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Who are they representing?; Georgiann Mansell; Beaver County Times; October 30, 2011.
The only previous Mansell letter I critiqued was entitled “Obama’s priority is like Bush’s.” At the time, Ms. Mansell supported U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) for Democrat nominee for President. I did not critique “Stop playing games” though I don’t remember why. I probably just missed it.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“I cannot understand legislators who vote against jobs legislation. Our Republican senator, Pat Toomey, did just that. He voted against providing 44,600 jobs for Pennsylvania teachers, police, firefighters, and other first responders.
“I wonder if Toomey has taken an oath as a Republican or Tea Party supporter that takes precedence over his oath of office as a U.S. Senator. He supposedly is representing us, not a political party or faction.
“Our school and municipal governments are hurting because of the bad economy. Many vital programs have been cut. If we do not educate our youth, we are sabotaging their future, and in turn, our country’s future.”
[RWC] Everything Ms. Mansell mentioned so far is a state or local government responsibility. If we local and state voters/taxpayers choose not to pay for this stuff, why should federal taxpayers be on the hook for it? It does us no good to cut and balance our state and local budgets if we run to mommy because daddy said no. Remember, federal tax dollars come out of our pockets just like local and state tax dollars. There is no free lunch.
“Congress must put our country first and start working to solve our problems. Our roads, bridges, dams, water and sewer lines are in deplorable condition. Businesses also need that infrastructure.”
[RWC] I thought the 2009 $850 billion “jobs bill” was supposed to do this. What happened? In any case, most of this stuff is a state or local government responsibility, not something to dump on federal taxpayers.
“We cannot abide legislators of either party, who ignore their responsibility in the hopes of unseating the president in January 2013. Let’s get real.
“We, as citizens, must pay attention and hold our representatives responsible for their votes. We must get involved and vote accordingly.”
[RWC] When Ms. Mansell says “We, as citizens, must pay attention and hold our representatives responsible for their votes,” she means “We … must pay attention and hold our representatives responsible for” not voting like Democrats.
You’ll note Ms. Mansell didn’t mention the “jobs” bills passed by the House but were not allowed a vote in the Democrat-majority Senate.
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