Several years back, I had the opportunity to work with several of my peers from around America in a coordinated effort to promote the federal agency we worked for and civil service employee status to Congress. It was a great experience and I still value the sights, sounds, and impressions I gained from visiting with our WDC elected officials and their staffs on Capitol Hill. I can still recall eating lunch in the Longworth, Rayburn, Dirksen, and Russell cafeterias…watching the personalities I had only viewed in the media prior to that time as they interacted with each other.
The
brief and whirlwind meetings me and my peers held with Representatives,
Senators, and their staff members were a marvelous insight into the legislative
process that drives our nation’s government.
The constant demand for the time of elected officials was driven home to
me by the tight and demanding schedules we had to maintain. It seemed that everyone was constantly
seeking a piece of their attention. Is it any wonder that at some point,
regardless of their innermost humility and modesty, these folks begin to think
that perhaps their station in life is a bit higher than that of their
constituents? I dare say that any
one of us who was placed in that politically-charged environment for a term or
two would eventually forget where we came from and who we represented. They tend to lose touch with reality.
My
brief and non-professional lobbying efforts helped move me to be a strong supporter
of term limits. I wrote about this some
time back: https://centerlineright.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-place-to-begin.html
. I realize that there is a downside to
losing a good man or woman from public service simply because they have served
up to a term limit. I acknowledge that
there would also be an experience loss for the membership turnover in the House
and Senate. But to me, these costs pale when compared to the benefit
of guaranteeing a new and fresh perspective on tackling the challenges faced by
our Congress. There will always be
good, bad, and indifferent Senators and Representatives. The voters will make that choice. But one choice that could be made is to eliminate
the possibility of a career politician who has atrophied in their empathy for
those they serve.
I
recall how awed I was when walking through the Senate office buildings in
WDC. The supersized scale of the halls,
doors, windows, stairs, and furniture was simply hard to ignore. I have said many times since those days that
the nearest thing we have to royalty in this country is a two-term Senator. I also cling to the opinion that most every
sitting Senator in WDC today believes in their own mind that they should the president. Considering
some that we have elected over the last couple of decades…regrettably, many of
them are correct in that belief.
At
some point in the mid 1990’s, a power shift began transferring effectual power
and authority from the Legislative Branch over to the Executive Branch. This
was a bipartisan, organic occurrence stemming from both ultra-ambitious presidents
and non-motivated, lackadaisical Congressmen and women. Congress began generating legislation that is
poorly written, non-specific, and underdeveloped in that it gives sweeping
authority and discretion to Department Secretaries and other high-ranking
officials.
This
poor authorship leads to partisan political appointees filling in the blanks of loosely-worded federal rules and
regulations that sometimes end up being light years removed from their original
intent. It is simply ill-considered, at
times incoherent, and fails miserably when anticipating real and collateral
effect. Congress has eschewed the hard
work of generating detailed, rational, and substantive legislation…based on facts and research…and instead
focuses the bulk of their energies and resources on maintaining their own
political careers and the standing of their respective parties.
Presented
with this opening, Democrat and Republican presidents alike took the ball and
ran with it. Executive Actions became
the flavor du jour when partisan
concerns made routine and proper legislative functions tedious. Bills were not written with a long view of
constituent benefit; but were instead crafted by deep-pocketed corporations,
vested entities, and their professional lobbyists.
Abraham Lincoln’s line from his
Gettysburg address has long been forgotten… “…government of the people, by the people, for the people”. The simple function of writing and passing 12…TWELVE…ONE PER MONTH…annual appropriation
bills before their effective date of the succeeding fiscal year has apparently become
a bridge too far for our Legislative Branch of government to cross.
The
constitutional formula of beginning the legislative process in the House…where America’s working men and women would ideally
serve two or three terms and then return home to their families and careers…has
become all too rare. Thomas Jefferson
referred to the “hot tea of House
legislation moving over to the Senate for cooling”; that process has become
extinct. Gone are the halcyon days when
House and Senate versions of a particular bill would go to a conference
committee, where thoughtful debate and compromise could lead to actual
law. These days, it is common for
legislation to go the president’s desk without specificity and clear
intent. It has become routine to have
omnibus and “Big Beautiful” bills
that represent a hodgepodge of self-serving gifts that will be bankrolled by
the taxpayers. Just as Nancy Pelosi famously said about the Affordable Care
Act…they had to pass it to find out what
was in it.
Our
Congress is myopic, lazy, and fully enthralled with themselves and their
political futures. They should be
term-limited. They should be subject to
the same rules, regulations, and civil service benefits as are all other
federal employees, and they should be required
to attend an annual, pre-session training on the U.S. Constitution: https://sutherlandinstitute.org/learning-about-america-through-primary-sources-constitution-of-the-united-states/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23075461182&gbraid=0AAAAADfu1j5-8i9uMW62f3kJJ48GkTEJs&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIydXYxYiIlgMVEE7_AR16gSPQEAAYASAAEgJj3vD_BwE
. All of the Senate and House ethics
committee hearing transcripts should be available to the public; with proper
redacting to protect non-elected individuals.
The
voters of America should be held to account for the malfeasance of the elected officials we send to Congress. We deserve the government we elect. America:
We need to do better. But our Constitution clearly sets forth the
duties and responsibilities of that Congress, and their ongoing nonfeasance in adhering to that
blueprint is inexcusable. Congress:
You need to do better. Our Constitution is a masterful document that
not only sets forth a brilliant and noble ideal…it clearly defines its parts,
their functions, and most importantly…the balance of their powers. Congress will legislate; our President will
lead and manage; our Courts will insure fealty to the law. Our nation has strayed from this
premise. If we are to remain the envy of
the world and the bastion of freedom and hope, we must return to these
principles.
- - - - - -
Crime
and Justice…
President Trump does pretty much as
he damn well pleases when executing his official duties. In fact, he oftentimes broadly oversteps his
power and authority when he endeavors to do things “his way”. His railing against various SCOTUS rulings is
a case in point. Although I have trouble
understanding the logic expressed by various Justices (esp Roberts), the simple
fact is that SCOTUS must interpret the law as it is written. Trump would have them twist the laws they
consider in a fashion he finds amenable.
It just doesn’t work that way. If
we want better laws, then the President must work with the Congress to pass
better legislation, which then leads to better laws. Do the work.
https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/on-todays-ruling-on-birthright-citizenship/
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/trump-supreme-court-vote-by-mail/2026/09/15/id/1269481/
THIS is how a Republican President
and a Republican Congress should change the law…
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/09/16/sen-paul-introduces-birthright-citizenship-amendment/
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/22/text
THIS is why the law needs to be
changed…
https://thefederalist.com/2026/09/15/in-corrupt-milwaukee-election-integrity-dies-in-darkness/
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/jeff-van-drew-voters-illegal-aliens/2026/09/16/id/1269643/
Education…Education…Education…
https://jamesgmartin.center/2026/09/general-education-requirements-college-core/
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/15/its-time-to-revoke-the-activist-teachers-unions-federal-charter/
Foreign
Policy…
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/17/iran-the-midterms-and-october-surprises/
Will we ever learn?
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22863/hamas-elections-mistake
THIS is Europe (i.e. the EU)…
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/09/germanys-mess/
Canadian Prime Minister Carney wants
to ditch America for the EU? He is OF Europe,
BY Europe, and FOR Europe…but he runs Canada. Methinks PM Carney is into self harm…
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/15/the-fantasy-house-of-mark-carney/
It is time for Trump to stop
playing patty cake with Putin and use the authority Congress is giving him to
punish Russia for its bad behavior…
https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/russia-sanctions-bill-2/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-votes-russia-sanctions-bill/
The
Economy…
The fundamentals are in place…
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh appears to be
a highly qualified and independent-minded official. It is refreshing that he refrains from
showboating and carrying the Trump Administration’s water. The root
causes of the affordability crisis were created by the Biden Administration,
but it is up to the Trump Administration to deal with it. The only way to deal with it is to BRING DOWN
THE INFLATION RATE.
Trump should be quiet and let the
man he appointed do his job. Inflation is like compound interest…it
continues to build upon itself. Over Biden’s four years, inflation drove up
prices by 21.5 percent. That is a
monthly average of the annual inflation rate at 4.9 percent. The highest monthly annual inflation rate
thus far under Trump is 3.4 percent.
That pales in comparison to Biden, but it is still too high.
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/
THIS is how you bring down
inflation…
Technology…
AI is the future; denying that fact
will not change the reality. America
must lead in this new frontier. Congress
must strike a balance between implementing thoughtful and evolving guardrails
to protect corruptive influences in this new technology, while simultaneously
doing all it can to insure that the U.S. leads the world in this critical
field. This discussion should not be
political; it is not an either/or game.
The single best way to monitor AI is to establish TRANSPARENCY; not to
establish GOVERNMENT CONTROL.
https://americanmind.org/memo/catechizing-the-bots/
https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/tech/ai/openai-new-cases-ai-model-behavior/
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/16/dario-amodeis-brain-trust-of-bad-ideas/
Coming to a street near you…We MUST
have guardrails and transparency; absolute power corrupts absolutely…
The
Approaching Mid-Term Elections…and Beyond…
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/09/republicans-should-run-against-medicare-for-all/
What should we consider when
casting our upcoming votes?
https://centerlineright.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-vision-i-seek.html
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