Posted on 07/09/2009 2:39:50 AM PDT by Scanian
This weekend's Fourth of July festivities celebrated the birth of representative government in America. As the Declaration of Independence set forth 233 years ago, our government derives its power from the consent of the governed. Such consent does not exist when legislation is purposely rammed through Congress so quickly that congressmen -- let alone citizens -- do not have time even to read it.
Welcome to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's House of Representatives. The "people's House" is now a place where bills are voted on not only before legislators or the public have read them, but also before parts of the bills even have been written. Such was the case with a 300-page amendment to the cap-and-trade bill the House passed on June 26. The House leadership could not even produce this amendment on paper, in final form, before it was voted on.
In response to that and other recent outrageous infringements of real representative democracy, a group called Let Freedom Ring is pushing all 435 members of Congress and 100 senators to sign a pledge against such shenanigans on any health care reform bill Congress considers.
All 535 of them ought to do so.
The pledge, which can be found at www.pledgetoread.com, reads in part as follows: "I pledge to my constituents and the American people that I will not vote to enact any healthcare reform package that: 1) I have not read, personally, in its entirety; and 2) Has not been available, in its entirety, to the American people on the Internet for at least 72 hours, so that they can read it too."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The article said — The House leadership could not even produce this amendment on paper, in final form, before it was voted on.
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Hmmm..., I would think that this should generate quite a bit of discussion in how a bunch of legislators pass bills... LOL...
There will come a day.....these criminals will be corralled & branded (Bar S).......
The people of my district in Texas fired State Senator Buster Brown for the same reason...not reading bills and harassing women...sent him home forever....
Democrats always vastly overreach and therein they sow the seeds of their own self-destruction.
I doubt many bills are ever read in their entirety by our “esteemed” representatives. That’s why they have staffs. At best a staffer reads the bill over and excerpts what is considered pertinent, but the biggest part of the decision making process has noting to do with what‘s in the bill. Does my Party want the bill to pass? I’ll vote for it. Do I owe a sponsor a favor? I’ll vote for it. If it’s getting close to time for reelection the desires of the constituency (campaign contributors) may come in to play.
Excuse my cynicism, but this year it’s been running high.
The founders would not just be rolling over in their graves, they would be grabbing muskets, rifles, tar, feathers, and rough-hewn planks!
Unconscionable what our elected officials are doing.
Vote the b@$t@rd$ out at the earliest opportunity. Of course all that time walking around in the dark with a lantern looking for an honest politician is going to be a massive undertaking, but it just may be worth it in the long run.
ruefully...
Well, while I can understand about staffers reviewing bills and reporting back to the boss (i.e., the representative) on it, and while I can understand that political parties will back one side or the other, and do expect their own party to fall into line for the most part — this new twist, of not even *having a bill* in the first place (i.e. “no wording exists”) is taking out of the level of “making sense”....
A staffer can’t report back to his boss what the bill says, when no words exist in the bill. And a representative can’t really be voting on the bill, when no words exist for the bill — so really is *only* voting against the other party and nothing else.
Why don’t we just put in a ring and seats around it and watch the representatives battle it out in a grudge match or something like it... LOL...
Could a court overturn the amendment then? That doesn’t sound like due process to me.
Why don’t we just put in a ring and seats around it and watch the representatives battle it out in a grudge match or something like it...
An Absolute waste of time, why pass a resolution for something so Obviously Basic to their job . Its as if you have to sign a Pledge to go to your place of work. If your not going to do your job dont bother to show up period .
This is an exercise in the way left wing loons do Business, Point out that these people are NOT doing their jobs PERIOD and shout it 24/7,thinking that signing a resolution is going to change these A-Holes is a Waste of time ,they need to pay with their Jobs.
You asked — Could a court overturn the amendment then? That doesn’t sound like due process to me.
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I doubt it, as I don’t see where it’s legally required to be able to “vote” on those bills that one has to be any more than “breathing” at the time of the vote... LOL...
But, having said that, where the courts can’t intervene (in my opinion, on that basis...) — the voters can intervene. However, if the voters are just as idiotic, I wouldn’t count on that happening either (i.e., electing intelligent representatives)....
Taxation without deliberation is taxation without representation.
It’s like Stenty Hoyer said “If they read them they wouldnt pass them”.
The pledge woold be meaningless. They are all liars, scoundrels, theives, perverts, criminals, etc.
They will no more honor a pledge than would criminals register guns. Only an enema will correct the problem.
How can we vote them out if we don’t do something about voter fraud? It’s now any race within thousands that’s being stolen, especially by phony or duplicate absentee ballots.
That should be the Republicans, and every American’s, real focus instead of who the 2012 candidate will be or we won’t have a real 2012 election.
That a single bill would fill 1500 pages says a lot about how much the Congress wants to control every aspect of our lives. That 1500 page bill easily will translate into tens of thousands of pages of government regulations. No one, even if they actually read the 1500 pages, could possibly understand all the ramifications. There is no reason Congress should be putting thousand plus page bills up for consideration.
They should be too.
I’d like to see a 20 question quiz attached to each bill, 20 questions from a pool of 100 ... the quiz made up by an outside government agency that I would be happy to PAY FOR. If a person cannot answer the 20 questions, then they cannot vote on the bill. I have to pass through 20 questions to drive a car ... what’s more important, driving a car to Wendy’s or passing a bill adding to an 11 Trillion Dollar deficit? How come I have to pass a test and they don’t? They can laugh at not understanding it and I sweat bullets the night before my driver’s exam ... what’s wrong with that picture!
“Congress hides policy from the people....”
Should be “the businesses and people buying legislation from Congress, pay to make sure that this legislation NEVER gets SEEN BY ANYONE prior to being voted on....”
There should be a requirement that EVERY bill must be read aloud in Congress and that only the people that actually stay through the ENTIRE reading can vote on it.
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