Thread: Mr. Smith returns to Washington

Mr. Smith returns to Washington

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Posted: July 7, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

by Pat Boone

I know I'm betraying my age, but a lot of great old movies show up on late night cable, so maybe you're familiar with this one: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," starring the matchless Jimmy Stewart.

Oh, it's great … an all-time classic. A nice, ordinary small-town citizen is selected to represent his neighbors in the U.S. Senate, and off he goes, full of idealism and honesty and naïve ideas about how the government establishment works. Of course, he's soon confronted by the necessity, it seemed, to "get along by going along," by doing and voting what senior lawmakers want, even when it violates his conscience and really isn't good for the people back home he's come to Washington to represent.

Well, Mr. Smith isn't having any. He's come to Washington to be an old-fashioned honest representative. The movie culminates in a long impassioned filibuster that exposes and thwarts the underhanded plans of certain senators, leaving Mr. Smith wrung out, raspy voiced, but victorious. The visitors in the galleries and balconies are applauding him, and a majority of his fellow senators are persuaded to vote the proposed unjust measures down.

The system works! Hallelujah!

That was then, you say, but it wouldn't happen today ... would it?

Well, it just did!

Consider: The huge, controversial immigration bill, cooked up by a component of the Democrat-led Congress and even pushed and promoted by the president, was an effort to address the ghastly problem of 14 to 20 million illegal aliens, living and working and enjoying the benefits of America, having children who are automatically considered citizens (though born to illegals), and hardly appearing on any identification or tax lists. And the proposed bill, though perhaps well intended, seemed to promise impossible and impractical "solutions," sketchy provisions for essential national security, and what seemed to objective observers and analysts an unearned, undeserved amnesty to almost all aliens. In addition, there seemed to be little, if any, penalty assessed against employers who knowingly hire illegals.

It was a bad, unworkable proposal. Almost any honest appraisal of the provisions revealed fatal flaws, unfair and unrealistic projections, and impossible time schedules. It was clear that we need immigration reform – but this was not the answer! So, why were so many politicians, from the president on down, so "gung ho" to get this unwieldy, unpopular bill enacted?

Because they, collectively, haven't been able to come up with a plan that will work, and they know the vast voting public is staring at them and wanting to see who can provide leadership and workable answers. They felt a desperate need to enact something, so they proclaimed that this bill would work and that it had to be passed.

Just one problem, though: The voting public wasn't buying it.

All the reliable polls confirmed that, though most Americans see the need to solve the very serious problem of all those millions in this country illegally – without documentation and sapping our resources – this proposed bill was not the answer. And they said so.

The need did not justify a slapped-together, inequitable non-solution that would only complicate everything and might eventually bankrupt us. The politicians, though, virtually ignored the voters, the citizens who elected them, and determined to push the bill through anyway. And they said so.

Enter Mr. Smith.

Actually, enter a few million Mr. Smiths. Add in a Sean Hannity, a Rush Limbaugh, scores of less famous talk-show hosts and at least one very upset and vocal CNN Democrat, Lou Dobbs, and we saw a bombardment of Washington simply unequaled in recent years! Senator after senator, congressman after congressman, Democrat and Republican all felt a heat from their constituents they never expected. Were the folks back home actually watching? And listening? And figuring things out for themselves? How did that happen?

Though he's been almost suicidally loyal to the president, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader, said publicly, "I've heard the voice of the voters in my state; they don't like this bill, they don't want this bill, and I have no choice but to vote against it!"

I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten over it yet. The voice of the people back home has been heard … and heeded! And I write this in the hope that a lot of citizens, like you and me and the folks who use these Internet resources, will feel the gumption rising amongst us. I hope we'll realize that our government is us, if we've got the resolve, the energy, and the will to stay on top of the issues and remind our politicians that they work for us.

We still need immigration reform. We need it sooner than later, we need to right wrongs and do justice, with as much mercy and compassion as our laws can allow and still be laws. There must be fair and workable answers, and there must be ways to ensure our national security yet still welcome aliens who want to be real citizens and follow our rules. I still have faith that an aroused and informed citizenry, looking over the shoulders of intelligent and dedicated public servants, can come up with the right answers. "Mr. Smith, you done good! Don't be a stranger."


http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.a ... E_ID=56547

I hope we'll realize that our government is us, if we've got the resolve, the energy, and the will to stay on top of the issues and remind our politicians that they work for us.

Many of them need continual reminders that THEY WORK FOR US.