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545 People
Vanity | Charlie Reese

Posted on 07/28/2008 9:20:10 AM PDT by calex59

RE-ELECT NOBODY! This is worthy of your time and attention … regardless of your Party Affiliation

545 PEOPLE By Charlie Reese –

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices – 545 human beings out of the 300 million – are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ,it's because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses – provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: budget; congress; house; senate
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To: calex59
Does this mean you no longer think that:

That qualifies you as one of the stupidest persons in the US, someone so lacking in Constitutional knowledge as to be laughable.

Just askin'...

21 posted on 07/28/2008 10:10:25 AM PDT by null and void (Barack Obama - International Man of Mystery...)
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To: GOPJ; Current Occupant; Baynative; mnehrling; eeevil conservative; sofaman; Repub4bush; andyk; ...

[... What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it...]

545 PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR AMERICA’S WOES By Charley Reese -— PING!

http://www.strangepolitics.com/content/item/139028.html


22 posted on 07/28/2008 10:11:23 AM PDT by Jo Nuvark (Those who bless Israel will be blessed, those who curse Israel will be cursed. Gen 12:3)
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To: ssaftler
I'd answer you, but I'm getting revved up for. . .

MONDAY NIGHT REHABILITATION!!

Now be quiet, and hand me a Brawndo. . .

23 posted on 07/28/2008 10:16:48 AM PDT by Salgak (Acme Lasers presents: The Energizer Border: I dare you to try and cross it. . .)
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To: null and void

I said what I did in context of what you said. Yes, if you stand by the statement that you think McCain is NOT a natural born citizen. I can think you, anyone for that matter, can have different opinions on subjects, looking stupid on some and brilliant on others. Witness McCain, he is conservative on some things and extremely liberal on others. None of us are perfect and I have a habit of saying what pops into my mind, not always the best way to answer but always sure to get an interesting reply!


24 posted on 07/28/2008 10:44:46 AM PDT by calex59
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To: calex59
Facts are stubborn things:

Place of birth?

Colón PANAMA

Colón, PANAMA, not Colón Canal Zone. PANAMA

Colón isn't part of the Canal Zone.

It is a separate district and provence, a district and provence of the country of Panama.

Much like West Berlin never belonged to East Germany.

25 posted on 07/28/2008 10:48:24 AM PDT by null and void (Barack Obama - International Man of Mystery...)
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To: calex59

Ruh-roh!! Charlie’s done stepped into it now!

I’ve been saying this for a couple of months and I have had FReepers take me to task for suggesting that NOW is the time to clean out Congress and start with as many new faces as we can get in there. The people we send to the Congress, both the House AND the Senate are OUR employees, They are supposed to represent US and OUR interests to the federal government.

It is more obvious with EVERY passing day that the government of the United States is severely broken and is in desperate need of repair. This November, We, The People can begin to make those repairs and keep them coming. The political elites are too comfortable and too cozy and they need a big reminder who pays the bills (we do, for those in Rio Linda).

FWIW, I think we need to keep voting OUT incumbents for the next 12 years to make sure that these folks don’t get so arrogant and so comfortable that they forget who they are supposed to represent (hint: - it’s NOT poor people in Africa, South America, or on Venus!!).


26 posted on 07/28/2008 10:52:11 AM PDT by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
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To: calex59
i see a lot of problems listed, no solutions. "vote them out" is not a solution.

get decent people who truly do not care about the money or power to run for office. but that will never happen. for one thing, they could not afford the campaign. another thing, hardly anyone is squeaky clean, and the ones who are would never want to be exposed to the scrutiny of an election!

as a country, our biggest strength is also our biggest weakness.

27 posted on 07/28/2008 10:54:59 AM PDT by thefactor (contributing nothing of value to threads since 2001...)
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To: null and void
Yes, facts are stubborn and the fact that McCain was born of two US citizen parents, according to the constitution, he is a natural born citizen. All children born out of the country are natural born citizens if they have two(note the emphasis on two)US citizen parents.

According to the constitution, McCain, and every child born of military parents, Diplomats, and others who are not in the US when their child is born as long as both parents are US citizens, are natural born citizens. McCain didn't have to be born in the canal zone or any other US territory or state, he was born of two US citizen parents, therefore he is a natural born citizen. A little reading of the constitution, as I suggested to you in my previous(possibly a little to caustic post)comment to you, would go a long way in settling your mind on this issue.

I can understand why you would like him to be disqualified hell, I would like him to be disqualified, but he is not disqualified because of his birth status, it is crystal clear in the Law of the Land document we are supposed to adhere to. I apologize for my insensitive remarks earlier but stand by the fact that McCain is a natural born citizen.

28 posted on 07/28/2008 11:00:42 AM PDT by calex59
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To: thefactor

The solution is clear, vote out the incumbents vote in decent people who will follow the constitution, and if you make a mistake and vote in another a**hat, then vote them out also. That is the solution and it is clear that is what the article alludes to.


29 posted on 07/28/2008 11:02:10 AM PDT by calex59
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To: thefactor
"vote them out" is not a solution.

Voting them out is a great solution. Some people say that killing terrorists will do nothing to reduce or eliminate the problem of terrorism, that someone else will just take bin Laden's place. This assumes an infinite supply of folks at the level of bin Laden. There is no such infinite supply. This also assumes that people are becoming terrorists for reasons that have no environmental component at all. If you get rid of them faster than they can be formed, whether terrorists or corrupt politicians, you'll eventually deplete the supply; you'll also change the way people view the office and, accordingly, change the way people look at the office and select for a different set of people willing to run for office.
30 posted on 07/28/2008 11:03:01 AM PDT by aruanan
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To: calex59
have fun finding decent people who have the money, time, and the will to campaign.

i live in the real world here. americans are too busy sitting on their collective asses in front of the tv basing thier voting behavior on 5-second soundbytes and whatever oprah says.

candidates have to be used car salesmen nowadays because no one has an attention span longer than that of a rabid beaver.

i know there are some voters out there who take this stuff seriously, but they are far outnumbered by the drive-thru, DVR'ing, trans-fat ingesting, super-size me americans.

sorry, but simply existing has been made way too easy by the New Deal and other big gov't programs. barack and mccain are what you get now. enjoy!

31 posted on 07/28/2008 11:14:41 AM PDT by thefactor (contributing nothing of value to threads since 2001...)
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To: thefactor

Attitudes like yours have caused the problem. Our politicians, all of them, are the cause of the our problems. However we, as voters, are equally responsible because we put the a**hats in office. If the majority of American Citizens understood how government works they would not vote for the people that are in office now. It is up to us to change that. If you say, “oh, well we can’t help voting for con artist because that is what it takes to get elected” then you are part of the problem and you need to become part of the solution.


32 posted on 07/28/2008 11:20:35 AM PDT by calex59
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To: calex59
no, i have the proper attitude. i vote and i get my info from the proper places.

i have merely pointed out what i have seen from many others. it is not up to me, however, to change anyone. i would be quickly overpowered by the idiot box anyway.

perhaps if a bona fide candidate sans party affiliation came out and spoke to all america we might get somewhere. but such a person would be quickly squashed by the media and both parties. couldn't have anyone upset the balance of power.

33 posted on 07/28/2008 11:25:49 AM PDT by thefactor (contributing nothing of value to threads since 2001...)
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To: calex59
The solution is clear, vote out the incumbents vote in decent people who will follow the constitution

Great in theory, but have you looked at the numbers? Nationwide, I'd be willing to bet that fully 70% of all Congressional "elections" will be the incumbent running UNOPPOSED. And of the 30% where there is more than one candidate, probably 70% of those are token candidacies which might as well be unopposed.

And this is in a year where everyone is angry at the incumbent Republican Congress (sarcasm intended) and wants to vote them out.

34 posted on 07/28/2008 11:46:51 AM PDT by ssaftler (Obamaführer in '08!)
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To: calex59
according to the constitution, he is a natural born citizen.

The constitution doesn't define natural born.

A large number of constitutional scholars an lawyers have spent careers debating this very point.

Diplomats, and others who are not in the US when their child is born as long as both parents are US citizens, are natural born citizens. McCain didn't have to be born in the canal zone or any other US territory or state, he was born of two US citizen parents, therefore he is a natural born citizen. A little reading of the constitution, as I suggested to you in my previous(possibly a little to caustic post)comment to you, would go a long way in settling your mind on this issue.

While I agree that, unlike Obama, McCain is UNQUESTIONABLY an American citizen, the question of whether he is a NATURAL BORN US citizen is the subject of a lively debate. According to jus soli he isn't. According to jus sanguinis he is.

Therefore if one is a RINO, one will argue that he is a natural born citizen.

A "progressive" will argue that he isn't, and will deny that he has any legal authority, and will seek to undermine every presidential act as having no force of law because he's not my president ummm, he was selected not elected uh, I mean, he's an illegal unconstitutional president.

Last election cycle Sen. Claire McCaskill was sufficiently worried about this very point that she introduced a bill to declare him qualified.

Why do you suppose she went through all that unsuccessful effort to shore up a position you think is glaringly obvious?

Because it isn't at all clear.

It still isn't.

The bill never passed as a law, only as a "sense of the senate"

I apologize for my insensitive remarks earlier

No apology needed, no (well, ok, maybe a teensy little bit of) offense taken. But it's OK, you are standing up for what you believe, and I respect and admire that!

but stand by the fact that McCain is a natural born citizen.

I sincerely wish that that was true. After years of a paralyzed government, and endless lawsuits we might have a definitive answer.

The left is salivating at the thought of using our legal system to render the president impotent during a war for our very survival.

35 posted on 07/28/2008 11:47:44 AM PDT by null and void (Barack Obama - International Man of Mystery...)
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To: calex59
Oh, and when the Founding Dads wrote the Constitution, they were consciously trying to avoid jus sanguinis as Britain used this very doctrine to assert that anyone born anywhere of British parents is a British subject, and could therefore legally be pressed into the service of the Crown.

It wasn't until 1790 that they passed a law exempting their own children (e.g. children of diplomats stationed abroad) from the strict requirement of US soil birth...

36 posted on 07/28/2008 11:59:39 AM PDT by null and void (Barack Obama - International Man of Mystery...)
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To: null and void

The constitution does define natural born. It clearly gives the right of anyone born of US citizen parents, no matter where they are born, US citizenship. That is being natural born. You can spin all you want but when I was in the eighth grade I learned this(back in the day when they taught civics in schools) and it is so. McCain is a natural born citizen. Period. Please don’t respond to this particular subject again, it is getting tiresome.


37 posted on 07/28/2008 12:01:51 PM PDT by calex59
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To: ssaftler

It is not just a theory, it is fact. If you don’t vote your ideals then you will get someone who doesn’t believe as you do, who wants to ruin the country or to merely line their pockets or just to keep power. It is more than theory it is fact and the proof of that is the amount of stealing, lying, country ruining, liberal, marxists, communists a**hats we have in office today. Vote how you want but remember: It is you who are ultimately to blame for the BS going on in government today.


38 posted on 07/28/2008 12:04:21 PM PDT by calex59
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To: calex59

Yeah? No kidding.

Back when I was a Brat being taught Civics on a US military base, they told us, the children of active duty Marines and Sailors, that those of us born overseas could never be president.


39 posted on 07/28/2008 12:05:32 PM PDT by null and void (Barack Obama - International Man of Mystery...)
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To: calex59

And who else in America gets to vote in their own pay raises and benefits package?


40 posted on 07/28/2008 12:47:51 PM PDT by DakotaRed (Don't you wish you had supported a conservative when you had the chance?)
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