POLITICS - 545 People

[Hobie]

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 (currently). 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 cannot 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 gov ernment, 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!

[66GTO]

Well said Charlie. He probably wrote this a few months ago, otherwise he would have used the example of the Democrats holding hearings on the cause of the financial collapse. The Dems use the hearings to blame others for the mess, when they are the ones who created the whole fiasco by passing laws forcing mortgage lenders to give money to deadbeats who then defaulted, thereby causing the house of cards that had been created on the sub-prime mortgages (also called Liar Loans, for an obvious reasons) to collapse.

Charlie Reese is originally from where live (and have lived all of my adult life), Pensacola, Florida. He moved to Orlando years ago and wrote his opinion column from there until recently. He can get right to the heart of a matter and say it very well. I don't always agree with him. For instance, he takes the side of the Palestinians against the Israelis. Unfortunately, Charlie recently had to give up writing his column because of serious health problems. From what I gather, he will not be with us in this world much longer. Godspeed Charlie.

Here is his last column:


Years ago, the first time I saw my friend Brother Dave Gardner after he had survived a plane crash, the comedian smiled and said, "The devil like to got me." That's a good explanation for my last trip to the hospital.

I've been running a footrace with piled-up years and bad living habits, and they have pulled even and will soon be ahead. I know it may not seem to normal people that writing three columns a week requires any hard work, but it does require energy to do the research and an alertness of the mind that I can no longer muster. Hence, this will be my last column.

It's been a difficult decision to make. In one sense, I'm not sure there is even a Charley Reese without the column, but I would rather quit now than to reach a point where the editors and readers know that I should quit. Those of you who have read my column have made me a sort of guest in your home, and I don't want to overstay my welcome.

I don't intend to croak, but that's not something we can control. I have some tidying up to do. One of the things I have to do is to say a heartfelt thanks to the readers and to the editors. I've stirred my share of controversy, and the easiest solution to controversy is to simply drop the column. I greatly admire those editors who stuck with me. I deeply appreciate the loyalty of my readers. The sales reps and the staff at King Features are the best in the business. I feel honored to have been associated with them. To them, freedom of the press is not a slogan.

I've had a good run. In 1955, when I started as a reporter, newspaper city rooms were full of tobacco smoke, alcoholics, gluepots, steel rulers, copy pencils and typewriters. There was a lot of profanity and an occasional fistfight. Editors excelled in sarcasm. But they taught me how to write clear sentences.

One afternoon when I reported in, I asked an editor if he would like to get a cup of coffee. He glared at me and said, "Reese, I just spent $15 getting a buzz on, and I ain't about to ruin it with a (expletive) 10-cent cup of coffee."

Today's newsrooms look more like insurance offices. Computer keyboards don't make much noise. If the reporters smoke anything at all, it's not tobacco. Instead of greasy grills, most newspapers have salad bars. I'm sure H.L. Mencken would have seen salad bars as a sure sign of decline.

John McCain can have the last laugh, since I've said several times that he's too old to be the president. He is, even if he is more durable than I am. There are some who will celebrate my going, and it galls me to give them that pleasure. I was never ambitious, but I've always been competitive and pugnacious.

At any rate, it's a great time to be an American. George W. Bush, who turned out to be a gift to comedians but a blunderer of the first order, will soon be out of office. It is historic and a good sign that a black man, Barack Obama, can win the nomination of a major party. When I started in the business, the South was still segregated, and blacks were invisible both as employees and as subjects of news stories, with the exception of crime stories.

The great advantage of a free society is the capacity to self-correct itself. You'd think dictators would have figured that out, but if they are not paranoid when they seize power, they become so trying to hang on to power.

Well, enough random thoughts. My goal as a columnist has always been to stimulate and, if necessary, provoke people into thinking for themselves. If we fail to do that, a free society won't last. I wish you all a fond farewell.

[Tennessee Hayre]

To think that (Nancy) Speaker Of The House, and her little clan is going to be in charge of our country for the next four years makes me sick. It's going to be a rough ride. This country has turned to the left for leadership. I don't know how many years will pass untill we see another Rep House and Congress as well as a Rep President. maybe 8 years. This country is getting ready to go through a change. It will not look the same in 8 years. When it is over we will look just like europe. We will never be able to turn the clock back. Say good by to the America we grew up in.

[Grizz]

Thanks for posting this Hobie,

From reading his sarcastic, cynical, and stupid last column I'm glad he's quitting after he wrote the one good one.

[Ysabel Kid]

Wouldn't bother me a bit to toss them all out and start over.

Well, I take that back - one or two of them in Congress are worth saving. Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito certainly are - but the rest should be tarred and feathered, then run out of town on a rail!!!