We, the People, Grant Legislators the Power of Political Arrogance!
By Joe Sinagra | The Save Jersey Blog
You may have heard that Clay Aiken’s is running against Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers this fall in North Carolina’s 2nd District Candidate, Save Jerseyans.
While I have nothing against either one, what I find disturbing is a comment recently made by Ellmers to the Kiwanis Club: “He’s an entertainer. He’s an actor. He believes that he can change costume and get into character and speak to whichever group and win them over.”
Aiken came in second during the second season of American Idol. Aiken also has a bachelor’s degree in special education, created the National Inclusion Project (which supports the integration of children with disabilities into the life environment of their non-disabled peers, formerly the Bubel/Aiken Foundation), served as a UNICEF ambassador, taught autistic children, and was appointed for a two-year term to the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities in 2006.
Ellmers worked as a nurse prior to her ascension to Congress in 2010. Other than that, what qualified her to serve in Congress? Other than we, the people, electing her?
In New Jersey’s 12th District, we have Democrat Patrick Diegnan, an Assemblyman with a similar attitude.
Diegan made well over $1.5 million since 2000 from public paychecks. He approved 115 tax increases, including taxes on payroll, income and sales, all of which had a direct impact on the businesses that were forced to shed jobs in recent years. Patrick Diegnan was the primary sponsor of a gas tax increase bill.
If you hear Pat Diegnan talking about creating jobs, be sure to ask whether he’s talking about creating jobs for us, or creating jobs for himself that we’ll pay for. Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan had hired his wife and daughter to work in his legislative office.
Diegnan seems to feel that being an assemblyman is an entitlement, not a privilege.
His attitude towards his constituents was most clearly illustrated when he infamously complained “I find it personally insulting, I’m outraged that every two years me and a lot of other people in this state have to put up with this baloney.”
Every few years there is a political process called an election, Mr. Assemblyman.
We’re sorry it’s an inconvenience for you!
What is it about elected office that makes politicians, Republican or Democrat, feel that once they’re in the position belongs to them and no one else? Forever and always?
We the people, as citizens, eventually wind up paying for arrogance because lifetime legislators seem to forget where they’ve come from as soon as they’ve left it. By letting them stay in office year after year, almost automatically (90 percent of U.S. House members were reelected in 2012; even 85% made it back to D.C. in the GOP “wave” year), we help inflate their egos, egos that empower them to develop the mindset that they are above the rest of us.
No one should then be surprised when rampant corruption and constitutional transgressions follow suit…
It is kind of impressive how the same boobs get re-elected over and over again. I would laugh if it wasn’t for the fact that this house of fools keeps taking money out of my pocket!
NICE!