The upcoming congressional elections illustrate the wisdom of the founding fathers, the giants who wrote and ratified the Constitution of the United States in 1787-88. They were able to foresee the potential for abuse of power by the political factions that would exist in the future. They provided a vehicle for the people of the republic to assert their sovereignty over the government by establishing the terms of the senators and congressmen, in which the entire House of Representative and one third of the Senate will have to stand for election every two years. In their wisdom, the Founders established a system that would never go more than two years without an opportunity for the people to make substantial changes to the political class.
This year, the prospect for significant change is looming over the political class in Washington D.C. One of the most significant aspects of the prospective conservative ascendancy in this fall’s mid-term elections is that with a Republican majority in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, leadership of committees in those bodies will also be in Republican hands. The new committee chairmen would then have the power to set agendas and schedule hearings.
Congressional committees, chaired by Republicans, could then take it upon themselves to inquire into some of the murky issues and outright corruption the current Obama lap-dog congress condones. Congress is supposed to be, after all, a separate and distinct branch of the government with the function of legislating the nation’s business, with the secondary role of acting as a check on the power of the other branches. Instead, this highly partisan democrat majority congress acts as the president’s rubber stamp, approving sweeping legislation without ever reading it.
But what if there was a congress in session that actually performed its Constitutional function of writing laws, appropriating funds, and providing oversight of the other branches of government such as the burgeoning, unelected, federal administrative bureaucracy? Would such a congress have any interest in executive branch shakedowns of oil companies that put $20 billion in the president’s hands to disperse as he sees fit? Would it have any interest in the government’s ownership of automobile companies? Or would it have any interest in influencing the foreign policy of an administration whose chief executive bows in the presence of foreign dictators and who attempts to appease our enemies while chiding our closest allies?
With the politically motivated Obama Administration lurching from crisis to crisis and failing to govern effectively in the areas that are most crucial to the American people, like growing the economy instead of growing government unions, a curious adversarial congress could provide the check on further depredations of the nation’s economic health. Such a congress might actually read the legislation before they enact it. They might be really concerned with the crushing burden of debt their actions impose on future generations.
But the most important result of the potential new conservative majorities will be the exposure of the widespread corruption of this administration. With Republican chairmen in place in the House of Representative and the Senate, some committee might choose to get to the bottom of the White House’s clumsy attempt to get Congressman Joe Sestak to drop out of the Pennsylvania senatorial race against the hapless Arlan Spectre. Though that action is a felony, but has been overlooked by any of the congressional “watchdogs.” Like the derelict and negligent mainstream media, the current congress has chosen to look the other way rather than inquire into the seedier side of the Obama Administration. We can only imagine the enthusiasm with which the current congress would be investigating these issues if the George Bush White House was responsible. After the November elections, there may be a new Sherriff in town, if they have the intestinal fortitude to do their jobs.
This year, the prospect for significant change is looming over the political class in Washington D.C. One of the most significant aspects of the prospective conservative ascendancy in this fall’s mid-term elections is that with a Republican majority in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, leadership of committees in those bodies will also be in Republican hands. The new committee chairmen would then have the power to set agendas and schedule hearings.
Congressional committees, chaired by Republicans, could then take it upon themselves to inquire into some of the murky issues and outright corruption the current Obama lap-dog congress condones. Congress is supposed to be, after all, a separate and distinct branch of the government with the function of legislating the nation’s business, with the secondary role of acting as a check on the power of the other branches. Instead, this highly partisan democrat majority congress acts as the president’s rubber stamp, approving sweeping legislation without ever reading it.
But what if there was a congress in session that actually performed its Constitutional function of writing laws, appropriating funds, and providing oversight of the other branches of government such as the burgeoning, unelected, federal administrative bureaucracy? Would such a congress have any interest in executive branch shakedowns of oil companies that put $20 billion in the president’s hands to disperse as he sees fit? Would it have any interest in the government’s ownership of automobile companies? Or would it have any interest in influencing the foreign policy of an administration whose chief executive bows in the presence of foreign dictators and who attempts to appease our enemies while chiding our closest allies?
With the politically motivated Obama Administration lurching from crisis to crisis and failing to govern effectively in the areas that are most crucial to the American people, like growing the economy instead of growing government unions, a curious adversarial congress could provide the check on further depredations of the nation’s economic health. Such a congress might actually read the legislation before they enact it. They might be really concerned with the crushing burden of debt their actions impose on future generations.
But the most important result of the potential new conservative majorities will be the exposure of the widespread corruption of this administration. With Republican chairmen in place in the House of Representative and the Senate, some committee might choose to get to the bottom of the White House’s clumsy attempt to get Congressman Joe Sestak to drop out of the Pennsylvania senatorial race against the hapless Arlan Spectre. Though that action is a felony, but has been overlooked by any of the congressional “watchdogs.” Like the derelict and negligent mainstream media, the current congress has chosen to look the other way rather than inquire into the seedier side of the Obama Administration. We can only imagine the enthusiasm with which the current congress would be investigating these issues if the George Bush White House was responsible. After the November elections, there may be a new Sherriff in town, if they have the intestinal fortitude to do their jobs.
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