What’s the Government to Do?

In article published today on Slate, David Weigel  examines the impact the Arizona shootings will have on the upcoming legislative session. In his piece, Weigel concludes that while the tragedy ought to make the 112th Congress consider stricter gun laws and the way our country handles the mentally ill, nothing will likely change, due in part to politicians being afraid to touch these “hot button” issues and procedural roadblocks Republicans would present in the House. Weigel represents a growing voice of young, progressive, pundits, highly visible in the social-media community, asking what the Federal government will do in response to the assassination attempt of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Why are they calling on the Federal government to respond to the situation at all? Where do the government’s responsibility lie?

Obviously, since a Federal judge was killed and there was an attempt on a Congresswoman’s life, the Federal government has a responsibility to prosecute the alleged shooter to the fullest extent possible, but with a Justice Department led by Eric Holder, that does not seem very likely.

Outside of that, what exactly do we need the Federal government to do? To suggest, as Weigel does, that stricter gun laws may have prevented the massacre is anecdotal at best. Yes, it seems likely that the alleged shooter obtained his weapon legally, but Weigel’s argument assumes that the alleged shooter would not have obtained a weapon by some other means. Let’s assume for a moment he was not allowed to purchase his weapon legally and because of that gave up on his planned killing spree. It would represent one instance where a gun crime was prevented due to the lack of legal access to a gun, as opposed to the mass of gun violence committed with illegally obtained guns each year. It would be the exception to the rule. Are Arizona gun laws too lenient? I don’t know, that’s for the residents of Arizona to decide, not the Federal government.

How about mental health? Obviously, the alleged shooter had some mental issues. On a whole, the care for the mentally ill in this country could be a lot better. I think it’s great if we, as a nation, can use this tragedy as a chance to consider those who suffer from mental illness and explore ways to better treat them. But again, not a Federal issue. It’s a system best left to the states and the private sector.

In the end, it seems that the Generation Y progressives are just like their predecessors and never miss an opportunity to exploit a national tragedy to expand the size of the Federal government. Some things, it seems, will never change!

Tragic Day for Our Nation

All week long, I have been unable to get an image out of my head.  On Wednesday, the ticker in one of the elevators in our building relayed the story of Salman Taseer assaination in Pakistan. The story did not stick out, but rather the image of Mr. Taseer’s bodyguard, the man accused of killing Mr. Taseer, smiling in custody. I remember thinking to myself, how sick and twisted someone must  be to kill someone and then smile for the journalists as you are carted away by the authorities. Without reading anything but the headline, I assumed the murderer must have been a religious radical, upset with a political moderate, reading the Washington Post story, it sounds like this suspicion was not too far from truth.

On that same day, we experienced–and I wrote about–the peaceful transfer of power in the House of Representatives in this great country. The image of Nancy Pelosi handing the gavel off to John Boehner was also branded in my mind on that day. The juxtaposition of these two images instilled great hope in me for this nation. Yes, we have our problems and, yes, we are deeply divide, BUT at least we do not execute our elected officials.

Then came the news from today that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) had been shot–in the head–at an event in Tucson. By all accounts, Rep. Giffords was the type of elected official Washington desperately needs–affable, smart, private-sector experienced and willing to listen to the other side. In and of itself, the shooting of Rep. Giffords is tragic and my thoughts and prayers are with her family.

I fear this could turn out to be an even greater tragedy if this shooting is determined to be politically motivated and the fallout from both sides of aisle. Already, some of the biggest progressive names on social media are pointing the finger at conservative activists. It’s truly unfortunate. It’s my prayer that this event will not be politicized in any manner, that Rep. Giffords makes a full and speedy recovery and the person responsible for this action is punished to the fullest extent of the law.  Today, it’s sad to think that our country is lot more like Pakistan than the good ol’ USA.

The Political Importance of Health Care Repeal

Day 2 of the 112th Congress and we’re already seeing some positive results. In addition to getting back to basics and reading the Constitution aloud on the House floor, the GOP led House also opened up hearing meetings on the repeal of the health care legislation. It looks like a vote in the House could come as early as Wednesday. While it’s likely that the repeal would pass easily in the House, Democrats have plenty of votes to block the repeal in the Senate and the President has indicated, as expected, that he would veto the repeal should it reach his desk.

Why even try? Isn’t it hypocritical for Republicans to introduce a piece of legislation they know has no chance of passing, when they were elected to address our country’s economic woes?

Not at all.

First, Republicans believe, and I tend to share the opinion, that the 2010 health care bill will hurt our already fragile economy.  I’ve already noticed some disturbing trends in my own, employee-sponsored health coverage, and everywhere you look you see stories about the negative impact of the bill on job creation. Taking every step possible to repeal this legislation shows Republicans are serious about tackling the tough economic issues of the day.

Consider also that many of the Republicans elected in November ran against the health care bill and promised to do all they could to reverse it if elected to office. By taking on this hot-button issue on the second day of the session, Republicans are following through on not one, but two of their campaign promises–the economy and repealing the health care bill.

So President Obama has vowed to veto the repeal, no big deal. This is actually the area where Republicans stand to gain the most. The health care debate was contentious the last time around and it cost many a politician their seat in November. Since that time, Obama has been able to score some key political victories–”Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, tax cut extensions, etc. Indeed, the “lame duck session” in December turned out to be be anything but “lame” for the Obama administration. Pushing for the repeal of the health care legislation moves one of Obama’s most unpopular pieces of legislation back to center stage. The President and Senate Democrats will be forced to once again to debate an issue that several key Democrats, Obama included, cannot afford to debate again.

Transfer of Power

Regardless of your political affiliation, the peaceful transfer of power we witnessed today, during the opening of the 112th session of Congress, should make us all proud to be Americans. Critics regularly criticize House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) for being too emotional, but I must admit, watching the pageantry associated with selecting him as Speaker, made me a little emotional. It’s the same type of emotion I experienced two years ago when I watched Barack Obama become the first African-American to be sworn in as President of the United States.  The potential energy contained in the peaceful transfer of power drives our nation in a positive direction. It is, and I don’t believe I am resorting to hyperbole here, the reason we went from a colony to a super-power in 200 years, and why we remain an exceptional nation.

In order for this potential energy to be released and make as an ever greater nation, those who inherit the power must simply remain true to the principles on which this country was founded, the same principles that helped us evolve through the years. It seems as if Democrats forgot this simple fact over the last two years, looking to the outside for some secret to unleash this purely American energy. We need not look to the East or West, North or South, across the Atlantic or across the Pacific, to find the catalyst for this release of energy, but merely within ourselves.

Republicans now control the House, while the Democrats maintain the Senate. However, the electorate sent a strong message to all politicians in Washington in November–Americans are sick of “politics as usual” and want change. In order to see that change come to fruition, we must tap into to the bottled up potential energy. This means those Republicans voted in with the confidence that we would return a sense of fiscal responsibility and Constitutional accountability to our government will do exactly that. If not, the voters will hold them accountable in the next election.

It all sounds good now. Republicans will read the entire Constitution out loud on the House floor tomorrow. On Friday, they may vote on a repeal of the health care bill. They have vowed to slash spending. It sounds like a government we can all be proud of,  but we also know these politicians to be human first and politicians second, so they will definitely not live up to all their promises, but will they do enough to release this powerful, transformative energy?

For now, we can only hope. Until then, I know for a fact that America is better today than it was yesterday. As long as we have more days like that over the next few years, we will be making positive steps to harnessing this energy.