Supposedly the following was written by Charlie Reese, a former columnist for the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper:

"545 People"
by Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget....the
President does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional
authority to vote on appropriations....the House of
Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy,
the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred Senators, 435 Congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court Justices....
545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly,
legally, morally, and individually responsible for the
domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.

In 1913, Congress delegated its' Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a Senator, a Congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing.

I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not
their fault.

They cooperate in this common con regardless
of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human
being is an excessive amount of gall.

No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.

The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of
Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House?

She is the leader of the majority party.

She and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want.

If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over
his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand
convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and
irresponsibility.

I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people
exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it
unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they
want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ .

If they do not receive Social Security, but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take
this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like
'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses, provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

...........................

I'm tending to agree with it.

This post has been edited by JohnWho: Oct 12 2008, 01:00 PM

"We should vote them all out of office and clean up their mess"

100% agree, condone, support and hurrah for - the problem is of course doing it. How can we?? It's easy to say "let's vote them out" pork barrelling, financial pressures, subtle threats and not-so-subtle sticks and carrots all determine how most people will vote, not the commonsensical observations above.

JohnW, along with many of our more thoughtful venters, you are usually "spot on" with many of your observations and quotes - this is a good example - sadly, one that probably won't reach to the masses of voters who could make the difference!

Thanks for the kind words, Quietmike.

Unfortunately, there is a bit of irony in the fact that, while you agree with what Charlie Reese wrote, you are not in a position to help vote.

Although, it is possible that in Australia, you have a similar problem?

Absolutely!! Different governmental structure, but most pollies are tarred with the same brush IMO.

On day, Horace Walpole entered the Houses of Parliament and, looking around at all the Members sitting on the benches, remarked to his friend, "Every man here has his price."

How true,'Z' I believe anyone can be bought, if the price is right.

Hey, that'll work -

let's sell off the ones in office now,

and replace them all!

Trouble is the replacements become as bad as the replaced, then become potential replaceables and there's a cost to pay, one way or another, in between!

Re: Animal Farm etc..........

This post has been edited by The Colonel: Oct 14 2008, 03:15 PM

Politics has never been my cup of tea,but just to add something to this,does it really matter who is in power as every political party tell lies to get elected and history proves they never completely deliver what they promise.

Reminds me of an old joke that I once heard.

A man walks up to a woman and asks her if she would sleep with him for $1 million. She says yes. Then he asks her if she would sleep with him for $1 . She gets huffy and says "of course not, what do you think I am?" The man replies.... "We have already established what you are....We're just bickering on the price."

Yes, but the price may not always be money or material gain.

Okay, someone here please explain the term pork barrel to a new voter?

I'd say this is one of those cases where Wikipedia - "Pork Barrel" might be helpful.


An example might be adding a rider to a Bill that gives a grant to a city in a Senator or Congressman's district to buy a choice parcel of land. It would normally not be something that would garner Federal spending. However, to get that Senator or Congressman to vote for the larger bill, this item is added to the larger, more sweeping Federal Bill.



It really gives pork, the other white meat, a bad name, don't you think?

In the debates, McCain used that term often about Obama. I had no clue!
Just call me "clueless in Seattle"-lol!