In February of this year, I received a letter from the National Republican Congressional Committee asking for donations, noting the battlefield of the 2006 Elections. I responded with my displeasure, and a prediction, which, sad to say, has come true. I offer the bulk of my response for your perusal...
Dear Mr. Reynolds,
While I appreciate your message, I have more than a few reasons why I will not be donating anything to the NRCC, which you deserve to know.
As stewards of a nation's trust, our Congressional representatives have squandered what we have given them and abused their roles in the pursuit of perpetual power. Gerrymandered districts have made "of the people" a joke, for how can incumbents lose, if they can tailor districts to their liking. Elections still rule the day, but the ability of candidates to accept donations from "groups" and "committees" and "corporations" make "by the people" a farce. Our congressional representatives have forgotten the truth of political office, namely, that they are merely citizens, elected by citizens, to serve citizens. Special interest groups, lobbyists, and political action committees hold greater sway over those who represent the citizens of our nation than those selfsame citizens. Beholden to money, instead of principles, our representatives routinely give the interests of a few greater consideration than those of the citizens they represent.
Commitment to principals of Smaller Government, Lower Taxes, and Greater Responsibility is falling to the wayside, as shown by your backing of Lincoln Chaffee, a virtual Democrat, whose posturing on Justice Alito's confirmation vote, versus his actual vote, prove him to be less "Right" and more hypocritical than some Democrats. But then, you're focused on building a majority, not remaining true to the principals that prompted American citizens to make you a majority.
Smaller government is the lifeblood of a nation, for the larger a government becomes, the more it must take fiscally from its people, in order to function. And yet, Congress approved some of the largest earmarks in the history of legislation, at almost two per district, at a cost not to Congress, but to Americans, of billions of dollars. Congress is led by men who consider it their prerogative, as Majority Whip Roy Blunt has said, to use tax dollars to fund "earmarks" without any kind of legislative check and balance, in an effort to look good to their constituents, and thereby maintain their positions. One man can take hundreds of millions of hard-earned dollars and decide "I want to build a bridge." Temper tantrums abound when an "earmark" is challenged, and those out of whose pockets these dollars are ripped, are tired of it. Illegal aliens have gone from living lives of nervous invisibility to routinely taking advantage of Welfare, Medicare, and Social Security benefits once thought to be reserved for citizens. Such generosity with another's' money is repugnant.
Congress talks of reform, then proposals are made for commissions to hold hearings in committees to discuss issues with experts, and on, and on, and on. Talk is cheap. It's time to act. If Republicans wish to maintain their current status as the majority in Congress, and indeed grow that majority, they need to prove to America their renewed commitment to smaller government, lower taxes, and greater responsibility. I urge you to forge a second Contract with America. Such a contract ought to be drawn up right now, signed by every Republican, then posted online and published so that every American can read it, verify that their respective representatives have signed it, and hold them to it.
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This Republican Congress has forgotten that it owes its continuance to the American people. It has become a bloated bureaucracy prone more to expediency and spending than stewardship and responsibility. As I recently wrote to Congressman Dan Lungren in response to his "Housecleaning" editorial in the Wall Street Journal, we don't need a little house cleaning, we need a good repudiation of current governmental practices on the vast majority of issues. You want to talk reform? Then clean house a little. Put a good face on things with new leadership. "Look, we changed." Want real reform? Then get back to the principles of '94. Give us a smaller, less intrusive government. Give us less taxes, and less programs. Give us a stronger nation.
Clean house as has been suggested, and a nation appalled at the stewardship of it's trust will clean house for you, and the dust swept from the floors of Congress will be full of Republicans.
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