Letter to Congress

[Wayne Leeper]

September 22, 2009
Editor
Lebanon Democrat

Open letter to Congressmen Jim Cooper and Bart Gordon

King George underestimated the anger and commitment of the American colonist. It would be a grave mistake for you and your fellow congressmen to underestimate the anger and commitment of the American people today. We will not be arriving at your home with torches and pitchforks, as ACORN would be, nor advocating violent revolution, but we will be arriving at ballot boxes across your districts with a single resolve.

It doesn’t matter whether one is Republican or Democrat. It is your vote by which you will be judged, not your political party. We are a peaceful and freedom loving people. We are not rabble rousers or thugs as your leaders want to label us. But there is a limit to which we can be pushed and that limit has been reached. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating our resolve. This country still belongs to “We the People,” not to the president or to congress, and certainly not to the illegal aliens the president wants to make citizens so they can vote for him.

What you are seeing at “tea parties” and “town halls” across this nation is only the tip of the iceberg. For every letter you receive there are thousands who agree but do not write. For everyone attending a protest there are a thousand others who agree but do not attend. This is also true of every e-mail and telephone call to your offices. There is a good reason why your president’s numbers are falling and why the congress of which you are a member now enjoys the lowest approval rate in history in the history of our nation.

Our representatives have forgotten that “We the People” hold the ultimate reins of authority in America. And it is “We the People” who will exercise that authority at the ballot box in 2010 and 2012. We can’t prevent you from voting as Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid tell you to, but we certainly can give you good reason to regret that vote.

This is the first time in my sixty-nine years that I have written letters to congressman. I have done my best to live a quiet and peaceful life, obeying the laws whether I agree with them or not. However, the time for silence and compliance has passed. I am reminded of a story about a farmer during the American Revolution.

He chose not to join the revolution but opted to just work his farm
and live his life in peace. However, when the day came that he
could hear gunshot near his home he took his rifle and headed out
the door. When his wife asked where he was going, his reply
was, “To find out who owns this here farm.”

You would do well to take this story to heart.

Wayne D. Leeper

[Linda Maddox]

Thank you for the great letter to Congress. This letter represents the American people.Today in California, our own Senators are preventing our farmers from getting water for their farms. What has happened to our beloved Country?

[Elizabeth Parella]

This is a wonderful posting...and thanks so much for it! There are some of us who have vociferously participated at tea parties and others who wanted to participate but, for various and sundry personal reasons, could not do so. What is going on is anathema to this country. What are the politicians thinking? There will be a tax revolt which will make the Boston Tea Party look tame in comparison, and I'm NOT talking about violence either...but there will be a huge move afoot to root out the free-spending congressmen/women and senators and send them packing.

[Butch & Evelene Helton]

YOU ARE NOT ALONE! THERE ARE A LOT OF CITIZENS WHO ARE WATCHING THIS VOTE, AND ARE READY TO VOTE AGAINST ANY POLITICIAN WHO DOES NOT VOTE AGAINST THIS BILL(3200)! WE ARE TIRED OF POLITICIANS TAKING US FOR GRANTED, AND WE ARE GOING TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!!!

[Pam Stafford]

Mr. Leeper, great blog! You are right on about people having enough of this administration. I like you feel the same way! I am 50, my husband is 58 and we both have never been so involved or so fed up with what we are seeing! It is not just one party either, it is both parties! I am also upset with some americans who can't or want choose to research or get involved and see the side of obama and his administration that we can see. I have friends who thinks that I am crazy, they say I am being racial and that it is about time we had a good president who cares about this country because in their opinions Pres. Bush was the worst president! Granted, President Bush did make mistakes and I understand that obama is going to make mistakes but so far I haven't seen any of his policies that I can agree on, not one so far! My husband and I have wrote our representatives and our congress and I have even wrote letters to the obama and pelosi, not sure if it does any good but I will keep on writing and emailing. Keep posting these blogs, you are really good at writing exactly the way I am feeling.