Sunday, October 6, 2013

MR. PRESIDENT, SHUT THIS MUTHA DOWN! © 2013 By Wayne Dan Lewis, Sr.


   
“Due to Congress’s failure to pass legislation to fund the government, the information on this web site may not be up to date. Some submissions may not be processed, and we may not be able to respond to your inquiries.” [1]

An Open Blog to:
President, Barack Obama, United States of America;[2]
The Honorable, Rep. John Boehner (R), The Speaker of the House;[3]
The Honorable, Rep. Eric Cantor, ( R), Congressional Majority Leader[4]
The Honorable, Rep. Nancy Pelosi,(D) Congressional Minority Leader[5]
The Honorable, Rep. Harry Reid, (R) Senate Majority Leader[6]
The Honorable, Rep. Mitch McConnell, (D)Senate Minority Leader[7]
 The Honorable, Rep. Cedric Richmond, 2nd Congressional District[8]
The Honorable, Rep. Mary Landrieu, (D) Senator, Louisiana[9]
The Honorable, Rep. David Vitter, (R) Senator, Louisiana[10]

Introduction
First of all, may this posting find each of you in the very best of health.  Let me commend each of you for your roles in American history that you each have dedicated your lives to service to us, the American people.  For your service, we thank you.

If you will, please note that this post comes amidst a partial shutdown of our American Government.  News reports are that each party points at the other as to whom to blame for this current shutdown.[11]  The supposed reason for this disruption of American government, is that you, Mr. President, and the Democratic leadership are unwilling to negotiate with the Republican leadership regarding the Affordable Care Act[12].  That you, Mr. President, are not willing to negotiate on defunding, suspending, or delaying what we have come to affectionately (?) refer to as, Obamacare.[13] 

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”
― Gerald R. Ford [14]

In short, the Affordable Healthcare Act, as it is legally referred to, is the law of the land.  It has been upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court[15].  Despite the Supreme Court’s confirmation of the Affordable Healthcare Act (AHCA),  the AHCA has been legislated against over 40 times by the Republican Congress, only to be denied passage by the Democrat Senate[16].  And yet, here we are.

Because of our nation’s shutdown, reports are that 800,000 government workers are currently on furlough,[17] with no promise of pay, or promise of returning to work anytime soon.         Various governmental programs, parks and museums are closed or suspended as a result of this shutdown.[18]  The ripple-effect of the decision to shutdown the government has yet to be realized, but it has been at least 5 days, and the toll that this shutdown will have on not only on the government workers who are directly affected, but those who wait in the shadows, waiting for their turn to be furloughed.  The toll of this shutdown may not be measured objectively as it affects their families, and the many businesses that serve them. 

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”
John F. Kennedy[19]

While this seemingly small group of 800,000 government workers are subjected to this partial, and supposed temporary shutdown, those of you who call the shots, who have affected this shutdown, are not victims of your own decisions.  You are in effect, exempt[20] from the ramifications that result in a no bi-weekly paycheck, or monthly paycheck.  You are, as leaders, exempt from the loss of business or business dollars that aren’t coming through your shops, restaurants, dealerships, or other small businesses that depend upon a mere 800,000 men and women of the U.S. Government, to be at work and to live their daily lives.  You are exempt, and therein is the problem with not just the shutdown, but your leadership, collectively.  As our leaders, you appear to live above us, beyond us, and with an apparent disconnect to the very people who we are, American Citizens. 

The Message Has Been Received
 Regardless of the message that maybe intended by you as leaders of our country and your respective districts, the message that has been received most clearly, is that you are above your constituents.  Regardless of your intentions as leaders in the Senate and/or Congress, the message is that of disconnectivity (is that word?) and a lack of concern for those whose lives your decisions will impact.  That message is clear to us as citizens.  That because you are EXEMPT! from any actions that your decisions will result in, that you are less willing to return to the bargaining table. 

“Power always thinks... that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws.” President John Adams [21]

The message is clearly received, but not well received, that the poor, the underserved and those go to work each and everyday, including the 800,000 governmental workers who were on the frontline of this fallout, that nothing is more important than your respective political parties.   Last, but not least, the message is received clearly, and unambiguously, that for all it matters, that those who fall victim to decisions of a government shutdown, are not to be the blame of those who have failed to reasonably managed the direction of this country.  And in essence, the blame lies on those of us who are the victims.  And that’s not a stretch.  Let’s put this perception in a relative context.

A good leader can't get too far ahead of his followers.
                                                Franklin Roosevelt [22]

Victims Are to Blame
The victims in this instance of the 2013 Government Shutdown, are to blame.   The victims are none other than we, who are the voters.  Yes, there is a relatively small contingent of the victims who are furloughed, and who, in some cases, are being called back to work, but may not receive pay until after the shutdown.  And, it is a shutdown that is for now, at no foreseeable end.  But, all of this begs the question, how can this be, that we as citizens, are to blame for what is happening to us?  I contend that it is our fault that there can be this shutdown, and future government shutdowns because we, as voters, have short memories. 

As citizens, we suffer from a form of political alzhimers.  It is quite apparent that we are forgetful by the time elections come around.  And because of the way you as politicians point the blame at one another for the shortcomings of the direction of the company, we become confused.   By the next time an election comes around, we continue to pull the lever, punch the button, or mark an “X” on our ballots for many of you, many of whom are the same men and women who continuously and effortlessly, exempt themselves from the very laws which you, yourselves have no fear of being the beneficiaries, or suffering the consequences.

We are the victims, and will continue to be the victims in circumstances such as that which we face today, where you, Mr. President; where you, Mr. Speaker; where you, Rep. Cantor; where you, Rep. Pelosi; where you, Rep Reid; where you, Rep. McConnell; where you, Rep. Richmond; where you, Rep. Vitter and where you, Rep. Landrieu and all of your colleagues in the House of Representatives believe that exemption[23] is the greatest form of leadership.  For our failure as citizens to call a flag on the play, we will continue to be blind-sided by our representatives who live by the privilege of exemption[24], and therefore, we are to blame for our own failures to act proactively in our own best interest.

What does The Declaration of Independence[25] mean to any of us today?
It is not necessary for us to go through the entire Declaration of Independence to see similarities between the colonies of 1776 and today.  The founding fathers, in preparation for America’s independence, had reached a point where the rule of the King of Great Britain had been so extreme in measures, that they convened together to fight for leadership that did not exact injustice at a whim on its citizens.  The Declaration of Independence spelled out the need for what citizens expected of their leaders: fairness and justice.  If the founding fathers’ declaration of independence could be transposed by today’s actions, it perhaps would read as follows:

©     Inasmuch as the House of Representatives have conspired to subject its citizens to their wrath because of their inability to negotiate for the good of the people;
©     Inasmuch as the House of Representatives continue to work non-stop to pass bills excessively that are unlikely to pass;
©     Inasmuch as the House of Representatives continue to float an agenda inconsistent with their representation of their constituents, causing an increase in the federal deficit, failing to pass a balanced budget, or failing to create needed jobs, and/or carry out their respective mission for the safety, security and peaceful enjoyment of their citizenry,
©     It is hereby declared that the House of Representatives is hereby deemed to be null and void by virtue of the next election of 2014.

Perhaps it is a stretch to suggest that this would be the transposition of the Declaration of Independence for today, but I would personally ask that you not take this lone message for granted.  It should suggest strongly that many of your constituents are gearing up to stand up for the justice that your representation has failed to produce.  You may continue along the lines of exempting yourselves, business associates, colleagues, staffers and the like from the laws that you impose, or ignore the frustration and the lower than usual tolerance of your constituency, but I believe history is about to repeat itself.  And many of you, if not all of you, maybe on the wrong side of this historical event.

What is the takeaway?
The topic of this message is this: Mr. President, Shut this Mutha Down!  No disrespect is intended to the President of the United States, nor to any of you, the men and women of the House of Representatives.  But to say that there is no lack of disrespect to American Citizens is still out for debate.  The fact that the Republican party continued to present a bill for passage for 40 or so times seems indicative that all appears to be well.  Too well. That is to say, that there can be no consequence for presenting a bill that has been upheld by the Supreme Court and couldn’t possibly pass in the Senate, and was assured of a Veto by the President.  What level of strategy was that?  What is the take away when government leaders believe that they can operate without consequences to shut down the government because they cannot carry out the will of the people, unless it is along party lines?

The takeaway is for each member of the House of Representatives is to prepare for their political demise.  The takeaway for each of you mentioned above, is to take this one blog, representative of the frustration of many of your fellow Americans,  and weigh out how important it is to conduct the business of the American people with all due speed.  Because if this government shutdown is a snapshot of what many of us can expect to happen in the foreseeable future, as leaders, you maybe surprised how long a memory the American people may have.  In other words, if you don’t take the American people’s frustration seriously, then I say to you, Mr. President, President Barack Obama, with all due respect, shut this mutha down!  Shut down this country!  Close the United States of America down!

We will survive!
©     It is unimaginable, but should the Department of the Treasury close down, we will survive;
©     If the Department of the State shuts down, we will survive.  Shut it down, Mr. President.  Shut down the Department of Justice, where prisons, courts and law enforcement officers are without a bi-weekly paycheck.  We will survive.
©     Shut down the Department of the State, where Secretary of State John Kerry will be left unable to travel or communicate with allies on moving our country forward on the world stage.
©     Close the doors of the Environmental Protection Agency, let us risk that companies will self-manage regarding legal-discharged wastes.  Shut it down, we will survive.
©     Barricade the doors of Homeland Security.  Send the men and women home who watch over our security not only here but abroad.  We will survive.
©     Keep out our Veterans!  The men and women who defend our shores and our interests abroad.  Shut the hospitals that tend to their care, risking their well-being.  We will survive!

Shut down America, Mr. President! Chain the doors, block access to whatever it is that has brought us as a country this far. Because the men and women who are supposed to play a vital role in her continued development, are playing games with the lives of each and everyone of us.  We can’t continue to sit idly by while our representatives cherry-pick or selectively choose what parts of American Government can continue to operate.  It is not fair to have some working, while others have to sit on the sidelines, hoping to be paid.  While we will survive if you shut down this entire country, know that when those doors open for the Department of Education, our survival should signal the demise of government as usual.

When the doors of the Department of Labor re-opens, it will be a clear signal that those who stood by while they were closed, will be seeing their final days as representatives, because they did just that: stood by.  But we, as citizens, we will survive. 

Know that we will have survived a shutdown and the re-opening of the Department of Transportation, where train operators, bridge operators, flight operators who had to sit out an unnecessary shutdown, will come back more motivated than ever to never go to sleep at the wheel of politics.  They will have survived, but they will be greatly inspired as will be the men and women of the Department of Housing, and will no longer vest their belief in a representative who promises to do so much, only to have done so little. 

We will survive, Mr. President, those of us who have small businesses that depend upon the government workers, now know what time it is.  We will survive, but we will never turn our backs again on those who occupy their seats in Congress or the Senate with a level of not only comfort, but disregard for our power as voters.  We will survive, hopefully, long enough to get to October 2014, as well as 2016, and we will remember every day that our cash registers didn’t ring.  We will remember everyday that our shops remained empty, shuttered, and without business because our leaders worked with total disregard for how their decisions in effect, shut us down, and we were not given a choice. 

Mr. President, act with all due speed, shut this mutha down!



Disclaimer:  All information provided here is deemed to be from reliable sources, but not guaranteed.  Please consult with respective consultants, or licensed or certified professional before making any decisions that may affect your income or livelihood.



[2] President of the United States, Barack Obama- http://www.biography.com/people/barack-obama-12782369  
[3][3] Speaker of the House, John Boehner- http://www.speaker.gov/  
[4] Rep. Eric Cantor, Congressional Majority Leader- http://www.majorityleader.gov/
[5] Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Congressional Minority Leader- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Pelosi 
[6] Rep. Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader- http://www.reid.senate.gov/
[7] Rep. Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader- http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/
[8] Rep. Cedric Richmon, 2nd Congressional District- http://richmond.house.gov/
[9] Rep. Mary Landrieu, Senator, Louisiana- http://www.landrieu.senate.gov/ 
[12] Affordable Care Act- https://www.healthcare.gov/
[14] Gerald R. Ford quote on Government-http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/government
   
[22] Franklin D. Roosevelt Quote-
[24] Federal Government exempts itself of paying water fees in D.C.- http://www.bayjournal.com/article/federal_government_exempts_itself_from_dc_water_fees
[25] The Declaration of Independence- http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/
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