Congressman Lamar Smith
2409 Rayburn
House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Smith:
 
Here are the comments that you requested.  Your survey card was crafted in a way that guarantees that the answers reflect a narrow, politicized (party) view of pressing issues.

Here is what you need to know, and what you need to do.

Reject the gridlock-oriented party politics of the past and get behind our president. President Obama is a novice and learning the ropes; and he needs your guidance.

What you need to do is learn from President Clinton’s playbook and develop legislation that is moderate and centrist.  Both the Democratic platform and the Republican platforms are stilted and dangerous. Neither party has enough answers to benefit our country. Both party platforms get issues wrong more than they get issues right.

Your cooperation by doing what is right for our country means rejecting the extremes of both parties and helping President Obama get on track. By your extreme resistance, you are driving President Obama into the arms of the extremist Democrats who you vow to resist because their ideas are just as bad for our country as the ideas of extremist Republicans.

Your resistance to doing what is needed (moderate, centrist) for our country guarantees that President Obama will become a Carter-like “One Term Wonder,” but the backlash to the extremes of President Bush go too far in the other direction…and our country continues to suffer for lack of moderate leadership.

Obstinate and wrong-headed Republican and Democratic policies, sticking to extremes and lack of cooperation make both parties look like children on a sandlot…one has the ball, one has the bat…and no one gets to play because they can’t  agree.

My advice to both parties: Grow up! Put our country’s need before party ideology. Finally do the job that you were elected to do. Or, go home and let country-first, party-politics last folks replace you.

Send President Obama the kind of legislation that makes him look like the best president ever, quit squabbling. Send legislation that is good for America, legislation that Democrats can’t refuse to get behind because they would look like quacks, charlatans and idiots.

Right now, both parties look like stooges…hostages of their party ideologies.

It is time for creative, collaborative thinking and cooperative action.

In a way, the scandals reflecting lobbyist and special interest influence in our legislative process act as a smokescreen and a distraction from our legislative dilemma; i.e., trusting in two political parties to do the work that we need when neither of those parties has the wherewithal to deliver unless they work together on centrist common ground.

Please quit being a Republican and become an advocate for America. Reject Democrat ideology and reject Republican ideology, and build a coalition of folks who want real change.

President Obama was elected to bring change to our country because his predecessor damaged our country and our country’s reputation. But, that change was supposed to be a benefit to our country. We were supposed to see cooperation, not a Democratic agenda that will prove just as defective and just as detrimental to our country as that of President Bush.

So, take true leadership and get off the Republican stonewall. Stop the Democratic mule that is heading over the precipice by offering the carrots and sugar of reasonable, cooperative legislation that will stop their blind charge to disaster in its tracks.

Please do what our county needs, and please do what our country needs soon.