So My Congressman Responds...

Originally posted by Lurkerzrule

Rockpuck, I fully share your disgust at the sheer abandonment of republican principals these people have shown. It makes me wonder if the Republican party, like our banking institutions, is insolvent. And as a registered and donor to the GOP, this is the 4th year I haven't made a donation. It started at Bush's 2nd term, for me at least. Lately, I have donated time and money to individuals that willingness to adhere to the constitution, regardless of party lines. Unfortunately, as we say here, its "slim pickin's" in regards to candidates that support the constitution.

Its a sad day when the only choice American's have is the "lesser of 2 evils".

Many people have for some unknown reason decided that the difference between a Democrat and a Republican is simply social issues.

Gay marriage.
abortion.
Religion/state separation ...

But like I said in my letter to my Congressman .. these issues are null-void because the issues are never even debated! .. So why the hell would you elect someone based on social issues?

These are called Social Conservatives. The Republican party is not the Social Conservative Party. It WAS the party for small governmnet, protecting the constitution, small budgets, and keeping the Government out of our lives!

It disgust me to see people call them selves Conservative because they hate gays, blacks, Jews, abortion, Islam and love guns. Then turn around and support social programs, more taxes, more hand outs, more government spending, more international interfering..

But that's what a Neocon is.. Neo-Conservative (New Conservative movement) ..Essentially Social Conservative Socialist.

This is also called Fascism.

44soulslayer

"Your actions have left countless young voters disillusioned in democracy. May God forgive you for this sin, because I sure as hell can't."

Isn't that the truth.. I for one fully support Democracy being replaced. It will happen anyways, might as well decide for ourselves who will be our overlord.

sylph hugger

BRAVO Rockpuck!!!!

But uh-oh... you have probably just landed yourself on the suspected TERRORIST list.

How dare you question???

I thought about that after sending it in.. I had to submit my address, cell phone number and full name just to E-mail my congressman. If the ghouls in black want to come find me, they know where I am, and I have no problem with that. I prefer they call ahead since they demand my cell phone number.

Nirgal

The best reply in the world ever. Fact!

Rockpuck, this is the sort of eloquence the British have forgotten.

I'll even overlook the spelling errors.

All the Western World has been void of charismatic leaders who rise from the depths of society to lead their countries as real men. We choose puppets and figure heads because we feel we must.. a vote for anyone else, I have seen countless times, is considered a "throw away vote".

If EVERYONE voted for an individual and not a party, it sure as hell wouldn't be throwing votes away!

(and I can't spell, or use proper grammar. I have no idea why. lol...

tyranny22

I completely agree... I know my I won't vote for either party come Election for President, I am writing in Ron Paul or voting Constitutionalists (have not decided) but for anything else.. it's opposite party. Dems will be Reps, Reps will be Dems.

Party means nothing to me.

Particularly since I see them as much the same.

lightchild

Porn star? lol .. Well, he is a Congressional Whore, if that counts for anything?

truthquest

I am more concerned with getting incumbents out of office, to prove a point. In the 2004 election it was one of the largest Incumbent defeats in history.. where more new members where sworn in and old members left.

I hope to see the same thing happen again, to ANYONE who voted Yes in the final vote.

Dems, Reps and independents overwhelmingly voiced NO .. it was the single LARGEST OUT CRY IN AMERICAN HISTORY since the Revolutionary War!!! Literally millions upon millions of letters sent to congresspeople, overwhelmingly NO votes..

They ignored us. My thoughts on THAT subject here:

October 3rd 2008: When America Failed

Excellent reply RockPuck. I wish I had written my representatives as well .

All I know is that in any election from here on out I will NOT be voting for either a Republican or a Democrat. They have shown the American people that they have no respect for us or for their jobs as vehicles of our will.

reply to post by Marius Blackwood


I hope that we will see an even larger % of people turn out to vote, and I hope that we get the largest % of third party voters, be it Green, Socialist, Constitutionalists, Libertarian or what have you..

Our "leaders" no longer serve the wills of the people, for party loyalty must be satisfied, followed by financial supporters, followed by personal opinion, then perhaps maybe the good of the people.

I wrote Rep. Earl Blumenauer here in Portland Or, and he voted no twice. So I guess he earned my vote.

Dear Mr. Blank,

Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. During the past two weeks, I have received comments from thousands of constituents deeply concerned about the 'fiscal fitness' of our country. Like you, I opposed this legislation, voting against it at every opportunity. My opposition was grounded on a simple concept: that Congress should work to protect American homeowners, not to save Wall Street from a crisis of their own making. As Congress deliberated on the legislation, I worked to include improved bankruptcy protections for homeowners and to include a small fee on financial transactions, so that Wall Street could help finance the bailout. Because the final version of the legislation failed to include these common sense proposals, I voted against the bill.

This was difficult because the final bill included several important provisions that I've championed for many years. The bill reauthorizes the Secure Rural Schools and Roads funding which is critical for rural communities in Oregon and it prevents the Alternative Minimum Tax from hurting millions of hard-working middle class families. It extends the production tax credit for wind energy and the investment tax credit for solar energy. It includes legislation I drafted to provide a tax credit for the purchase of small wind turbines. These programs will create jobs in Oregon. The legislation also provides tax fairness so employers can offer the same transportation fringe benefits for bicyclists that they offer to employees who commute by car and public transit.

Even with these additions, I could not support the final bill. While I'm frustrated that this legislation did not deal with the underlying cause - housing values in free-fall and homeowners in distress, I hope that it is successful. As a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, I will work very hard to oversee the implementation of this legislation. I will closely scrutinize the Treasury Department and will work to contain the consequences of billions of dollars of added debt which our children and grandchildren can ill afford.

As a country, we will be dealing with these issues for months to come. Again, I appreciate your advice and counsel. I look forward to working with you to improve America's fiscal fitness to strengthen our financial systems and economic security.

Sincerely,
Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress

"Staffers of former US President George H. W. Bush used to refer to Portland as "Little Beirut" because of the protesters he encountered during his visits."

Always loved that.

reply to post by TylerKing


Even though the bill was packed full of items he has campaigned for he still voted no! Holy crap a god honest congressman! They exists!

Kinda cool seeing as I am moving to Portland very soon (waiting for job transfer)

Wow! OP. What a long response you received from your congressman. I am impressed. I once wrote my congressman about why we cannot have a certain type of kidney dialysis at my local VA. In response I received a statement that said, "The Lexinton VA cannot provide you with this type of dialysis support because they don't do that type of dialysis." Freakin' morons.

Originally posted by jefwane
A thoroughly spineless and partisan response fron your CONgress Critter Rockpuck. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Too bad it was the Democrat controlled Houses which allowed for this debacle to take place. Partisan indeed, for it is the truth.

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by TylerKing

 

Even though the bill was packed full of items he has campaigned for he still voted no! Holy crap a god honest congressman! They exists!

Kinda cool seeing as I am moving to Portland very soon (waiting for job transfer)

Yeah, I love this town. Blumenauer is a Democrat who said no twice and he also voted against the patriot act so he seems like a good guy, we need more of them.

This is a cool thread, maybe we can keep a collection going of all their tacky form letter responses. Would be so refreshing to actually get an honest answer..I'm waiting for the "your right, I screwed up" lol

So here is mine that I fianally got from Hillary Clinton:

Dear XX.XXXX

Thank you for your views on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. I appreciate your concern and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

The market turmoil over the past month has exacted a heavy toll on Wall Street and unfortunately, now the crisis has spread to Main Street. What began as a wave of mortgage defaults and foreclosures limited to risky subprime mortgages quickly unraveled into a national housing crisis, driven deeper by complex securities designed to hide unacceptable risks and irresponsible investments. We soon learned that the losses from those mortgages created a ripple effect engulfing not only the irresponsible mortgage lenders and the banks that wrote their loans, but also our largest financial institutions and nearly every segment of our financial sector.

The normal credit markets ceased to function with banks unwilling to lend to each other and soon, ordinary businesses and consumers were unable to secure the lines of credit they need and rely upon to survive. The lack of standard market functioning and the cascading collapse of financial institutions have had a devastating impact on all Americans. Our economy lost 159,000 jobs this past month alone, and we are on the cusp of a recession that threatens the entire nation with manufacturing, auto sales, retail sales, and economic growth all on the decline. America is currently undergoing a severe threat to our nation's economic security. Businesses are finding it hard to receive credit, limiting transactions and preventing salary disbursal. Pension plans and other retirement accounts have lost a great deal of value due to falling investor confidence and market manipulation. Several of our nation's largest banking institutions have failed or were forced to reorganize to survive. Hardworking Americans are unable to keep up with their mortgage payments and face the threat of losing their homes.

Swift action was needed, but it was clear the Treasury Department's original plan was a blank check to the banks that enabled this crisis. I worked with my colleagues and I am pleased that Congress mandated additional oversight controls and installed accountability measures so that the Treasury Department's rescue program is run effectively and responsibly. The bipartisan legislation allows for a variety of options to address the crisis, including expanding the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) guarantee on bank deposits, an option for capital injections to healthy but vulnerable banks that serve our communities, and many important tax breaks for struggling homeowners. The legislation also includes tax provisions I supported which enhance energy research and development, to end our dependence on foreign oil, and adjustments to help middle class families with home heating bills and protect them from the alternative minimum tax (AMT). As a result, the Federal Reserve has begun paying interest on commercial banks' reserves and will extend billions of dollars in its loan program to impacted banks.

As the Senator from New York, I have seen thousands of my constituents lose their jobs. I believe that enacting these measures was a difficult but necessary decision to prevent tens of thousands more from losing their livelihoods. But it is also clear that we must do more to get the middle class back on track, create more jobs, and regain economic stability. I have proposed several initiatives to bolster the economy and help families navigate these difficult times. I believe establishing a Home Owners Mortgage Enterprise (HOME), allowing home owners and mortgage companies to renegotiate the terms of home mortgages, will help families keep their homes through affordable payments. A similar program helped prevent widespread home loss during the Great Depression, and we must take action now to keep families in their homes and prevent the housing crisis from deepening this economic downturn.

We must also develop a broad strategy to stem job losses and support small business owners as the market adjusts in the coming months. I recently called on the Department of Labor to approve a grant allowing New York State to study the impact of the ongoing economic crisis on working families. These steps will be an important beginning to our nation's difficult recovery process, and I pledge to continue representing the workers and families of New York and America. Moreover, I have called on the President and Treasury Secretary to create a $250 billion "Emergency Stabilization Fund" to make emergency loans and establish temporary lines of credit for small businesses, to allow schools and universities to have short term access to funding to reduce the pressure on tuition, to increase direct loans to students as private lending has dried up, and to help stabilize our state and local governments, enabling them to provide essential services while reducing the pressure to increase property taxes. Finally we must pursue long term market reforms to curb the excessive risk, rampant speculation and irresponsible lending and borrowing that began this crisis.

Again, thank you for your letter regarding our economic challenges ahead. I hope you will share your thoughts and concerns with me as we continue to address this important issue before the United States Senate. For regular updates, please check my website at clinton.senate.gov....

awesome. you know i was looking for a second career or maybe a weekend job. i will just drink a few beers, turn on the tv, and start writing rambling response letter. i do this a few times, save my letters, and present them to various members of congress as products of my work. they could hire me then to respond to letters from their constituents. i could ramble on and on until my incoherant response bogles the constituent and they just give up from frustration. well, its just an idea...

reply to post by toepick


So we got a letter form Hillary, and Boehner (Republican leader) and they essentially say the exact same thing.

And it would seem everyone else's congresscritter (thanks jeff) appears to have sent the same BS letter...

ANY ONE ELSE FIND THAT ALONE CONCERNING?

Except for Portland's Congressman that is.

*sigh* .. even with all this fancy technology to keep us in contact with our reps they still ignore us anyways.

What really pisses me off.. is that so far not a single Congressperson had the decency to write their own letter from the heart..

I want to hear from someone that lives in Ron Pauls district!

Originally posted by sad_eyed_lady
I got a response from Senator Claire McCaskill. I won't bore you with the drivel.

I replied the following:" You lost my vote when you voted for the ballout. Keep it in mind next time you go against the will of the people."

Very nice sad eyes and exactly what these so called "public servants" need to hear from the public they are supposed to be serving.

If more of yall were responding to your reps like this then they would be forced to take it seriously rather than simply ignoring you like they are.

Originally posted by Horza

Originally posted by sad_eyed_lady
I got a response from Senator Claire McCaskill. I won't bore you with the drivel.

I replied the following:" You lost my vote when you voted for the ballout. Keep it in mind next time you go against the will of the people."

Very nice sad eyes and exactly what these so called "public servants" need to hear from the public they are supposed to be serving.

If more of yall were responding to your reps like this then they would be forced to take it seriously rather than simply ignoring you like they are.

Initially I figured my rep would cave like so many others did and I was worked up enough to draft a very angry email but I ended up a fan. I'd really like to have a conversation with him, I've always been curious as to what was being discussed behind the scenes, that job has got to be strange. And probably disheartening more often than not.

reply to post by Rockpuck


There is a lingering question regarding the purpose of being represented. Does the Congress, or the Parliament elsewhere, comprise individuals who are supposed to compile the word of public into a comprehensive form and submit the popular word to the president, or are those individuals suppose to decide what would be the best for their crack pipe-sucking constituency?

Either way, I wonder what lies ahead for those folks who voted themselves into being represented by this dude:

He who knows that he doesn't know is simple-minded. Educate him.
He who knows that he doesn't know is simple-minded. Educate him.
He...
He...

He who doesn't know and knows that he doesn't know sleeps. Wake him up.

SOURCE:



Hey parliament member! Dude, you can't snore around here like that.

RockPuck this is why we are boys and when I get up in your direction Im giving you a holler and we are doing lunch. On me of course Great response I too got my responses from my government shills here in Florida Ron Klein D House and Mel Martinez R Sen both who voted for it. I faxed over to both of them a copy of the declaration of independence and on the side I wrote "Americans time is coming. Anyone who voted for this should be charged with treason." I then put my cell phone number on there for them to contact me because I DO want to talk to these freaks. Yes Im sure I did put myself on a terror list but soon they will have to have everyone on there.

reply to post by Rockpuck

Rockpuck, are you sure you had the right email address?

What does the US Congress is here for anyway?

>The duties of the US Congress is to make laws.
>The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, >Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
>To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
>To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
>To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
>To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
>To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
>To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
>To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
>To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
>To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
>To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
>To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
>To provide and maintain a Navy;
>To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
>To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
>To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
>To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And
>To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

No mentioning of email correspondence.

It looks like that the above-mentioned duties apply to a legislative body that manages the affairs of an 18th century country.

I would make an update change from

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations.

to

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas and the Wall Street.

in order to move things into the 21st century.