I received this comment from a reader, Brett Oyer.  I found it so interesting that I read it again and again.  I wanted to post it here so everyone would have a chance to read it and comment upon it.  Very interesting!  (Thanks Brett, for passing it along).  By the way, I like the first sentence the best!

545 PEOPLE… by Charlie Reese
 
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
 
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the
Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
 
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against
inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
 
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
 
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on
appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
 
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
 
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
 
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine
Supreme C ourt justices. 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
 
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that
problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
 
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
 
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their f ault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
 
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an
excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
 
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole
responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.
 
Who is the speaker of the House?…She is the leader of the majority
party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
 
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot
replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility.
 
I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable
directly to those 545 people.
 
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the
power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
 
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
 
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
 
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in
IRAQ.
 
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
 
There are no insoluble government problems.
 
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom
they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.
 
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists
disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
 
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
 
They, and they alone, have the power.
 
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
 
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Brett Oyer

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20 responses to “545 People in a Representative Government”

  1. Travis Avatar
    Travis

    I couldn’t agree more. The source of the problem however is not with the 545 people in Washington. The real problem is with the American people. We have the power to elect and if necessary remove any one (except the Supreme Court) form government office. Those 545 men and women serve at the permission of the citizens. What concerns me is the apathy that I see in many of my fellow citizens toward Government. It is far too easy to blame or leaders but lets remember we are responsible for putting them there. If we do not like the direction our nation is taking it is our responsibility to change its course. To do this however takes diligence, a willingness to educate our selves and not rely on others (media and government school for example) to do the job. But above all it will take courage to stand up and say its time the turn this nation around. I hear some say its too late and that we can never go back to the ideals set for us by our founding fathers. This may be true but wrong is still wrong and right is still right and If we stand for the right we may loose the battle but God will see that we win the war. Team, I believe has a big part in this battle. Thank You Chris for all you do and God Bless.

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  2. g.a.b. Avatar
    g.a.b.

    That’s the problem alright.
    We need to go back to the day when men & women were elected to Congress to serve a single term, THEN return to their homes & jobs to resume their citizenship UNDER the laws that they themselves passed.
    No more career politicians.
    But that won’t be accomplished without some serious thinking and action. Going to a million & beyond will be a good start. Let’s hope we’re not too far down “Socialist Road” by then.
    NObama in ’08!

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  3. Louie & Leslie DeCamp Avatar
    Louie & Leslie DeCamp

    A few weeks ago we got together with one of our boating friends who happens to be a lobbyist in DC. We asked him what would he change to make the government more effective. Immediately he said to change Congres to only a 2 year term and not be re-elected. We asked WHY? Our friend said when a person gets elected to congress they immediately go to the thought process of what I need to do to get re-elected (not what I can do to best serve the US). They base a lot of their decisions for the state and county they represent and it doesn’t matter if they can save America money or if it would be better ethics or it would be better to serve America, they base their decision on re-election.
    We are proud to be part of Team which serves the people and brings out Godly principles and not self-serving principles.
    Louie & Leslie DeCamp

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  4. Owen Derry Avatar
    Owen Derry

    This is great. For years I have wondered why we put so much emphasis on the Presidency when its the House and Senate that are supposed to have the power.
    And WE have the power to hire and fire these folks.
    One thought: One 2-year term seems too short a time to establish relationships and to develop a high enough degree of competency to be truly effective in today’s world. I’m not sure that the founding fathers could have foreseen the technology and other advances that would shrink our world and make it a bit more complicated. What about one 6-year term, similar to the Senate, with a third of the House rolling over every two years?

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  5. Kerry Konecny Avatar
    Kerry Konecny

    Great article! “We the People” have to know how to think so we elect the right 545. I agree that term limits on Congress are a must. Also, the President needs a line item veto power.

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  6. Trevor Swallow Avatar
    Trevor Swallow

    Thank you Chris for posting. Sometimes we get caught up in this political party game and forget who the real players are. This is information for all to think about as we move forward as a country.

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  7. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Chris,
    It seems that our country is moving in a direction of socialism. Here’s maybe an attempt at a little humor.I didn’t come up with this, so I won’t take credit. I call it “The Secular Pslam #1”
    The Government is my shepperd
    therefore I need not to work.
    It alloweth me to lie down on a good job.
    It leadeth me in the paths of still factories that destroy my initiative.
    It leadeth me in path of the parasite for politics sake.
    And though I walk through the valley of laziness an deficit spending, I will fear no evil for the Government is with me.
    Prepareth an economic utopia for me by appropriating the earnings of my grandchilren.
    It filleth my head with false security, my inefficiency runeth over.
    Surely the Government shall care for me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in a fool’s paradise for ever.

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  8. Vince Avatar
    Vince

    Just a thought: There is no constitutional right to vote in a federal election.
    Would the country greatly improve itself if voting was limited to those who PAID taxes?
    Right now, the US is like a company that let’s its stock-holders as well as people who are walking by their building vote on who is CEO.
    Vince

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  9. Miriam Teresi Avatar
    Miriam Teresi

    hmm, interesting. And while I also agree that the American people may have the ability to remove the incompetents from that group of 545. However I find that I know next to nothing about the senators and House members from my voting district. wether they are newly running or longtime canidates. Where can we get real information on these people (and not just their party supported marketing flyers that get mailed around)?????

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  10. Brent Campau Avatar
    Brent Campau

    I agree with Brett and Travis, although they appear to be on different sides of the fence.
    Brett said it’s the fault of the 545 people out of a country of 300 million…he’s right.
    Travis said it’s our fault for putting them there…he’s right.
    My solution is this…Don’t you think we can find 545 competent people to fill those positions out of 300 million? Sure we can! Why don’t you fill a spot? Why don’t I? If there aren’t enough competent people on the ballot, this might be necessary.

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  11. Dennis Perry Avatar
    Dennis Perry

    Chris,
    Have you done any research on the Constitution pary and/or Chuck Baldwin for Pres.? Any opinions or information you like to share?

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  12. g.a.b. Avatar
    g.a.b.

    Quote:
    “My solution is this…Don’t you think we can find 545 competent people to fill those positions out of 300 million? Sure we can! Why don’t you fill a spot? Why don’t I? If there aren’t enough competent people on the ballot, this might be necessary.”
    Yes. We could. But FIRST we have to get our values clear as a nation AND put forth a candidate willing to go through the vetting process as well as be skewered by the MSM (Main Stream Media) for being conservative.
    That’s one reason why the best among us do not apply: the cost to play politics AND the humiliation factor (even if you’ve done nothing wrong).
    Spreading TEAM values across the fruited plain will, in time, let the USA regain its stature as a great nation. Then we can kick Reid, Pelosi, Murtha & the rest of the ‘hate America first’ crowd out on their arses and start making this country family-friendly again.
    I’m for one earning wealth…not “spreading it around” to those who don’t or won’t work. Personal charitable contributions aside, I don’t want a government giving my blood, sweat and tears to those who don’t deserve it.

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  13. ASD Avatar
    ASD

    Enough said.. We can discuss all we want but material change will not result. Its about time the people joined together with one voice and set out to change government to the way the founding fathers envisioned it. A common voice is imperative. I suggest Dr. Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty as a start:
    http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

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  14. Cathy Avatar
    Cathy

    Chris,
    First a word for Miriam — Find groups like the American Families Association (www.afa.net) and the Family Research Council (www.frc.org), who put out Values Voters lists every election season on their websites. These groups highlight the candidates in all major U.S. races, mentioning specifically their pro-marriage and pro-family stands. There are other state and local groups someone at your church can put you in touch with, who will have similar information on your more local races.
    Second — I love this post!!! Thank you, Chris, for posting it!! What a great follow-up to Bob McEwen’s talk in Louisville!! I have been involved with politics since before I could vote, and love this stuff . . .
    Third — I am the wife of a “buerocrat” and work for a company that is a government contractor, both on the federal and state level. (I work in the division that is part of a long term contract with my state.) We work hard and take our jobs seriously. My husband’s involves life and property protection, and mine involves health care.
    My husband would be paid 3 times his current salary in the private sector for his current job. He has been passed over for promotion repeatedly, due to internal politics in his department.
    Why do we stay? It’s where God wants us while we grow ourselves and prepare ourselves to be the people He can use to be successful in our business.
    Finally — I am very much in favor of term limits, too. As I understand it, the will of the original framers of the Constitution was the lawmakers were to go, do their jobs and go home to their lives and businesses and properties. They had no concept of full-time lawmakers apart from the English, and would have been horrified at the thought happening here! It would have been too much to them like the government they had just fought so hard to escape from, with all its flaws and weaknesses inherent in people having power for too long. The power games of politics are as potent a drug as cocaine, and these 545 addicts (and our nation) need some serious detoxification!

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  15. Rick Avatar
    Rick

    I like the idea of part time government.
    Here’s a big dream, Team leadership leading the country. Now that would be near heaven on earth, wouldn’t it? Let’s work toward that end. Agreed?

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  16. Gandalf The White Avatar
    Gandalf The White

    I love the post and couldn’t agree with it more … but … we have to remember that “535” represents the people at the Federal level … state and local governments are in need of fixing as well, especially as a smaller, less intrusive Federal government means that more decisions are made at the state and local level.
    In addition, we have to remember that many members of the judiciary have been “legislating” without a license … and that needs to be fixed as well. In some states, judges are elected; in others they are appointed. All can be removed, either by election or impeachment. We need to begin a program of vetting candidates for the judiciary (the American Bar Association and the ACLU do that; why shouldn’t other groups?) and monitoring decisions to see whether they constitute “de novo legislation” …
    Granted, it’s a big job, but there are a lot of us, we all vote and can vote in a bloc if necessary … and there aren’t very many more important jobs out there …
    Regards,

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  17. Brett Oyer Avatar

    Chris,
    Thank you so much for posting this article. I thought that you would enjoy it and it would generate some comments and get people THINKING. As ESBI states, thinking/info is what gets you to the other side. We need to keep our minds young. KEEP THINKING!!!
    God bless you and your family always,
    Brett Oyer
    TEAM Dynamic

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  18. Cathy Avatar
    Cathy

    Chris,
    In reading the newest issue of “Reader’s Digest” (November), I found the following quotes on politics. I thought you’d enjoy them.
    Al Gore ~ “Take it from me — Elections matter!”
    George Eliot ~ “An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have sincere interest in prolonging the lives of poultry.”
    Dennis Miller ~ “Washington, D.C., is to lying what Wisconsin is to cheese.”
    Groucho Marx ~ “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” (My personal favorite!)
    Robert Orben ~ Do you ever get the feeling that the only reason we have elections is to find out if the polls were right?”
    Dwight D. Eisenhower ~ “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the cornfield.”
    Bill Moyers ~ “Ideas are great arrows, but there has to be a bow. And politics is the bow of idealism.”
    Mark Twain ~ “To lodge all power in one party and keep it there is to insure bad government.”
    From our candidates:
    John McCain ~ “I’m older than dirt, I’ve got more scars than Frankenstein, but I’ve learned a few things along the way.”
    Barak Obama ~ “Everybody knows politics is a contact sport.”
    And finally . . .
    Henry Kissinger ~ “Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad name.”

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  19. Alex Day Avatar
    Alex Day

    Thanks for posting this on my birthday! I have been talking about the erosion of rights and the degradation of our government for a while.
    This is an exerpt from a book I am reading at the moment. It’s a translation of the Declaration of Independence into modern English, without all of the flowery 18th century langauge. Too many people take the first part of the declaration as the main meaning(life, liberty and the pursuit of hapiness)when the end of the declaration has the main point:
    “That to guarantee these rights for themselves, men creat governments that derivie their rightful power from the consent of those who are governed; that whenever any form of government starts to be destructive to the goals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the people have the right to change or even destroy that form of government; and the people have the right then to create a new form of government-one that is founded upon the kind of principles, and that takes the kind of shape, that seems to them to be most likely to guaruntee their safety and good fortune.
    It is obviously not prudent to change or destroy long-established governments for superficial reasons, or in response to circumstances that are transient; and experience shows that it is human nature for people to put up with suffering if the suffering is bearable. But when long a series of abuses and violations of their rights appears to be directed at one primary goal-that of reduceing a given people to having to live under conditions of absolute despotism-then it is the people’s right-indeed it is their duty-to throw off this kind of government, so as to establish new forms of protection for their security in the future”
    I take that to mean it is our duty to be vigilant against those who would take our rights away. Our freedom and rights come from our ACTION against those who would take them away, not from just being born here. WE must get involved in the process, and that means more than just emailing your representative. Study the Constitution. Go to your rep’s office and talk face to face. Ask why things are or aren’t being done. America and her freedoms are a state of mind, not a geographic boundry. If take our rights for granted, we will lose them.

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  20. Larry Herring Avatar
    Larry Herring

    Chris,
    Got this from Dave Ramsey’s website (http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/index.cfm?trk=qf&intContentID=11123&ictid=sml).
    I thought you would really appreciate it. Good stuff.
    We’re praying for you and Terri, my friend. Glad to hear she’s home. Praise God.
    Larry
    An American Creed
    I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Man
    It is my right to be uncommon—if I can.
    I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.
    I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.
    I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.
    I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.
    It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.”
    By Dean Alfange

    *Originally published in This Week Magazine.
    Later printed in The Reader’s Digest, October 1952 and January 1954.
    The Honorable Dean Alfange was an American statesman born December 2, 1899, in Constantinople (now Istanbul). He was raised in upstate New York. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and attended Hamilton College, graduating in the class of 1922.

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