Where is my Congressman?

When was the last time you saw your Congressman in person? As I sit here thinking about it, I cannot recall a single time that I have physically set eyes on Walter Jones, Jr. I do occasionally check out his website, and I quite often get computerized phone surveys from him, but I have never laid eyes on him. On any given day I can go into my local Wal-Mart and see hundreds or even thousands of Mr. Jones constituents, but I have never seen him.

Back in June of 2009, the community of Jacksonville, NC, and more specifically the community of Camp LeJeune, opened the largest Memorial to VietNam Veterans outside the District of Colombia. As the son of a VietNam vet, and as a former Marine, and as a father trying to raise patriotic citizens, I went to the ceremony. I was shocked to discover that none of the areas representatives to Congress were in attendance. Senator Kay Hagan sent a substitute to read a note saying how wonderful it was to recognize the service of these men. Senator Burr and Congressman Jones didn't even bother to do that.

The founders of this great nation envisioned representatives who would go home to their districts and meet with their constituents. At these meetings, the elected official would discuss bills before the Congress with the citizens who would have to pay for and live with the laws passed by Congress. If the majority of his constituents were against a bill, the representative would vote no, no matter what his personal feelings about the bill. You see, back in those days, people would tar and feather sheisters, and run them out of town on a rail. Perhaps we need to revive some of our oldest traditions.

When Congress is on a "break," that is the time that the founders set aside for those elected nabobs to go home to mingle with their neighbors. These breaks are not designed to be vacations. These numerous and lengthy breaks are the time that those representatives are supposed to use for taking care of their own affairs. The reason that the District of Colombia is not represented in Congress is because the founders were against the district having any citizens. It was only meant to be a place for the handling of the nation's business.

Congressman and Senators are also supposed to shop at their local stores and utilize other local businesses, so that they remain aware of the price of milk and eggs, and so they can see first hand the results of their labors. These officials families should continue to live at there homes while the representative is in D.C. They need to have their spouses call them and let them know whats being said at the hair salon, or barber shop. My Congressman has no idea what is going on in his own district because he is never here.

We need to have a complete restocking of Congress. It is time to send some blue collar people to Washington, not blue dogs or any other snotty society types. I think we need to send everyone home who is up for re-election.