I’ve been checking out my copy of the Constitution and I’m still unable to find anything regarding a ruling class of elitist jackasses who refuse to interact with the people who elected them.
Sherrod Brown isn’t the only one who doesn’t get it. As the health care clown carnival rolls into each new town a variety of elected representatives of the American people are behaving like those our Founding Fathers fought a revolution to free us from so many years ago.
Something I said during the Tax Day Tea Party coverage on PJTV bears repeating (pomposity fits me like a tailored suit): the mere physical presence of a representative in Washington does not mean that any actual representation has taken place. I can hire a defense attorney to represent me in a trial and he can be in the courtroom with me every day but if he spends all his time playing Scrabble on his BlackBerry then he hasn’t really represented me.
More and more it seems like the people we’ve elected to represent us are the ones who least understand the concept of a representative republic.
The genesis of this attitude can be traced back to the “He’s not my president!” phrase that’s been so popular for several years. I hated it when Democrats said it and I hate it just as much when Republicans use it now. It creates the mindset that elected officials are there only for the people who voted for them when, in fact, they still represent all of their constituents and are duty-bound to do what’s in the best interest of those constituents.
The “He’s not my president!” has now morphed into “Their not my constituents!” and left us with a Congress full of people who are just a few powdered wigs away from being indistinguishable from the British Parliament of 1775.
Those who have followed me and my political ramblings know that, in the end, I always blame the voters.
The very same Constitution that these ass candles (a newly minted put-down from “Planet Kruiser”) in Washington are ignoring also gives great power to the adult citizens of the United States to to get rid of them.
We can blame the process, the money, the lack of a third party and anything else we want but the reality is that we never really exercise the full power of an energized electorate. It is incumbent upon voters of any political persuasion to make sure that our elected officials NEVER enjoy one moment of feeling that they have job security.
The group we have ignoring us now (on both sides) is exactly what we can expect from an electorate that’s apathetic or thinks staying home is a “protest vote”. I’m as annoyed with conservatives who sat on their butts last November as I am with anyone who blindly voted for Barack Obama and is now experiencing some buyer’s remorse because they weren’t paying attention. We not only have a responsibility to vote but to be informed when we vote too.
I am forever being asked about a variety of assumed fixes to up the quality of our elected officials. Among the magic wand solutions are a strong third party, more campaign finance reform and term limits, which are the most promising idea but not as promising as people think if we keep voting (or not voting) the way we do now.
Let’s say we limit an officeholder to two terms but continue our lazy, uninformed voting ways. The office-holder could then assume that he or she was safe for the first term and nothing but a lame duck for the second. If the apathetic electorate is still the norm then you’ve got nothing more than an aloof tool who is just there for the salary, benefits and prestige. There is no sense of obligation to the voters because the voters are too busy watching “The Real Housewives Of Some Place I Don’t Give A Rat’s Ass About”.
Remember: never let them feel comfortable. Incumbency should mean nothing.
Most people think I’m off in fantasy territory because I hope that the citizens of the United States will soon figure all of this out. But I’m a big fan of the Constitution. As usual, it provides the solution and we don’t even have to use that “living, breathing document” horse dung to find it.
Vote. People still die all over the world for the right to vote. People have died here for the same right.
So put the freakin’ Doritos down and exercise your most powerful right.
Or invest in powdered wigs because they’re going to make a big comeback.
UPDATE: Because these nimrods love proving me right, this little gem was posted on Michelle Malkin’s site after I finished this. Illinois Rep. Melissa Bean is charging her constituents $25 a head for the privilege of having breakfast with her at a “town hall”.
Nice post. Perhaps you should have called it “WITHER the Constitution.”
http://VocalMinority.typepad.com
The Jewish Republican’s Web Sanctuary
Make that ““WITHER The Representative Republic”
What I like about this post is the focus on the people who elected the officials now calling the shots. We need to pay attention and take action as conservatives. Right now I’m supporting a friend who is taking on the people who bankroll these big-goverment spenders. besides not voting for liberals who don’t listen to reason why shake up the banking institutions who profit from big goverment deals and programs… check out http://09nine09.com and get ready take action on Sept. 9th.
I have evolved completely on the idea of term limits. I was dead set against them for fear it was somehow stifling the first amendment but I have since realized that in order to actually save our first amendment as well as others is to make sure no one political party has a monopoly or feels so comfortable they turn us all into meek subservient voters that must vote for them to survive. Check out Massachusetts and maybe a couple of other states to see what happens when there’s no checks and balances on their power.