If you are one of the folks who regularly takes time out of your day to read this column, I thank you. If you are indeed one of those rare few, then you know that I regularly overreact to the news that comes out of the city named for the gentleman referred to as the “Father of our Country” and arguably one of the finest Generals to ever appear in the annals of this republic’s military history.
In and of itself, Washington, D.C. is not a bad place. It has the normal problems, disappointments and challenges of a major metropolitan area struggling to survive in the times in which we live. But our nation’s capital has one growing problem that is horrifyingly unique and especially perilous to the values and standards upon which the hopes and dreams of our country rely. This problem grew from a seed in the innocence of our nation’s infancy but has now become a snarling beast that threatens our very future. I speak, of course, of the incompetence, uncontrolled bias and unbridled partisanship shared by the 535 voting members of the United States Congress. They identify by various party markings, but they all seem to have the same afflictions. Democrat, Republican, Independents, Unidentified and Indescribable, these representatives and senators have turned the legislative branch of our government into a slippery garden of battling ideology hosted by a serpent and ruled by a wingless, frustrated, filibustering angel. The contest rages on, but no compromise or common sense or resolution results. The public is held hostage, and the agonized voices lost in airport waiting lines cry out, ”Spring Break! Spring Break!” Families sleeping in airport lounges ration out the last of the chicken fingers wondering if they will ever see Grandma again. Meanwhile, the gavel is sounded in the House of Representatives, recess is declared, and in the Senate, the reptilian called Schumer slithers back underground followed by 203 of his minions on their way home for the 15-day Easter recess. Another chance to conduct the nation’s business is lost, and the absurdity continues. But at Reagan National Airport, in Washington, almost all of the members of Congress have boarded the “Bunny Express” and are already hopping home, and nobody at TSA or ICE or other departments of Homeland Security has been paid by legitimate funding from Congress in almost three pay periods.
Well, I guess we just need to get used to a world where our elected officials determine not only what laws should be enacted but who should get paid for their work and who should get nearly two months off every year in the form of regular recess, federal holidays and the entire month of August not to mention first priority on airline seats on the Bunny Express to get home for Easter. What is the difference in fraud that steals millions of our federal tax money for work that didn’t happen in states like California or Minnesota and fraud that is paid for the work that should be taking place but is not getting done in our country’s capital? When the questionnaire arrives in the mail this Fall with all the questions concerning what’s really the most important issue to you in the upcoming elections, please check the box that says “the ability to compromise, work together using common sense and get something done. And oh, by the way, shut down the Bunny Express, and don’t pay Congressmen if they can’t do their job, and make sure every other government employee gets paid first.
