (most? all?) voters have placed in them to make decisions on their behalf.  Although there may be times of true emergency when it will not be possible for all of our representatives to have read every word of a statute they vote for, healthcare is most certainly not one of those times.  Many bills are passed before they "see the light of day" because, as we know sunlight is the best disinfectant.
 
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In which I respond to Jeff Jacoby's Boston.com op-ed on "Read the Bill"

Posted by Ed Lilly on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 6:32:43 AM

A friend emailed me to ask my thoughts on the idea of requiring congresscritters to read the bills on which they vote.  My early morning musings on same:

The boston.com link didn't work for some reason, but I take it you're referring to Jeff Jacoby's editorial, which I found and skimmed through.

First, it's sad that we're at the point where it has to be proposed to make a law to require elected officials to do their job.  On that basis alone, I have a bit of a problem - if a rep is not doing his or her job, the voters should kick them out next chance they get.  A pledge shouldn't be needed.

Second, if I were serious about efforts like the one Jacoby is writing about, I wouldn't make it a pledge because those are worthless.  These are politicians we're talking about - to paraphrase one of them and apply her words more appropriately, they lie to us all the time.  How many of the clowns who signed "pledges" to term limit themselves are still in DC?

So rather than a pledge, I'd try to do something like get a member of congress to add an amendment to every single bill that comes up for a vote that says that by voting for the bill, a member of congress affirms under penalty of perjury that he or she has read it and understands it.  Ideally, I'd also like to put something in there that says they can point to the specific text of the Constitution that supports the power / authority that is the subject of the legislation and make them do it, and provide that if they are subject to immediate removal from Congress and a lifetime ban on holding public office, voting for public office, and being involved in any way with the fundraising for or election of any public officeholder if they are found to have violated the "read, understand, Constitutional authority" provisions.

Of course, that's completely unworkable in the real world, but if something can be done that would completely tie Congress and the legislative branch in knots so that they can't do further damage to the country, I'm more than happy to see that happen.  As I've commented in many online discussions I've had with people over the past couple of years, I'm at the point of wanting to see every single federally elected official voted out of office every election cycle, forever, and having every single one of them be subject to IRS audits, forever.  But that's just me.


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