Individual Liberty — Individual Responsibility 

What exists is what we want to exist

My dad sent me an interesting article titled "The 545" via email attributed to a Florida Reporter named Charley Reese. [Update: I read a few of Charley's articles. He's not a modern-day conservative, but rather a paleoconservative with some libertarian ideas. His more recent writing sounds decidedly like some of the things the Democratic party has been saying of late. Even so, he's occasionally right.] I found it to be an interesting and spot-on read.

The original publication date is unknown, but it was reportedly originally published in the Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper. From the context, it was written many years ago (Tip O'Neill is referred to as the Speaker of the House, which dates that article at least back to the 1980s). I think it's still relevant today.

Just from the number 545, I'm sure you can guess who he's referring to. If not, he spells it out.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 235 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

There are some interesting points in the article that struck me. Who do you think is responsible for the national debt and for deficit spending? Who's responsible for the federal budget?

Often times, we hear that "under Reagan" we had massive deficit spending. We hear that "George W. Bush" brought back deficit spending. Why is it that the President is given the blame when our federal government outspends it's revenues? What gives William J. Clinton the gall to take credit for the revenue surplus during his Presidency?

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 appropriations and taxes.

The version of the article my dad sent me is modified somewhat from the original. It doesn't reference Tip O'Neill for one. Instead it refers to the Speaker of the House as "She", obviously meaning Nancy "the felon" Pelosi. Rather than referring to the marines being in Lebanon, the updated article refers to Iraq.

Isn't it interesting, how with a few minor changes this old article still applies?

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

I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise 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.

"It must follow that what exists is what they want to exist."

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist 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 they have the gumption to manage their own employees.

Have we got that gumption? There are 300 million of us and 545 of them. In a representative republic we ought to be able to choose more honest leaders than the ones we've been choosing for the last several decades.

The names and the places may have changed, but politics in Washington hasn't changed in over 50 years. The fact that we keep choosing scoundrels to represent us tells me something about the American people…

"It must follow that what exists is what they want to exist."

For a people that seeks change, as the popularity of Barack Obama suggests, we keep putting the same type of scoundrels into office. Shame on us all.