The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, is the story of a woman forced to wear a scarlet letter as a sign of her public shame. In the story, the letter was an “A” worn on her clothing to proclaim her adultery.
Today we have another letter of shame. You can view it yourself at http://republican.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Blog_Id=d2fd96b0-535d-49ab-9e12-5f204fb330dc&FuseAction=Blogs.View
This one was signed by a group of Senators who have decided to act like schoolyard thugs rather than fulfilling their true responsibilities to their constituents.
I refer to the letter sent to Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, on November 29, 2010. In this letter, the Senators declare that, like good schoolyard bullies, they will do everything they can to screw up the government unless and until they get their way.
The first paragraph starts out well enough. They talk about unemployment and the need to do something about it. Well, that sounds great to me. Our current unemployment level hovers around 10%, and that is understated. Anything the government can do to put people back to work will likely stimulate the economy and might even start moving us out of the devastating recession no one seems to like to talk about.
They say they are acting in the best interests of their constituents. That sounds good too. Isn’t that what Senators are supposed to do: listen to their constituents and act on their behalf?
The second paragraph is where things start to go off the rails. Basically, these Senators state that they will try to screw around with any proposed legislation, doing everything they can to block it, until they get their way. So, any constituents who might want hope to see their unemployment insurance extended, or who might be able to benefit from a job stimulus program are out of luck. I guess their unemployment worries don’t carry much weight with their Senators.
We’re still in the second paragraph when the Senators decide they have had enough to say about unemployment. Do they really care about it?
Get ready, now, here comes another lofty statement… “… we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike.”
Okay, so I need a little help with that one. The current budget of the United States would shame any personal household. Obviously costs are out of control and there are no prospects in sight for more income. So these Senators want to fix our funding by stopping a tax hike? I don’t recall hearing about a tax hike. Actually they want to extend a tax reduction President Bush put into place several years ago. It was of those things that were supposed to stimulate the economy and pay for itself. Remember that? Probably not… because it didn’t work.
Now we get to the third paragraph, where the Senators hint at what they really want. Oh, it’s about making sure that everyone, no matter how much money they make, gets to keep the tax cuts Bush put into place. The letter goes on to tell us the horrible things that will happen if these Senators don’t get their way. Oddly, there is not one word about how those tax reductions helped us avoid our current situation.
Whether the tax cuts should be extended or not is certainly a matter of debate. It should be, and it should be debated within the context of what is best for the majority of American citizens. Then action should be taken. And while that is going on, these Senators should be working to do what is best for all of their constituents, keeping their minds open, looking for solutions that work, and compromising when it will get the job done.
They close the letter by saying, “We look forward to continuing to work with you in a constructive manner to keep the government operating…”
Are these people stupid? They just said they are going to do whatever they can to screw up the government until they get their way on this one specific point, right or wrong… and then they have the nerve to say they’re being constructive!
No, I guess we are the ones who are stupid if we are willing to believe the crap these people are trying to sell us.
Hester Prynne, the woman in The Scarlet Letter, had to wear an “A” on her clothing to proclaim her shame. The Senators who wrote and/or signed this letter should also be forced to wear a letter on their clothes to proclaim shame. I haven’t decided what that letter should be as yet, maybe “I” for inadequate, “T” for Troglodyte, or “L” to show that they are really in bed with their rich lobbyist friends and really don’t care what the majority of their constituents need or want.
