CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORDS

I cannot remember a time during by 78 years on earth when there was so much tension and anger being voiced by the electorate here in the United States of America. It appears to me that our government no longer serves the best interests of the people, but the best interests of the elected officials. From the time our Founding Fathers wrote and enacted the Constitution until today, our government has shifted the focal point from the people to those serving in Washington and their corporate supporters.

A recent Letter to the Editor in my local newspaper captured the attention of your Commander when he learned that his Congressman Joe Donnelly says one thing and does another when it is time to vote on legislation. It is reported by Citizens Against Government Waste that Donnelly has a voting record that is inconsistent with his pronouncements. Donnelly has a 2009 rating of 16%, and a lifetime rating of 19% voting on legislation that is in the interest of taxpayers. This information comes from the fall 2009 issue of Waste Watch, which was published by the Citizens Against Government Waste.

Rep. Donnelly (D-IN) frequently talks about his fiscal responsibility, but his voting record certainly does not support his utterances. As the writer of the letter indicated, the ratings determine which members of Congress are voting in the interest of the taxpayers, and which are wasting America’s hard earned money…your tax dollars. The analysis also indicates which members of Congress are protecting tax dollars, and cutting spending versus those who prefer big government programs and are using public funds for pet projects. The rating categories: 0%-19% hostile; 20%-39% unfriendly; 40%-59% lukewarm; 60%-79% friendly; 80%-99% taxpayer friendly; 100%, superhero.

Looking at some other elected officials by comparison, Sen. Evan Bayh 35%; Sen. Richard Lugar 66%; Rep. Mike Pence 98%; Senate majority leader Harry Reid 10%; Sen. Barbara Boxer 0%; Sen. Dianne Feinstein 0%; President Obama when a senator from Illinois 5%. To my way of thinking this is a clear reason why we have major fiscal problems confronting our country.

Thanks to the author of the letter I became curious, and went to Google to learn more about Citizens Against Government Waste, which I strongly suggest you do too.

http://www.cagw.org

The reports relative to pork expenditures are sufficient to make your blood boil, and I am certain you will have a similar visceral reaction. Here are four very interesting articles that you can read, as I did, and they are;

1. Stimulating…or Just Plain Depressing? By Erica Gordon.
2. Don’t Count on an Efficient Census Bureau by David Williams.
3. Pulling the Plug on Yucca Mountain – A New Mountain of Waste by Leslie Paige.
4. The Ongoing Tanker Saga by Sean Kennedy.

There are literally hundreds of devastating articles revealing the massive extent of the waste being perpetrated upon the American taxpayers, and I am shocked that our major media outlets do not bring this information to our attention through their nightly news programs. Why are the legendary New York Times and Washington Post not reporting these stories of massive waste of our tax dollars?

If these disclosures do not motivate you into action, nothing will. Not surprising, this organization urges us to contact our Congressional Representatives and Senators to vote against the Obama Health Care Bill. A few days ago we learned that Speaker Nancy Pelosi might consider passage of that legislation without a normal voting procedure. Audacity rules throughout the Halls of Congress where corruption and contemptible behavior goes on daily. Tragically, our current governance is more like single party rule than a representative form of government, because the will of the people seems to no longer prevail.

Have you finally had enough to prompt you to act, and do so aggressively because it is almost too late? Total subjection and fiscal enslavement appears to be on our horizon, so what are you going to do about it?

COMMANDER GRANGER