Believe it or not!

It’s common knowledge by this point that the public is fed up with that collection of do-nothings known as Congress. Perhaps the most repeated line in any race for Member of Congress in any state is the one about “my opponent (being) a career politician”, spoken in much the same tone used when mentioning ax-murderers.



Well, Congress has always been an easy mark. Generation after generation have used it as the punch line in their jokes. One quip goes “We have the best lawmakers money can buy!” And while Will Rogers is given credit, there might have been any number of people who said that, or felt that way, before he gave voice to this sentiment.



There is reason to be concerned about money in this year’s elections, by the way. Take the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission wherein it was ruled that corporations have the same rights as individuals. This means that entities registered as corporations cannot be blocked from spending money on political ads, because to do so would be a violation of their right to free expression. Hence the explosion of ads not paid for by any particular candidate, but rather by a group either for or against that candidate.



All that notwithstanding, Congress has not been idle this session. This has been the most productive since the 89th Congress that met in 1965-66 and passed LBJ’s Great Society programs.



“What?!?” you ask, mouth agape. “What has this collection of clowns done?” First up is that much maligned stimulus bill. That would be the one introduced by President Obama, not his immediate predecessor. What was in it that is helpful? How about tax cuts? Yes, tax cuts, some of the largest in history. We’re talking tax credits for college tuition, home buying, energy conservation, and for renewable energy, to name but a few areas addressed in this bill.



But that ain’t all. Remember the stimulus bill that was made necessary by the sweeping de-regulation that took place during the presidency of George W., the one that made his stimulus bill necessary? This Congress passed new regulatory legislation that aims to keep that from ever happening again.



And then there is that much-maligned healthcare overhaul that its critics have dubbed Obamacare. You know, the one individual senatorial candidates vow to “repeal”, as in “I will repeal Obamacare”? Wait a minute, you’re running for Senator, not Superman. Heck, if one Senator could do what some candidates pledge to do, they’d fly (Up, up and away!) to D. C. when they got elected.



One big problem the would-be lawmakers say they have is the requirement that everyone must buy health insurance. This is what has led at least 20 state Attorneys General to file suit against the feds. According to one, if the feds can force you to buy health insurance, they can force you to buy pretty much anything, not unlike most politicians think you will do whenever they make campaign promises.



Well, if the feds can’t make you buy health insurance, then let’s relieve them of the responsibility of paying the bills for those people who won’t buy it when they don’t need it, and can’t buy it when they do. After all, that’s only fair isn’t it?