That’s Right Nate

When it comes to Constitutional amendments, I have always been a big believer that our Constitution should begin with the first and end with the second amendment.  If you have the freedom of speech and a gun to defend that freedom, what other amendment do you really need?  Most of the other amendments seem to defend criminals or give special rights to women and minorities like voting and not being slaves.   Lately, I’ve found a kindred spirit in Representative Louis Gohmert (R-TX) and I completely support his desire to end the 17th amendment.

In a press release today, Gohmert said “Ever since the safeguard of State legislatures electing U.S. Senators was removed by the 17th Amendment in 1913, there has been no check or balance on the Federal power grab for the last 97 years.”

The 17th amendment changed the election of senators from the responsibility of the state legislatures to a direct vote by the people of the state.   The process for changing this amendment is not easy, but I can think of no finer show of the democratic spirit than people lining up coast to coast to cast their ballots for a Constitutional amendment so that they would not have to cast their vote for Senator.   Gohmert decried “The usurpation of the rights of the states of the people perpetrated by the U.S. House last night

There is no better way to give the American people back the power that the House of Representatives has taken from them, then by taking away the people’s vote for Senator.  I have mentioned before that despite his Democrat party affiliation that I am a big fan of Illinois Senator Roland Burris who was chosen by the Governor instead of by the people.   The time has come for the people to stand up and let their voices be heard that they no longer wish to vote for Senator.

[OK, I admit it, I stole it off of Congressman Kimble's blog.  Enjoy]

Do you know what your U.S. Representative does? If not, you’re not alone. Even though members of Congress play key roles in our government, they often are overlooked. They are democracy’s utility infielders.

What do members of Congress do? How do they spend their days? I think this is a very fascinating question.  I’d like to try and answer it for you.

6:00 a.m.

I am up very early in the morning.   My alarm is set for 5:00, but I hit snooze until 6:00.   While I’m still in my pajamas I pour myself a bowl of cereal.  I used to buy the small variety packs—you know the ones that have Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Rice Krispies, in tiny little boxes all wrapped up in cellophane.  The problem is those boxes don’t have prizes in them.   Now, I buy big boxes of cereal so I can still get something extra—that’s the Republican way.  If the cereal gets stale, I buy a new box.

I like to take my cereal to the living room and watch early morning television.  One of the local UHF station shows Mama’s Family and Gomer Pyle back to back.  I like to start my day off with a laugh.  After breakfast, I walk to the Capitol building.

8:00 a.m.

I have breakfast with a group of House Republicans and Joe Lieberman.   This is mostly an excuse for myself to gloat to Duncan Hunter about what a bust Roy Williams has been on his Fantasy Football team.   We try to explain football to Lieberman, but despite him saying “oh I get it” a lot, you know he doesn’t.

9:00 a.m.

My next stop is the House champer for a Republican conference meeting.  Here, I have a great chance to talk directly to Republican leaders, or I would if we had some.   I really look forward to this face to face time with my colleagues.   It’s so funny, Joe Lieberman always follows us in here and we have to remind him that he caucuses with the Democrats.  Then he acts like he was just kidding.

9:45 a.m.

I head over to my committee meetings.  I’m on the Agriculture, Budget, Industrialization, and Protocol committees as well as the Softball Team and Glee Club.  I’m told that committees do a lot of the important work in Congress, but they’re just so boring.   I usually pass notes with one of my colleagues.  Trent Franks is an amazing tic tac toe player and he can always beat me unless I can put a mark in the middle square first.  Whether you can get a nap here or not really depends on your committee leader.

11:00 am.

I’m on the phone with C-Span, letting them know that I’m available to do interviews on any topic.  They tell me they’ll get back to me, but they sound like they mean it this time.

11:30 a.m.

Unexpected events often happen.  That’s why it’s important to make yourself scarce in the middle of the day as much as possible.  If there are lunch plans, I’ll stick around.  It’s always more fun to go as a group.  If I’m on my own, I’ll usually go to Roy Rogers for the Double R Bar Burger.

1:00 p.m.

I get together with my staff and we watch Judge Mathis together.   My office never misses the Judge if we can help it.  I was so made that Obama overlooked him entirely for the Supreme Court.   My staff also is in charge of making sure I see only positive mail.   I’m currently working on a delicate international situation involving the Nigerian royal family that began with an email to my office.  I am hopefully that I will be able to help this prince regain his rightful throne.

2:00 p.m.

I’m off to the National Republican Congressional Committee meeting.  The NRCC works to get Republicans elected to Congress and we really hope we can turn things around.  Lately, it’s just been one big cry session.

5:00 p.m.

A special voting session of the House of Representatives begins, and I go to my seat in the House chamber. Bells go off in our offices–just like in school–and we have 15 minutes to go to the House to cast our votes,

Voting usually occurs on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and starts at about noon. But toward the end of a congressional session, voting can take place on any workday and can run late into the night, as the House rushes to complete work on legislation. This is great nap time.   Ipods are strongly discouraged here—I found out the hard way.   Speaker Pelosi will stare at you with her cold dead eyes if she thinks you’re screwing around.   Sometimes, I like to make fart noises and dare her to catch me.

9:00 p.m.

Joe Lieberman always wants us to go to a hot tub party after a vote, but he’s so wrinkled now. I always decline.   Instead, this is a good time to get together with colleagues at one of the local DC watering holes.   Paul Broun always winds up in tears, but today he’s upbeat.  He wants me to see if Debbie Wasserman Schultz likes him.  I ask him if he means likes him and he says “like him like him”.  I guess I’ll work on this tomorrow.

I believe what everybody in this country wants right now is a stimulus package that is so badly designed and bloated with ridiculous earmarks that Republicans and Democrats can join together to vote against it. I’ve seen the videos of Republicans reaching out to Democrats this past week trying to get them to join us in our condemnation of the Obama plan. I applaud them for putting statesmanship over politics.

Unfortunately, the Democrats refuse to budge. During the vote in the House very few of them were willing to join us in unity by voting against Obama’s bill. Now that it has reached the Senate it feels like the problem has grown bigger. It is important that we do not let the truly awful be the enemy of the merely objectionable. We have done a great job opposing Obama on this. It is important that in arguing for more tax cuts that we do not cave in and agree to pass this bill. If we can’t get the Democrats to go along with us, we will have to stand alone in vilifying Obama’s stimulus plan. Let’s not let our desire to have Democrats condemn the bill with us lead us to a compromise.

Use them as avatars–the point is get the word out about the great men and women, we have representing the Republican party in the Fall elections.

As always, these can be used for free to promote your candidate as long as I am credited.

Sometimes these Dumbocrats make me so angry.  Othertimes I just find them comical.  Case in point was this recent legislation they tried shoving down the President’s throat a bill outlawing waterboarding.  For those of you who don’t know, waterboarding is the practice of immobilizing somebody, putting a cloth over their face, and pouring water over them.  That’s pretty much how my mom washed my hair when I was a child.  However, the Democrats somehow believe this practice which goes back hundreds of years is somehow torture. 

“The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror,” Bush said in his weekly radio address taped for broadcast Saturday. “So today I vetoed it,” Bush said.  He added, “This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe.”  Those are impassioned words of common sense.  Listen to them Nancy.  Anybody who thinks the terrorists will just cooperate if we ask them nicely has never watched even an episode of 24.

Furthermore, its not like waterboarding is a common practice.  Bush has repeated over and over that we don’t torture terrorist suspects, but some people don’t seem to listen.  Maybe they’re positioning themselves for the elections and want a fight, but the words of our President are good enough for me.  “We’re working with Congress to make sure that as we go forward, we make it possible, more possible, to do our job,” Bush said. “There’s an enemy that lurks and plots and plans and wants to hurt America again. And so, you bet we will aggressively pursue them. But we will do so under the law.”  This isn’t a new quote.  Bush said this back in 2005.  Are those the words of somebody who tortures?  Obviously not.  Waterboarding is not torture.