Members of Congress Deliver Lumps of Coal to the Citizenry Before Christmas Adjournment

I want to congratulate the ladies and gentlemen of Congress for doing such a marvelous job for the American people that they can now afford to recess, to go home for the Christmas holiday and enjoy this special time of year with their families in good conscience.

They have left us at the precipice of the "fiscal cliff," we do not have a legitimate budget and the stock market has begin to reflect their lack of seriousness about accomplishing anything this year, but who cares? Responsible governance and doing what one is expected to do are overrated, are they not? These folks, after all, are the members of an exalted class. They are members of "the 1%": highly-compensated whether they perform or not, their supervisors (us) re-elect them despite their failures, and they are able to curry favor with us by simply saying, "I am trying to work for my constituents, but the other guy (and gal) is gumming up the works. It is not MY fault! I must stand for principle! Compromise be damned!The voters must also consider how much pork I have brought back to the district. I fight for you! Isn't that what government is all about?"

The titans of business: leaders of companies with a combined annual revenue of in excess of $7.3 trillion, weeks ago began an initiative to push the members of Congress to act, stating their willingness to accept an increased level of taxation in exchange for getting a handle on your burgeoning and unsustainable entitlement programs, general principles with which I wholeheartedly agree. This group of responsible and sensible leaders placed full page advertisements in major newspapers to state their case. Congress responded, "Not interested; we shall not be moved, even by you".

I would have hoped that the Newtown, Connecticut gun massacre would have been a watershed moment for the nation in many ways, serving as a unifying horror that would spur to Congress to act for the good of the nation. We find again that any moment of national infamy followed by solidarity and comity is short-lived. Just as we saw after the dastardly attack on our nation of Sept. 11, acrimony and intransigence rear their ugly heads before we know it.

I hope that those who voted for the current crop of non-achievers in Congress are pleased. Our "leaders" have left tens of millions of us in the lurch as they enjoy holly, misleltoe and hot toddy at home. Will the members think about all that they have done to bring us down as they stand before God in church this Christmas season? Not a chance, because they, you see, are upstanding, distinguished members of the community. It is all the fault of the folks on the opposite side of the aisle!

Merry Christmas to the ladies and gentlemen of Congress! We, your adoring constituents, will welcome you back to Washington with open arms if and when you decide that you have a responsibility to govern!