The Salt Lake Tribune
01/14/2006
Americans are asking serious questions about what is happening in government, and they are right to be disappointed by what they see. Never before in our history have we seen such corruption. It’s not only the scandals at the House, Senate and White House that are contributing to the corruption, but the corrupt priorities of lawmakers, too.
Washington has become a place where special interests rule. It’s now a city where the powerful and the well-connected get taken care of and everyone else gets left behind.
The problem is Washington is run by leaders who put their own political interests ahead of America’s interests. Wined and dined by their well-connected friends, these individuals have forgotten who they really work for. There’s a price to pay for this corruption, and it’s the American people who are forced to pay it. Year after year, they see special interests get the perks, while their priorities go unaddressed.
Consider 2005. Last year, the United States Congress did not pass a single item of legislation to make health care more affordable, to create high-paying, quality jobs, to help seniors live more secure retirements or to help middle-class families make ends meet.
Now, look what the Republican Congress did manage to do. It supported billions of dollars in tax breaks for special interests and multimillionaires and paid for them by cutting student loans and health care for seniors.
Is it any wonder Americans are fed up with how Washington works?
This New Year, Democrats resolve to clean up Washington, so America’s government can once again focus on priorities of America’s people.
Hey Harry! 
(Rest of article is below)
Wild Thing’s comment…….
Harry what are we going to do with you and all your BS
Harry you are part of the problem!
We have a plan to put an end to business as usual in the nation’s capitol. Democrats want to shine a bright light on the relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers, and clean up the system of quid pro quo and pay-to-play politics that gave rise to Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay.
Honest leadership isn’t a partisan goal. It is the key to a stronger union. When leaders work together in a bipartisan manner and put progress ahead of politics, there is no limit to how far America can go.
We can have an economy that creates jobs with good pay and pays down the debt. We can kick our dependence on foreign oil. We can help middle-class families make ends meet, and we can protect Americans, whether the threat is terrorism, avian flu or a disaster like Katrina.
In a few weeks, President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address. When he does, I want you to ask yourself, is this the best America can do – a government where the special interests come before the people? Or can we do better for your family and friends?
—
U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, is the Senate Democratic Leader.
Term Limits
Term Limits
and
Term Limits
Something the Rhinos used to dwell on, until they became the majority party
Hi Tom, yessss good one. Term Limits.
“Never before in our history have we seen such corruption”..
Harry forgets about the Clinton Administration.
-Number of individuals and businesses associated with the Clintons who have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes: 47
– Number of these convictions during Clinton’s presidency: 33
– Number of indictments/misdemeanor charges: 61
– Number of congressional witnesses who have pleaded the Fifth Amendment, fled the country to avoid testifying, or (in the case of foreign witnesses) refused to be interviewed: 122
Here are the numbers for the Bush Administration.
– Number of indictments 1
– Number of convictions 0
We used to hear about the Line Item Veto too until the Republicans took control of congress. Even Clinton wanted that and would have signed it.
Love the graphics, Wild Thing.
I know I’ve said this before, but it seems to me that liberalism is dead and leftism killed it. The people you picture are reanimated corpses with all the good things dead ang gone. No decency, loyalty, objective love of country, goodness of spirit or self-respect.
How this happened is pretty complicated, too. In the end, if you live in a pool of muck, it’s all you see around you, which explains Harry Reid and all the rest. They must be politically destroyed, before they destroy America.
Jake, thanks for the list and numbers. What a difference between the two of them.
Hi Bob, yes and I wish we had it. I know I would love for the good guys to be able to stay a long time but to be fair it would still be better to have it to protect our country from the bad ones.
Thanks for your comment.
Hi Rhod, excellent yesss I agree with you. Thanks, well said.
What I meant to say that Republicans wanted the Line Item Veto for decades but Democrats who controlled Congress wouldn’t entertain the thought. Now that the Republicans have control of both houses of Congress and the White House, you don’t hear a word about it. Now is the time to get some of that legislation through we’ve been wanting for decades; term limits and line item veto.
Bob, I just don’t understand why when the Republicans are in power, have the Majority why they have to be what I call wimpy about things. They don’t even have to be mean about stuff but it would be nice for them to be strong about things like you just posted about.
Thank you so much.
Term limits, one term for any office that’s it. No moving on from the governors mansion to the whitehouse, from the House to the Senate, from Mayor to Governor. One term only term per office per lifetime, and I’m leaning toward the same idea for the Judiciary from the local magistrate on up to SCOTUS.