Ineffectual Congress a reflection of voters’ will

Not just criticism but actual open vilification of Congress has replaced baseball or football as our national sport. Finally, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has given notice that he would convert Congress into an Assembly of Temporary Employees.

All of this has recalled to my mind the words of Frank Nye, longtime political writer for The Gazette. Whenever someone complained to him about how ineffectual our Congress or state Legislature was, Frank would say, you are right, I agree they are ineffective, venal, may be ignorant, etc. The problem is our representatives are so representative. Thus, this is a case of “we have met the enemy and it is us.”

Our nation is almost evenly divided with strong views held by those on each side of the aisle. Unfortunately, legislators have this strong urge to be re-elected. Until we the people convince them that it is OK to temporarily defer strong convictions for the overall good of the nation in a particular context, our legislative bodies will remain ineffectual.

William R.

Shuttleworth

Cedar Rapids