How Rhetoric,
Actions Match Up

June 3, 2013

Last week we talked about the slick Congressional mail pieces sent out to constituents and what really counts, their votes.  This week we look at a second piece of legislation and how the rhetoric and actions match up.

The measure we are looking at is the Continuing Resolution (CR) which passed the House in March.  If no actionwere taken and no agreement reached, the federal government would have run out of money by the end of March and our government would have been forced to start shutting its doors.  In an effort to forestall this the House Appropriations Committee crafted legislation that allowed the $85 billion sequester to continue but which provided funding at current levels for the remainder of the fiscal year.  The problem with the bill is that it also fully funded Obamacare which many Americans, labor unions and small businesses are now waking up to discover does not keep health care costs down while, at the same time, increases financial burdens in the form of fees, taxes and penalties. 

The Republicans campaigned against Obamacare and for its repeal.  But most of them voted for the Continuing Resolution which fully funds it.  Why?  Perhaps the reason is because the last time the federal government was shut down the Republican Congress got blamed.  The circumstances were different but the possibility that this could reoccur was certainly in their minds. The GOP has a 230 to 202 majority in the House.  That means that if sixteen GOP members desert the ship the measure would have failed.  Given these numbers most of them chose to vote for the measure.  The result was passage of the bill by a 212 to 197 margin, the government stayed open and Obamacare was fully funded.

Have you heard the story of the man who caught his children watching a TV show that had just a little “bad stuff” in it?  Well the man went into the kitchen and made some brownies and served them up for his kids and then as they were about to eat them he said he ran short of ingredients and so mixed in a little bit of dog poop to complete the recipe.  Guess what?  The kids didn’t eat the brownies and our Congressional Representatives should not accept dog poop in legislation either!

The House Republicans had to make a determination whether fighting against fully funding Obamacare was worth being blamed for yet another government shutdown.  Do they stand behind their campaign promises and do what they promised or do they do what is politically expedient?  We all know the choice they made.  Only two Texas Republicans voted against the CR – Steve Stockman and Louis Gohmert.  We applaud their willingness to stand on principle, to live up to their campaign promises, and to do what is right. God bless them for their courage and honesty.

So the next time you get a slick flier in the mail from your elected representative, ask yourself is his or her voting in line with the promises made or is he or she just being a politician? 

Until Next Week...

Bill, Mark and John