Guest column - Congressional Timidity

The following was written by Jerry Gettinger, Vice-Chair of the LD8 Democrats and President of the Arizona Chapter of the NJDC. It was originally written for the LD8 newsletter.

While I might have phrased a few things differently, I whole-heartedly agree with the point of his piece, and am grateful that he has allowed me to post it here.


I know I said I would be writing about local politics. But what is there to say about the Thomas mess. The situation speaks for itself. A Hollywood screen writer couldn't have come up with a better story than what has happened. With that in mind, I want to write about something that has obviously been troubling a great many people: that is the Democratic majority in congress. The only ones with lower approval ratings than George is our august body of legislators. That says a lot when you think of it.

I was at a function awhile back where a member of congress spoke. He talked about healthcare, and immigration and civil rights and all the other subjects that are a problem these days. When it came time for questions from the audience, he was asked what he planned on doing about them. His answer is what gave me a subject to ponder for the next few days. He answered that there wasn't much that can be done since we (the Democrats) don't have the votes necessary to override the President's veto. He said he had been at a luncheon with Nancy Pelosi. And she was almost in tears over the situation. That's when I started thinking..I don't know about others, but I am not on the verge of tears. I am mad as hell over the loss of civil rights, the war, the spending, the ignoring of contrary opinion and if I were to think about it there probably are a dozen other reasons. I don't understand why the Democrats in congress are acting as if they are afraid of making someone angry. I don't want Pelosi to be on the verge of tears, I want her to be angry. I want to see the congress make the rest of Bush's term a nightmare. If he vetoes a bill, then send him another two days later and let him veto that. And if he does, then send him another. I want to see Bush having to think about the Democrats when he wakes up in the morning, through the day and the last thing he thinks about when he goes to sleep. I want to see the Democrats in Congress raise hell for the rest of Bush's term. Let him know we know him for what he is and we are not going to let him get away with it. No tears, just plain out and out anger at what that man has done to this country. I want to see the Democrats in congress be the biggest thorn in Bush's foot.

Sadly, that hasn't happened yet. But it's not too late. We must let our congressman (or woman) know how we feel (that is, if you feel the same as I do). We can't allow our representatives to roll over and be George's lap dog. Instead, we must insist the they show Chutzpa and demand that Bush answer for every move he makes.. He won't, but that alone will speak volumes about the character of the man. Even though he will probably veto most of the bills that congress sends him, put the onus on him rather that allow ourselves to be passive. There's a line from the movie Network where the anchorman has flipped out and he stands up and says "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."

Well.. I feel the same way, don't you?

Jerry Gettinger


Have a great weekend!