The Soapbox

Recognizing the Truth, part 3
By Joe Shehan

Lie #3: 110th Congress Has Done More Under Democratic Leadership Than Any Congress!

Promising the world is one way to win an election, and the Democrats were the kings and queens of making promises for the 2006 elections. It came as no surprise to anyone who was active in the Republican Party before the 2006 election, that the GOP was going to take a hit, and boy did we take a hit! So, on January 4, 2007 the Democratic majority had the opportunity to deliver on its promises. Did they? Lets see.

Promise #1: We will have five day work weeks, and do more work than any other Congress!

The Democrats could not even wait one week to break this promise. Within the first week Congress was recessed for the BCS championship game. Then shortly after that all but a few weeks have actually been five days in length. Much of the time the members arrive around 3 to 5 pm on Monday and work until 6p on Thursday. The only time we seem to have a five day week, is if that weeks falls before a long scheduled holiday.

As far as doing more work, I would call naming post offices hardly the pressing business of this country. Yet, with the majority of votes cast on bills that are hardly important, the Democratic majority can claim the passing more legislation then any Congress in history.

Promise #2: We have 6 initiatives that we will pass within the first 100 hours!

Well if you only count the hours that Congress was in session, then the Democratic Congress was able to do this. However, if you are like the rest of us, 100 hours is 100 hours, not 1,000 which it actually took. But, let’s really look at these bills to see if they “passed”.

Minimum wage – passed and was signed into law by President Bush.
Stem Cells – passed, but was vetoed by President Bush and sustained by Congress.
Ending the war in Iraq – passed twice by the Congress, ad vetoed and sustained twice.
Student Loans – passed and signed into law.
Energy independence – Still waiting for an Energy bill.
Retirement Security – Still waiting on that too.

So as far as the “6 for ‘06” goes, it looks like they 2 for 6, and that is not really accomplishing their goals. Now many in the Democratic camp could tell me that they did their job they passed it in the House. Well, that’s all well and good, but it does nothing for the American people if it is not made into law. Symbolic measures will never put bread on the table, or keep this country safe.

The broken promises from the Democrats are too numerous to count, and to discuss them all in detail would take too long.

It is important as a society, that we look into the promises and accusation made by our elected officials, and as it says in the Bible “sort through the wheat and the chaff”. Benjamin Franklin said that “vigilance is the cost of liberty”, and we all must be vigilant if we are going to ensure this country lasts for generations to come. It is our job as the people of a democratic republic to be informed, and active in the process. We need to be able to sort through all the rhetoric and gleam the truth. The truth is usually found in the actions of the individual making the claim, or in intellectual, academic research. It’s not going to be easy, but we can all make a difference if we start recognizing the truth.