Speaking the Truth to Power

Speaking the Truth to Power-2010

by Paul H. Betancourt

copyright January 2010

            For a generation liberals and progressives have protested just about everything with the battle cry that they were, “Speaking the truth to power.” You may have noticed recently that liberals and progressives are the ones in power in Sacramento and DC and things are not going real well. It is time to use their tactic against them. As a citizen, a taxpayer and a conservative I would like to speak some truth to those in power today.

            Let’s start with a reminder-the country is pretty well split down the middle. Neither party in this country has a majority. A significant number of voters are independent. Neither party has a mandate for anything- except the people’s business. Stop acting like the voters have you given you a mandate to carry out your agenda.

            Speaking of agendas- would you please stop blowing all our tax dollars on your pet projects. We pay our taxes at the barrel of a gun and we expect our tax dollars to be spent on things like good roads. Y’all squander our tax dollars trying to buy votes or appease the special interests. Then you come back to us saying you have to raise taxes to pay for schools and public safety. Knock it off! Don’t start releasing jail inmates while you ring your hands and tell us the only alternative is raising taxes.
            You already take over 40% of our income. The sales taxes alone are approaching ten percent. This is ridiculous. And that Oliver Wendell Holmes quote about, “Taxes are the price we pay for civilization,” does not mean you have a blank check. Our tax dollars are a trust and a responsibility you have on the part of the citizens of the United States. Please treat our tax dollars with respect and restraint. We work hard to earn those dollars.

            You were elected by us to represent us, not the special interests. Look, I have been involved in politics long enough that I know the pressure you are under. You have to raise money to get elected and re-elected. You have people coming at you constantly with this or that issue. Please keep your eye on the ball. This is still a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” The people are looking for statesman- leaders who look at the big picture. Why are statesmen and women so hard to find? Because, too many elected leaders have forgotten they are elected to serve all the people,  not just the special interests.

            Don’t politicize everything- just because you are in politics 24/7 doesn’t mean the rest of us are. President Obama promised his daughters a dog. That was not a an invitation to start a national dialogue on animal shelters or spaying and neutering. It was a promise from a father to his little girls. Heck, even the Mafia leaves the family out of their fights.
            One problem of politicizing everything is it shows how out of touch you are with most people. The average American spends their day going to work and taking care of their family. If they are real community minded they might coach a little league team or volunteer at the kid’s school. Politics is something they think about every two to four years when elections come up. As political animals you are in almost constant campaign mode. You see everything in the light of the next election. Knock it off. What is good for your next election is making the right decisions for you constituents today. The elections will take care of themselves.

            While I am at it I need to rewind and take a shot at our Republican friends. You had the House, the Senate and White House. You had the keys of power, and you gave us the Abramoff Scandal? That’s it? One of the reasons Obama, Pelosi and Reid are where they are is that we did have not have conservative Republican values in operation when you were in control. Now you have to work up hill to gain a measure of control again before you can implement your ideas.

            I can go on, but I am running out of space. You get the idea. To those of you who are in power right now- things are not going well. Ten percent unemployment is not a good thing. We don’t see you offering solutions. We see you bickering among yourselves. Knock it off.