I have long been a believer that the role of elected officials should be to enact policies that they believe to be the best ideas, not necessarily the policies that the people want. To this end I think we should spend less time worrying about their political stances and more time focusing on their ability to think, on their compassion, on their core belief sets. After all, what someone believes about the important issues of today don’t tell us much about how they will respond to the important issues 12 months down the road, but their character can tell us everything we need to know.

I say this because it is clear from recent polling that the majority of Americans are not supportive of the current Health Care Bill. This, of course, hasn’t stopped Democrats from trying to push this Bill through and I find that to be a little bit admirable. I don’t want a legislature that bows to the whims of the populace at every turn out of fear of not being re-elected. I ant a legislature that enacts laws they believe are in the best interest of the United States, even when I don’t like the legislation. Fact of the matter is, the legislators have more information about all of these ‘hot issues’ at their finger tips than every blogger combined. They have entire staffs devoted to researching topics.

So I ask, what do you expect from your legislators? Do you want a Democracy or a Republic? Should we send every American citizen a ballot for every law? Should law makers be obligated to vote in line with the majority of their constituency? I’ll end with a small excerpt from Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy In America:

“The people is always right,” that is the dogma of the republic just as, “the king can do no wrong,” is the religion of monarchic states. It is a great question to decide whether the one is more false than the other: but what is very sure is that neither the one nor the other is true.

Mr. Washington Smith told me yesterday that almost all the crimes in America were due to the abuse of alcoholic drinks. “But,” said I, “why do you not put a duty on brandy?”

“Our legislators have often thought about it,” he answered. “But are afraid of a revolt, and besides the members who voted a law like that would be very sure of not being re-elected, the drinkers being in a majority and temperance unpopular.”

Yesterday also another Mr. Smith, a very respected Quaker, told me: “The Negroes have the right to vote at elections, but they cannot go to the Poll without being ill treated.”

“And why,” said I, “is the law not carried out on their behalf?”

He answered me: “The laws have no force with us when public opinion does not support them. Now the people is imbued with very strong prejudices against the Negroes, and the magistrates feel that they have not the strength to enforce laws which are favorable to the latter.”

According to the New York Times three Senate Republicans: Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, are working together with the Democrats to help construct a version of the Health Care Bill that would provide health insurance to more of the uninsured people in America while removing some of the most distasteful portions of the Senate and House Democrat Bills. Here are the highlights:

• Remove the “government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers”
• The modified plan would not be paid for by a surtax on high earners.
• Employers would not be required to provide health insurance for workers.

This committee is continuing to work together and I for one am glad to see some serious bipartisan efforts being made in regards to this impending health care legislation. I can’t wait to see what finally comes out of this group of lawmakers. Hopefully, their bill will be the one that is finally adopted… After all, of the choices presented so far their sounds like the least distasteful.

Sorry I haven’t been posting lately, I have been rather busy. Here are a few pictures from my wedding and honeymoon for you to be jealous of. I promise I’ll get back to posting about politics soon. In case you’ve missed them, check out some of the things that have been going on this summer:
Cash for Clunkers from the Government
“Free” Health Care and Higher Taxes
Climate Change
Cap and Tax Bill

On Monday the various organizations representing minority broadcasters came together to ask for bailout money “akin to that given to the banking and auto industry”. I was so blown away at this that I had come up with an angry post to write, but I decided this would do better in list form. All the reasons not to bailout minority broadcasters.

1. Being a minority does not make these businesses more deserving than any other broadcaster.
2. Minority broadcasters struggle more than others because they have a narrow slice of the potential viewership, appeal to the mainstream and you can get money.
3. Propping up minority businesses by virtue of their being minorities ultimately hurts the black community more than anything else, affirmative action is the worst thing to happen to black America since slavery. For an in depth explanation of this one ask in the comments and you shall receive.
4. The Banking and Auto industry, while I disagree with bailing them out, catered to the entire population, not a 15% sliver.
5. These broadcasters claim they can’t attract advertisers. You don’t deserve to be bailed out if advertisers want more bang for their buck… make you product more attractive.
6. Minority broadcasters are not unique, the entire broadcasting industry has been struggling for a long while now. The iPod killed the radio star.
7. These broadcasters have no strategy. If we bail them out today how do they make money in the future?
8. More to Come…

In the midst of cash for clunkers, cap and trade, and universal health care, we add to the list … a resolution honoring Michael Jackson. You can read it here.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee apparently isn’t paying attention to what is actually going on, and somehow thinks it is needed to honor a child molester.

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) recognizes Michael Jackson as a global humanitarian and a noted leader in the fight against worldwide hunger and medical crises; and

(2) celebrates Michael Jackson as an accomplished contributor to the worlds of arts and entertainment, scientific advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, and global food security.

Whatever. I’m getting used to stupid pointless things coming out of Washington. What’s one more.

Hat tip - Michele Malkin

The House just passed the ridiculous cap and trade bill. Congress is also working on cash for clunkers, a bill designed to get rid of gas guzzlers and get you to buy a new car you can’t afford. For a 2 miles per gallon improvement the government will give you $3500 to destroy your old car. What a waste of my tax dollars. All of this in the name of saving the environment.

Don’t get me wrong, I think taking care of the Earth is a noble goal. The problem is with the science and the motivation. There is no consensus among scientists that global warming is real, let alone caused by us. Then you have a report by our own EPA that says if all the goals of this cap and tax bill are met we will lower the global temperature by a few tenths of a degree. Sorry if I don’t see that as a worthy goal when it is going to cost every American family about $4600 a year in higher energy costs.

There are plenty of problems in America right now, I just don’t see global warming as anywhere near the top of the list. This is just more fear mongering out of the government so that they can have more control over our lives. The cash for clunkers program is another redistribution of money program. We are taking tax dollars from everyone and giving them to the UAW. Again, sorry if I don’t see that as a worthy goal. As a side note, I live in a community that has a GM plant idling. Their success has a direct impact on the value of my house. Yet, I don’t think all of America’s tax dollars should flow to GM to help my property value.

That is the problem with America right now. Everybody wants to further their own selfish goals with nobody thinking about what is good for the country as a whole. We have people who want free health care because they are greedy and too lazy to get it themselves. We have tree huggers who want to pass legislation that is horrible for the country just because it makes them feel better. The least they could do is come up with a scientific consensus before they drive our economy further into the ground. We have businesses lined up at the government bailout trough all trying to get theirs.

People need to step back and look at the problems we face and the solutions that our best for everybody. All boats will rise as the success of the country is lifted. Right now all the boats are sinking. Just a hint, most of the solutions don’t include government intervention in anything. None of them include redistribution of wealth.