Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Bob Stannard, a former lobbyist and author.
The story goes that if you drop a frog into boiling water that he’ll jump right out, but if you place a frog in cold water and turn on the heat that he’ll sit right there while he slowly boils to death.
Well, froggy, listen up.
While you’ve been sitting comfortably in your kettle of cool water someone took the opportunity to slowly turn on the heat. Your water has gone from cool to tepid and is about to boil. If you’re a good frog then you’ll be dinner in no time. If you are a smarter one you might just wake up and get out of the water before it’s too late.
I want you to stop and think about your government. Remember how it used to be in this country when we had a democracy in which the majority ruled? Those are now officially the good old days. It’s not how it works any longer. Today it’s ruled by a majority of the majority which is actually a minority.
“But this can’t be. This not how our democracy is supposed to work”, you say. You’re right about that, but while you were sitting in your pot of cold water there were people like Rep. Dennis Hastert of the GOP who were more than willing to turn on the blue flame.
When Mr. Hastert was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in his acceptance speech he declared that he would work for bipartisanship. He even went so far as to give his acceptance speech from the floor apparently to drill home his point.
The drama notwithstanding, Rep. Hastert proved to be anything but bipartisan. No sooner did he take the gavel did he put forth the idea that instead of needing a majority of the members to bring legislation to the floor you would now need a majority of the majority party.
Now you’re thinking, “Hey, I’m just a frog sitting in a pan of cool water. Why should I care about an action that took place in 2004”? It’s thinking like this that will get you hot water eventually, Froggy.
The Democrats had an opportunity a few years later to overturn this bad idea when they controlled Congress but presumably they thought this bad idea was good for them and they turned a blind eye.
There is a reaction for every action; unless there isn’t. If you are happy with the way things are working in Washington then just sit quietly in your pan of nice cool water.
So why should you care? Because today we have arguably THE most do-nothing Congress in the history of our nation and the reason is that the House Speaker, John Boehner, doesn’t have the courage to lead. He would rather do nothing and keep his job verses lead and address much needed issues. If there is anything more pathetic than this I don’t want to know about. Is it any wonder that this man sheds tears like rain from a June thunderstorm in Vermont? If I was in a position to fix the nation’s problems and did nothing I would cry, too.
What it means to you is that a much-needed immigration bill that came out of the US Senate, supported by most Americans, has already been declared dead in the House, because a majority of the majority, consisting primarily of Tea Party nuts, won’t pass anything.
The same is true of simple background checks gun legislation. About 90 percent of Americans feel as though it’s a good idea to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental disorders or criminal records. The only way to know if these circumstances exist is to do a background check. The public gets it, but the minority in Congress – i.e. the majority of the majority in the House – doesn’t want any legislation that deals with gun regulation, period, and thus they rule the day.
There is a reaction for every action; unless there isn’t. If you are happy with the way things are working in Washington then just sit quietly in your pan of nice cool water. However, if you are like the majority of Americans who are sick and tired of nothing happening; jobs not being created, corporations run by people like the Koch brothers calling the shots, which benefit their interests and perhaps not yours, then ask yourself if now is the time to jump.
Democracy only works if we all participate. Back in the day when I served in the Vermont House I had colleagues who kept their voter checklist right next to their telephone. If you called them on an issue they would thumb through the directory to see if you had voted. If you had they would listen to you. If not, they would listen politely and then ignore you.
That’s how it works, Froggy. If you don’t want to participate in your democracy you need not fear, because there are plenty of other folks out who do. They are the ones who will be listened to. The only question that you’ll have to ask is whether or not their hand is on the dial and are they planning on turning the heat on high under your pan of cool water.
Based on what I see happening in Washington the dial’s already turned to high.
