New Congressional activities


By Jim Killebrew

[November 07, 2014]  Attitudinal change; that might be the best thing for the politicians who held their jobs during the Mid-Term election. No matter what the spin of the pundits put on the republican win on Tuesday, the fact is it was a "wave" for the republican party. It was also a clear mandate from the people that the Administration's socialistic policies and practices are not wanted by the majority of the American people. The election was a referendum on the President's way of doing business.

Eight seats were gained by the republicans. The democrat incumbents who lost their seats included Mark Begich in Alaska, Kay Hagan in North Carolina, Mark Pryor from Arkansas, and Mark Udall, Senator from Colorado. These losses were real losses; these losses and others, as well as the republicans who maintained their incumbent seats, all worked together to enable the republicans to win back the majority in the Senate. The American voters gave a loud, and clear, distinctive voice to their preferences. Those preferences were not just to get rid of the democrat incumbents, but also to demand the republican majority in both houses of Congress to actually do something. Speaker John Boehner now has the largest republican majority in more than 60 years.
 

In addition to the Congressional wins on election day, the states are now poised with more republican governors. Even a solidly blue state like Illinois garnered a republican win in the gubernatorial race. The Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker, who has survived three elections in the past four years and Rick Scott from Texas were re-elected as well. State legislatures have been strengthened with more republicans and weakened with less democrats than has been the case for the past 90 years. The American voters have spoken with a loud voice, and the politicians, both democrat and republican, would be best served to take heed to that indelible, resonated message!

The new-found power of the American voter should now be channeled through the republican majority with an immediate resolve to move quickly to neutralize the components of governmental mistrust and clean house by restoring transparency, trust, and truth from those who formulate the laws of the land. They need to resolve to live by the laws they pass for everyone else to obey. They need to become serious about their jobs and remember if they don't they will live through another election day, as one famous American said in, "Déjà vu all over again."

The new Congress should recognize they have competed with the President over the past six years in a race toward the bottom of approval ratings. In many cases the Congress has had a lower approval rating from the American people than has the President. So, even though the Congress has been given to the republicans by the American voters, they now have a remarkable responsibility to live up to and honor that trust they have now received.

The new Congress should not compromise with socialistic policies and ideas that have been highlighted by the President and those democrats who have lost their seats during this election. That includes rolling back some of the regulations and policies that punish job producers with a so-called "fair share" of taxes that amount to nothing more than a plan of redistribution of wealth. It also means initiating a process of downsizing the strength of the government in regard to intervention into American lives. That includes powerful departments like the National Security Administration (NSA) and their collection of "meta data" about the individual American citizen. It includes the Homeland Security in regard to sealing up the Southern border of America from the constant flow of illegal immigrants. It includes the Congress insisting the Department of Justice enforce the current illegal immigrant laws already on the books to actually deport those who have entered illegally and committed crimes while illegally in the United States.

The new Congress should close up the investigations regarding Benghazi. The investigation committee chaired by Representative Trey Gowdy should be supported unilaterally to complete the investigation with the Administration providing the appropriate documents and information to bring the facts to the case. If those who were involved are discovered to have engaged in breaking the law or covering up the illegal activities, the Congress should support those findings completely with the appropriate charges, indictments, trials and support of sentencing in cases of guilt.

In much the same way the new Congress should once and for all clear up the investigations of fast and furious. If the results of the investigation is discovered to involve any illegal activities from the Attorney General, who is currently under the protection of the President's Executive Order invoking Executive Privilege for the Attorney General's lying to Congress, the Congress should put its full power and influence behind an indictment of the Attorney General and any or all who were involved.

The new Congress should stop the President in his tracks with his attempts at executively legislating laws outside of Congressional involvement. All attempts at circumventing the Constitutional limitation of the Executive Branch by overextending the power of the Office of President of the United States to establish laws outside of the Congressional purview should be immediately blocked by Congressional action.

Finally, the new Congress should immediately free up the more than three hundred bills log jammed by Harry Reid in the Senate. They should be released for bi-partisan debate on the floor of the Senate for an up or down vote. Those bills that receive the support after the debate has run its course should be sent to the President for his veto or his signature. That process provides the much-needed transparency in this Administration. The American people need to see the legislation passed in the House of Representatives, sent to the Senate, debated, and passed on to the President. They need to see where the President stands on the People's legislation!

[By JIM KILLEBREW]