Grassley obstructs instead of serving

Reality check, Sen. Chuck Grassley.

The filibuster does not go back to George Washington, it started with Aaron Burr. Perhaps if Republicans didn't abuse the rules, they wouldn't have been changed. You can't complain about the filibusters during the Bush administration and then triple their frequency and call it even. There have been nearly as many appointees held up for this administration as in all of history going back to 1789. You've created a tyranny of the minority.

The filibuster hasn't even been changed for anything else. Republicans have led more than 400 filibusters including one for the Veterans Jobs Bill that was cowritten by five of your Republican colleagues. It's time to do your job and stop obstructing. There has yet (as of this writing) to be one jobs bill that has reached the president's desk to sign.

You also can't complain about the debt when your party is the one that created it with tax cuts for the rich, two wars unpaid for, and corporate welfare that by far outpaces what is left for the poor. It's time to admit trickle down economics is creating the problems in this country. It's time to serve the people, not corporations only.

Ron Swearingen

Marion