Indecisive Politicians

Congress does two things well, argue and nothing. The time has come to abandon the crafty indecision that plagues our politicians. Members of Congress and the Senate cannot and will not hunker down and do what is best for America.

If they decide this way, it might offend groups that oppose the issue. If they decide that way, another group is offended. So onto the fence we go. Neither hot nor cold, but the proverbial tepid that gets nothing done. Whatever happened to conviction and real belief in how to do things?

The answer lies somewhere in the motivation of the politicians. They may want to help solve problems, but most are beholding to special interest. Getting re-elected is the main motivator for most politicians. They rely on and cater to those who supply the money for their re-election. Influence pedaling is pervasive in Washington.

Most of what this influence pays for does not amount to much if separated into individual items. But when collected together in one piece of legislation, these small favors amount to a whopping bite out of the taxpayer.

Larger decisions favored by a majority of the people languish in indecision. Powerful Lobbies exert the pressure on politicians about issues they do not support. For most issues, it is the kiss of death. The politicians do not bite the hand that feeds them. For instance, the decision on building new facilities for producing electricity with nuclear power should be a slam-dunk. But the environmentalists oppose nuclear power and their Lobby is powerful in Washington, so the issue languishes. Even though nuclear power is a safe, clean and efficient, the opponents raise the same old questions that stopped nuclear in its tracks in the U.S. many years ago.

From a logical point, you would think that the Congress could set up a panel of experts from the industry mandated to come up with solutions to the issues raised by environmentalists. I for one am not willing to concede that they have no valid point of view. But the issues should not be sitting and gathering dust because the politicians are afraid to address them.

I note that both Presidential candidates endorse the idea of nuclear power. However, Obama only supports it if---. A person with no convictions can always come up with a reason for not doing something, but on the issue of nuclear power; we have had 40 years to solve those problems. There is probably no perfect answer to the problem with the nuclear waste, but there is no perfect answer to most of society's problems. If we keep waiting around for the perfect solution to any problem, we will never progress from where we are now. It is time for the Legislature to act and stop the merry-go-round of endless nothing about this issue.

The nuclear issue is just one of the many problems facing this country that needs decisive action. The social security issue, the ANWR drilling issue, new refineries, and improving our trade agreements are just a few of the issues that need attention.

It is also time to put term limits on the table. If ever a Governing Body needs to flush itself every few years, it is our Legislature. We need to turn on the green light and end the continuous yellow light that plagues Congress.

Cheers,

-Robert-