Dear Congress:
After watching the absurd kabuki theater going on in Washington, where Harry Reid spends half his time crowing, “we’ve got the votes!” and the other half bullying people to get the votes, and Nancy Pelosi walks around like a smiling set of brass knuckles, offering anything, hourly, to anyone who will help her pass their healthcare plan “by Christmas,” I have a message for all of you in both houses of the US Congress:
GO HOME. Drop what you are doing, right now, and go home. Put the 2000 page healthcare bill that you haven’t read into the trash can as you turn out the lights and head for the airport.
When you come back in 2010, you can start again, from scratch, and you can try to put together a sensible healthcare bill that comes in under 250 pages. But when you come back from your vacation, you must be cognizant of the fact that your past methods have failed, so consider the following:
1) Declare “no more closed doors” and try some of that “transparency” you like to squawk about. Allow Moderate Democrats and the GOP to actually have a hand in crafting the bill. That requires some growing up, I know; it requires Mrs. Pelosi to actually act like a stateswoman instead of Olivia Soprano, but that’s what she is paid to be; one assumes she would not want Olivia’s legacy.
2) Gather a contingent of Americans from each state, comprised of a few doctors, a few lawyers, a few nurses, a few patients and a few average, politically-unconnected people, and listen to them. Listen to what they think we need, what they think is wasteful, what they think is best left to their discretion. They won’t have all the answers; this is not magic. But the American people are by-and-large pragmatic and they can be very sensible on serious issues. Regardless of how much you believe it to be so, Americans are not idiots meant to be ruled.
In case you have forgotten, you were elected to serve them, not to dictate.
3) Take a look at the forbidden issue of tort reform. Yes, the lawyers give you a lot of money to ignore it, just as the teachers unions give you a lot of money to look away from their failings and abuses while shoveling more taxpayer funds into their bottomless hole, but take a look at tort reform anyway. It needn’t be drastic; no one is saying we must put a limited value on human life and human suffering; we should not do that, not in the courtrooms, and not in the hospitals, either.
But perhaps there should be inserted into the process some local oversights -panels that examine suits, to see whether a case actually has some merit to its charge of malpractice or ineptitude. They might, for instance, tell someone who was stupid enough to put a hot cup of coffee in her lap while she’s driving that her vapidity did not entitle her to two million dollars. They might tell the guy who decided to paint a wall too soon after surgery that his doctor is not at fault for the consequences of his own decision, and the case would simply not happen.
Just the existence of such a panel could act as a serious deterrent to the frivolous lawsuits that have tied up our courts and contributed to such litigation-phobia that children can no long climb on monkey bars and ride teeter-totters and corporations are afraid to sponsor student-events.
And, Dear Congress, after you have actually bothered to listen to each other (a rare thing) and then listened to Americans (an almost-unknown thing), perhaps you can admit how unworkable all of your recent “solutions” have been. Pay attention to the fact that you could not handle paperwork for 700,000 home owners, and consider that maybe if you couldn’t do that, you are not ready to handle the health concerns of 350 million.
I know, it might be a humbling thing for you to realize that you have fallen down on so many jobs, regardless of whether they were created or saved. But maybe a little humbling is what you need, in order to actually, you know…govern effectively.
Go home, and work in a soup kitchen, or watch a church teach people how to write job resumes in hopes that you will step off the necks of businesses to allow job-creation. Go out and stand before the doors of a local grocery store for a little while, or a local K-mart, or even the local mall, and just watch America walk by you. Don’t say a word. Don’t greet anyone. Don’t extend your hand and ask for anyone’s support. Just shut up -pretend you’re invisible- stop being a politician and watch people as they go by, and listen to what they are saying. You’ll find that you’re not the center of the universe, anymore, and that people are scrappy, and trying to hang on to their lives and their ways with a bit of pride, even if they don’t always seem dignified. You might hear what they really think of your universe, too, as they remark to each other, in disgust, about how you and your fellow “representatives” have long-ceased to represent them.
Go home, and read Shakespeare, and consider what “sound and fury, signifying nothing” really means. Read Chesterton; “It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged,” and wonder if there might be a rope ready for you, someday. Read Virgil, “I sing of arms and the man,” and consider what presidents and parliamentarians are supposed to be doing for their nation and the world. Listen to Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey; “In this world, you must be oh-so smart, or oh-so pleasant. Well, for years, I was smart. I recommend pleasant.”
Go home and read George Washington;
“Government is not reason, it is not eloquent – it is a force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.”
Consider, then, how irresponsibly you have been attempting to craft legislation by means of bullying, and braying, and scheming and swaying, while not listening to the people you are meant to serve; not listening at all.
Go home, Congress, and -even if you are not especially religious- find a bible and read about a government that forces people to travel to them, that the people may be counted and then held accountable. Read about a scheming king who seeks to abuse the good will of others for intelligence meant to destroy, not build up. Read about the slaughter of innocents and the land full of grief that results from the rank ambition of those who govern. And consider who you might be in any part of that story. Read about the powerful insiders and the lowly outsiders, and choose which side you wish to join.
Go home, Congress, and give America a break from your freakish certainties, your falsities, frailties and your folly. Turn off your blackberries and stay off the television and try to find whatever scraps of humanity still remain buried beneath the crust of stinking, corrupt ambition you’ve allowed to grow on you.
Perhaps when you come back, you can be humans again, and sane, and willing to actually serve your nation, instead of yourselves.
If not, you will be served eviction notices, soon enough.
“Remaking America,” indeed.
UPDATE: James Taranto writes: America Says: DO NOTHING
Malkin: Time to Kill the Bill. Yes. They need to throw this stinker out.
Yes, by all means, Congresspeople. Harry Reid’s taking some time off, and so should you. In fact, take as much time off as you like. Think of it as a sabbatical.
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, Anchoress, stick around! We need you!
“Nancy Pelosi walks around like a smiling set of brass knuckles. . . ” I LOVE IT!:)
Good suggestions as to what they should do; one can only wish they’d take you up on them. I wish they’d at least go home, and stop trying to remake America, if only for a little while.
Reminds me of your discourse on ‘servant’s heart’ in the Sarah Palin VP Rollout speech in Ohio.
You’re my hero, Anchoress. I prayed for your “inner Eeyore” yesterday. God bless you.
How good are the chances of you taking over the job of leader of the house to get those dip sticks in line?
Now if they would only do as you asked.
Thank you for this, wise Anchoress. For weeks I’ve been stifling a primal scream. Endless are the e-mails and robocalls urging us to phone our representatives because of this tweak or that….i feel like my head’s gonna explode. Just go home. That’s it. Brilliant.
Exceptional work Anchoress. Ben Nelson, my Senator, just received a copy of this.
Excellent idea YogusBearus. I’m sending a copy to Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.
the only change i would make here is: yes, go home but dont come back until Jan 2001. DONT come back in jan 2010. DONT do anything in 2010. stay home all year. leave my 8 year-old son with CP alone and my 43 year-old cancer-survivor wife alone. dont raise my electric bill with cap ‘n trade. dont give amnesty to illgals. dont raise the debt ceiling another bazillion dollars. UNTIL, there is a NEW congress. that has a figgin clue. cause there WILL be a new speaker. and a new congress. bottom line: STAY the hell at home. go away and leave my family alone.
One of the finest pieces I have read in years, including all of your previous blogs. This is how a moral compass and political zeal is combined for the benefit of the country and the glory of God. I will forward this to my email list and may frame it for Christmas gifts. I have such a girl crush on you!
Wow….Excellent!
The Lord has inspired you with this.
I wish you a Blessed Christmas and 2010!
Amen sister!
Liberals should beware the lazy cry of betrayal
I have noticed a lot of the people who got Obama elected complaining- but what did they really expect? They voted for a politician, not the messiah, & if he isn’t doing what he wants they should organise & lobby for their interests rather than moan about how they’re taking all their toys home & not playing any more. You find some quite immature & unrealistic left-wingers, I’ll have to admit that.
[When Bush ran for president (and as Gov. of Texas) he was very clear that he was in favor of some sort of grandfathering in of illegal immigrants. Neverthless when he tried to get something started on immigration, the right cried "betrayal." This is what happens when you don't listen to what your candidate is saying, and you've projected all of your own thoughts on to them. -admin]
That is one of the best things I’ve read in a LONG time. Is there any chance anyone in Congress might read it??? I plan to print it out and send it to my “non-representatives.”
Thank you for saying it so well!!!!
AMEN!!!
One of your best columns; let’s also ask each member of Congress to pray this Christmas season long and hard for the protection of those innocents needing the most protection.
God Bless!!!!
Valleys, I respectfully beg to differ;
I believe a messiah, is exactly what many on the Left were voting for: not a president, a leader, a politician; a messiah. If they’d really taken a long, hard look at him, they might not have supported him so fervently. But, of course, a lot of them weren’t looking at him as a politician, but a savior.
Yes, I am led to believe both Bush & McCain are & were pro-immigration. Excessively so in my view. But when you go & support the lesser of two evils, if you find some of their views objectionable, it obliges you to work to promote your views.
Of course not every member of Congress will wake up in the morning & think “Yes, I’ll do what _____ wants, despite having been given no good reason to”. They need organised movements to cajole & threaten them.
You & I would presumably agitate for different things. But agitate you must if you don’t want inertia to get the victory. Are unhappy/outraged Democrats going to stay at home in 2010 while Republicans turn out in droves? I have got my eye on America for this one.
Powerful stuff, Anchoress. You are marvelous.
I have to take issue with tort reform and the case that has erroneously become a paradigm for frivolous lawsuits – the McDonalds hot coffee case you refer to. Her burns were very, very serious, and even her vagina was scalded! We’re talking painful and debilating skin grafts – life changing stuff. She first sought a medical coverage settlement only from McDonalds – fair enough – and was viciously and smugly denied. So the case went to trial, and the jury’s verdict awarded her a large sum of money. Fiscal penalties are the only things that keep many businesses – including insurance companies – honest, and I am grateful for the civil justice system that puts checks on some of the greedy excesses and negligence of many large corps. I’m not hostile to big business, but I think “tort reform” has become a thoughtless way for us Republicans to wag our fingers at something we don’t really take the time to understand.
The “standard of care” – the litmus test for medical malpractice claims – has been created by doctors themselves. Violations of the standard of care merit retribution. We absolutely must have faith in the competence of our physicians and surgeons; proper litigation prevents and punishes recklessness with human life and its wellbeing and quality. Let’s not jump all over attorneys on this. In many cases their unsavory reputation is warranted; as a profession, it is not, and many, many good lawyers endure reproach they have not earned.
[Which is why I say tort reform has to be balanced and moderate. I've never said there should be no suits brought, only that there should be some basic gatekeeping about what is and is not brought to court. I used the McDonald's story to illustrate that sometimes people do stupid things or accidents happen. In that case, McD's (to my way of thinking) was more liable for the bad policy of not mixing the coffee before delivering it, than anything else. In that case, the woman had severe burns, it's true. If I recall (and I admit, I'm dim on the details at this late date) the woman did have insurance to cover her medical treatment and that is why McD's refused to pay for her medical bills which went beyond her coverage. Clearly, in terms of PR, McD could have done itself a favor by paying the bills. But I remain troubled by situations like my nieces having no idea what it's like to be on a see saw, because parks are too lawsuit-afraid to use them. No sandboxes, because someone might get sand in the eye, and there will be a lawsuit. No monkey bars because someone might fall off and get hurt. There has to be a point where we say, "there is some expectation of risk, here." Gosh, when I grew up, we had a wooden see-saw in the park. Splinters and people jumping off to bounce others. Today that would give a municipality real nightmares!
-admin]
Amen! Amen! Amen! They definitely need to go home and stay there. But, unfortunately, they’ll be back to do more damage to our American way of life. We need to pray for one another.
Wonderful post! As for the McD woman, wasn’t she buying HOT coffee? Did she think it was a lie? Even my child and dogs won’t touch anything too hot for them. Her burns were her own fault. I am so sick of people trying to blame other people for their stupidity. I’m sorry she was burned, but please. God gave you a brain for a reason.
These “representatives” that we have elected have decided to go rogue. People must call them back and vote them out. Let them see the real world on their own dime.
Or, in the words of Oliver Cromwell:
“You have been sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”
Inspired, Anchoress!
And yes, waltj
good quote.
Regarding the subject of tort reform, there’s a legal concept known as contributory negligence that states “…[an] act or omission of a plaintiff is a contributing cause of injury and a bar to recovery.” Attempting to balance a cup of hot coffee in one’s lap while driving could be considered in this light, as could performing manual labor shortly after major surgery, or breaking one’s leg during the commission of a burglary. Although the particulars of each case still would have to be examined on their own merits, mandatory consideration of the plaintiff’s own conduct is something that should not be ignored.
I basic problem is, we are stupid, we elected them,probably more for their personality, rather than credentials, how many of us actually do background checks, before we put a mark by a name.We are to busy with me to get envolved, and so we wonder what went wrong. DA!!!!!!!!!!
Great Post. Go Home, Please Go Home. When you come back, make sure you have read the Constitution. If you want different powers, how about trying to pass an amendment to the constitution. Get the States involved when you are trying to remake America because as far as I can see, they do not have the power to do most of what they do without states 3/4th approval. That is what keeps us from having royalty in congress that seem to think they know everything.
Congress does not listen to the individual. It begs only to corporate or lobbying interests.
Congress is dead locked. The Democrats run around with their heads cut off while the Republican’s only objective at this point is to see Obama fail. History repeats itself. Will we ever learn?
Bravo, Anchoress! I hope you faxed it to our two senators from NY and your congress person. You have given me a new message to tell them next week….GO HOME and stay there until you get some sense!
Anchoress, Wow. Just wow. Thank you.
Incredible post. Sad that those who need it most, will avoid what you suggest like the plague. They don’t want to listen, much less serve. They want to rule.
Yes, Go Home, Congress. Give that great cloud of methane gas hovering over D.C. a chance to dissipate. That should totally take care of the climate change “crisis”.
A Christmas without congress would be lovely!
(In fact, a whole year without them would be fine, too!)
If , in addition to going home, it seems to me the national debt could be greatly relieved if they would also commit seppuku on National Pay-per-view. I suggest a Bonfire of Hockey Sticks.
You keep me sane by reminding me of who is really in charge.
I will be forwarding this to my Senators and my Congressman.
May I have your permission to copy and paste this article?
Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with healthcare. This is a government takeover of our lives through the healthcare system. If that bill is ever signed into law, we then go from citizen to slave.
A magnificent posting! Would that it could be splashed across page one of newspapers nationwide. Either that or inserted as a preamble to the 2000-page bill legislators refuse to read.
Bravo, ma’am.
Seems Obama has got it all planned to take America down. His healthcare bill and all his policies are a proof to his intentions. Indeed, we do need to send them home
Anchoress-
You are much kinder to our elected fatheads than I could ever hope to be.
*I* think it’s time to bring the Roman practice of “decimation” to our Congress. (Sigh, I know, too extreme.) OK, then, I’ll settle for “Let’s give Obama and Biden and all our Senators and Representatives a million bucks each with the REQUIREMENT that they stay out of the country and engage in NO political activity for at least 12 full months”.
Really, if they would all just sit down, shut up, and DO NOTHING for a year, the country might be able to recover. [Reminds me of an old commercial (don't even remember what was being sold) "You touched it -- you BROKE it".]
Composed with such flawless logic and limpid prose, this appeal makes utter sense. This whole project, with all its attendant bullying and impossible sums, day by day seems more likely to [as the Brits say] end in tears. Thank you!
Kind of tired of seeing it said that the Republicans are doing nothing but obstruction. Folks, they have 40 votes in the senate and some of those are from senators in states that are majority leftist voters. They have few votes in the house as shown when they can lose as many as 39 democrats and still carry anything with a majority. If the democrats were at all interested in anything the Republicans have to say which they aren’t, they might plan a part. They had over 1000 amendments to the healthcare bill voted down about 99% of the time by democrat majorites. Now if they were democrats in these low numbers, they would still have a willing press as we saw during Reagan when they were waiting for every thought from them to bash Reagan and Later Bush. The people have to go out in large numbers and elect Republicans in every way possible if they want change. If you are pro life, you have to starve the culture of death party of votes for every position they are running for even if the democrat is pro life. Only by fully starving the party of every vote possible can the party of abortion be brought to either change or die.
“You have been sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”
In Cromwell’s case, that was usually accompanied with an axe and a chopping block.
Maybe these Congresscritters need to see a guillotine right at the National Mall… only as a, ahem, friendly warning.
Elizabeth, for the record, the woman burned with coffee didn’t put it in a cupholder (she was the proverbial granny driving a sportscar). She put it between her LEGS and it spilled and burned her.
I recall this because my father scolded me for once attempting to drive with a bottle of Coke between my thighs.
BRILLIANT !!! You took the words right out of my mouth…………….
I am going to fax it to EVERY SINGLE SENATOR and to the Trifecta………..
God Bless You for your forceful and clear messages !!
Excellent post. Too bad it has so much common sense the swelled ego’s in D.C. won’t listen. They’re too much like (and on the same mental level of) pre-school children who giggle when their friend falls down.