Congressman Perriello used to always tell me he was deferring to the president, but I think he caught on that I didn't appreciate that line. He still does, however, defer to the president and to the Democratic Party. Last summer, Perriello wanted to vote against another war bill that had been combined with a bailout for Eastern European banks. It was the bailout that Perriello opposed. I opposed both items. However, the Democrats needed his vote for passage, and they got it. I don't know what they said to him, but they were reported to have told freshmen they would be "dead to us." Perriello, you may recall, got a million dollars from the Democratic Party in DC for his last campaign. He couldn't afford to be dead to them. And just after he voted for the bill, strange things happened. The Democrats bought radio ads promoting Perriello. White House environmental bigshots, including Van Jones, came to Charlottesville to do a press event with Perriello. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer came to Charlottesville to do a press event with Perriello. So I was probably the only one to find such a thing ominous, but when the Secretary of Agriculture announce a telephone press conference with Perriello last week, I didn't like the sound of it.
If you think representatives should represent people and explain to people what decisions they are making, not fall in line behind presidents or party leaders, I hope you'll join us in Congressman Perriello's office at noon today. And I hope you'll also contact Charlottesville City Council Member David Brown who has refused to support a resolution opposing more war funding because he thinks we should defer to the wisdom of Congressman Perriello and not dare to let him know what we think.
So, Perriello defers to the man whose constitutional job is executing the will of Congress, and Brown defers to Perriello. This is, of course, a reversal of representative government.
Now I'd like to hear what you think and take any questions you've got. Thank you for inviting me here.
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David Swanson is the author of the new book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press. You can order it and find out when tour will be in your town: http://davidswanson.org/book.
If you think representatives should represent people and explain to people what decisions they are making, not fall in line behind presidents or party leaders, I hope you'll join us in Congressman Perriello's office at noon today. And I hope you'll also contact Charlottesville City Council Member David Brown who has refused to support a resolution opposing more war funding because he thinks we should defer to the wisdom of Congressman Perriello and not dare to let him know what we think.
So, Perriello defers to the man whose constitutional job is executing the will of Congress, and Brown defers to Perriello. This is, of course, a reversal of representative government.
Now I'd like to hear what you think and take any questions you've got. Thank you for inviting me here.
--
David Swanson is the author of the new book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press. You can order it and find out when tour will be in your town: http://davidswanson.org/book.
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