The 111th Congress may do more damage to the American Republic in its lame-duck session than it did during the first 22 months of its ignominious existence. The huge liberal majorities in both houses of Congress following the 2008 Republican debacle at the polls with John McCain at the top of the ticket put Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in positions of unquestioned power.
Once in control, the same politicians who campaigned against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan delivered more of the same wars. To top that off, they also delivered more wasteful spending, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that is imposing police-state power over law-abiding citizens at our airports at the same time they are allowing the politically connected to bypass airport security by entering airports via the side doors, and they delivered socialized medicine, better known by its nickname ObamaCare. It was during the ObamaCare debates that the American people began to rise up in opposition. The ObamaCare legislation was passed despite the overwhelming opposition of the American people, and angry voters delivered a thorough repudiation of the 111th Congress in the November elections.
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As bad as the 111th Congress was before the 2010 elections, the legislation being considered during its lame-duck session looks even worse. Many Congressmen and Senators, no longer fearing the voters and special interests in Washington, D.C. because they were voted out of office, are having a heyday.
Having already passed legislation legalizing homosexuality in the military, the lame-duck session of Congress is now considering other legislation that was too difficult to pass during its first 24 months when the Congressmen feared the potential voter reaction in November of 2010: a food safety bill that will give the federal government unconstitutional power over our nations food supply, the START Treaty, a so-called DREAM Act that is actually a nightmare worse than the McCain-Kennedy Amnesty of Illegal Aliens Act that was defeated a few years ago, and many others. What may be even worse than the legislation that has been proposed is how the legislation may be amended in the final stage of passage when the House and Senate supposedly meet to reconcile differences, but instead make major amendments. There is even a possibility that legislation can be introduced on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, or any time when only a handful of Congressmen and Senators are present and call for a voice vote. With no one there to force a quorum call, such bills will be officially listed as passed unanimously by voice vote.
So, why are we even having this lame-duck session of Congress? At the time of this writing, the convening of the 112th Congress, which will hopefully be a more responsible Congress or at least a less irresponsible Congress, is less than two weeks away. For some unexplained reason, the Republicans in the Senate, where they have had enough votes to block all the votes in the lame-duck session all along, are still allowing it to continue. It is time to end the shame of the 111th Congress. The Republicans in the Senate have enough votes to force adjournment. It is time for them announce that they will block all further legislation being proposed in the lame-duck session except a motion for adjournment.
Its time to do what the voters wanted and the Republicans promised to do when they asked for their votes. Lets end the shame. Lets adjourn the 111th Congress.
