Article: Who is Responsible in Congress?

You'd think that the American public would be tired of the game playing by the only two political parties that have any power. The Republicans are arguing with each other about Iraq, telling the public that; 1.We should stay the course, and that things will work themselves out or 2. The administration has not been honest with the public and has painted a picture of the war that was more optimistic than it should have been, and that we need more troops. The Democrats are saying that, 1. The war is evil and too costly. 2. We should set a "timetable" for the removal of American forces. 3. We really have no plan at all.

The fact is in my opinion, the politicians we elected to congress really haven't a clue to what we should, or shouldn't do. I think the reason for this, is that the American people are just too divided on the issues, and these political game-players can't come up with an agenda, unless they have a poll on what it is that will please most of the people.

Let me clarify this. It is not as if your representatives really want to do the peoples will. The only thing they really want is recognition. This is how it works. Politicians propose legislation. They make it look as if the proposed the legislation is something they really want passed, but it's worded will so it will be so unacceptable to the opposing party and they will reject it. This solves two problems. It convinces the public that they were sincere about the legislation, and they receive high marks for proposing it, and it will also make the public believe that the people who opposed the legislation are responsible for the legislation not passing through congress. This is the game that they are playing in Washington.

Would you like some examples? OK. Campaign Reform: No progress. Health Care: No progress. Raising the minimum wage that hasn't been raised since 1997: No progress. The situation in Darfur and in Africa: No Progress.

We have a congress that has allowed this administration to torture and imprison American citizens without a warrant and send them to Guantanamo, Cuba. Wiretap Americans without obtaining a warrant in violation of the Constitution, even though we have a secret FISA court that would give them a warrant up to 72 hours AFTER they do the wiretap. Invade and overthrow a government of a foreign country, claiming that country had WMD's that they failed to find. Legislate a so-called Patriot Act that takes away many of our basic liberties, using fear of terrorism as a basis for removing those freedoms.

This Congress has failed to act to protect us, to defend our liberties, to stop illegal and immoral acts of the administration, and it fails to hold this administration responsible for breaking the law of the land. The reasons for this, is that this group of politicians in the House of Representatives and in The Senate, are disjointed, inept, and are not acting in the interests of the people. These politicians are interested in pleasing their biggest campaign supporters (Corporations and special interest groups), and in the aggrandizement of their own agenda and their quest for power and reelection.

This will go on indefinitely, until the American people put a stop to "business as usual" in Washington. The first step, is to hold our elected officials accountable for the things that they do or the things that they fail to do. When the democrats scream against the war, they must remember that it was voted on in Congress, and that Congress gave the President the authority for the use of power. This is not only the Presidents problem; it is everyone's problem in congress except for 21 Democrats 1 Republican and 1 Independent. Senator's Biden, Baucus, Breaux, Cantwell, Carnahan, Carper, Cleland, Clinton, Daschle, Dodd, Dorgan, Edwards, Feinstein, Harkin, Hollings, Johnson, Kerry, Kohl, Landrieu, Lieberman, Lincoln, Miller, Nelson(Fl), Nelson(NE),Reid, Rockefeller, Schumer, Torricelli, are ALL Democrats that voted for the use of force in Iraq. If the democrats had voted NAY on the bill PL 107-243, then we WOULD NOT NOW BE IN IRAQ. The very same people that said they were against the war two years later when they ran for President and Vice President voted FOR the war. The part of this that concerns me, is that nobody holds these Senators responsible in any degree.

When are we going to get our government back?

When we either 1. Force them to pass Real Campaign reform that takes corporations and special interests out of political funding, or 2. Vote for a third party that can win elections to change the Campaign Finance Laws, or 3. Hold politicians responsible for their actions, which includes their voting records, and get regular Americans to get involved in government. To do otherwise, is to lose your freedom. This is not as far away as you think. It could happen tomorrow.