Here is an idea

I happened to see the conversation Greta Van Susteren had with Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) on the Fox news website this morning. Senator Kyl and Greta were lamenting the fact that no one had the chance to read the Stimulus package bill prior to voting on it.

Well ain’t that just a damn shame. Like this is the first time I have heard that complaint from a member of the Senate or the House. It has been brought up before and by members on both sides of the isle, democrat and republican.

My question is, and it is a rather simple one, why haven’t you clowns done anything about it?

You know that the House and Senate setup their own rules on how legislation is expected to be handled. All it takes is a vote by the members of that chamber to amend to rules. Why not go for it? Bring up a change in the rules in the House and the Senate that says no legislation will be voted on without first having three days to allow all members to read the bill. We want bi-partisan politics, well this seems like something each side can get behind. Each committee could enact a similar rule for their respective committees. Problem solved. If you don’t read the bill now it is the fault of the senator or house member.

Yes, this would slow down the legislative process. Well to quote a phrase used by the Blue Collar comedian Ron White, the legislative branch of government is already moving at half the speed of smell. What the hell is more of a slow down going to hurt? Besides, it will take away an excuse for all these legislators because they can’t say they didn’t have time to read the darn thing.

Let us just suppose that members of the House and Senate are not behind a change in the rules like this. What happens then? The answer is simple…DO NOT VOTE FOR THE BILL. There ya go. If the leadership cannot get the proposed legislation to its members in time to allow said members to read it then just don’t vote for it. I don’t mean abstain. I mean vote no. I don’t mean vote present. I mean vote NO.

We send these men and women to Washington to be our elected representatives. How can they in good conscience vote for a bill that they haven’t even read? How can WE THE PEOPLE allow our elected representatives to behave in a manner like this? We send them there to read the bills and cast a vote for us. Now we see again where these elected people are not doing what we expect them to do.

Just once I would like to see a press conference where a Senator or Congressman steps up to the microphone and says, “I didn’t vote for this bill because the leadership did not get it to me to allow sufficient time for me to read it.” Lay the blame square on the shoulders of those in leadership of the House and Senate. I don’t care what party they belong to.

It is high time we started holding our elected representatives accountable for what they do in Washington. But it is also high time we start holding ourselves accountable for allowing this to go on as long as it has.