‘Super’ Politicians Fail the American People
On Monday, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction – better known as the Super Committee – announced what many of us already knew: they’re not so super after all. I’m not surprised by the news because “super” politicians in Washington have failed the American people for years – wasting our hard-earned tax dollars and handcuffing future generations with mountains of debt.
When these super politicians created the Super Committee, they bartered a $1.2 trillion cut over the next ten years in return for an immediate $1.5 trillion increase – the largest increase of United States debt in our nation’s history.
At the time of its creation, some Washington politicians – including those who are supposed to represent Louisiana – were quoted as saying: “this is a solid step forward” and “this is our best path forward.” We were led to believe that this bi-partisan deal was a step in the direction of fiscal responsibility. However, I voted against this Washington gimmick because I believe that Americans send their Congressmen to Washington to face our problems head on not delegate them to a small group.
I’m offended the same Washington politicians who voted to punt our nation’s problems to this group are now expressing their “frustration” and “disappointment” in the Super Committee. To these politicians, the American people and I say you don’t have a right to be disappointed by this failure because you created it. Where were you when 66 of us stood up and told Washington no, we would not vote for just another deal? Where were you when we could have stopped this disaster from happening?
What Americans are tired of is elected officials who act one way in Washington then come home and dupe the electorate in believing that they are fighting for them. Americans are tired of politicians who do everything they can to avoid being held responsible for tough decisions.
I came to Congress to focus on concrete solutions and make tough decisions. With Monday’s announcement, the super politicians have punted the tough decisions to our seniors and our troops by forcing cuts to Medicare and Defense.
Enough is enough; it’s time for these super politicians to join our calls to concentrate on the bottom-line, balance America’s budget, and end business as usual.
You won’t get any argument from me that the Supercommittee was a failure, but looping in an argument about how the sequestration-mandated cuts to Medicare and Defense are worse than they would have been absent the Budget Control Act is just laughable. Not raising the debt ceiling would have, by definition, instituted a 40% cut in all federal spending overnight. To pretend that Defense and Medicare wouldn’t have been savaged by this course of action is simply dishonest.
Mr. Landry sells himself short though, as it truly takes a true “super politician” to write an op-ed that panders to fiscal conservatives, seniors, and defense hawks all at the same time.
cgw48, I could not disagree more with your assessment, Congressman Landry has consistently placed his actions where his mouth is and has honorably represented his constituents without DC bullpoop…
One dictionary definition of super is “of an extreme or excessive degree”. Given the fact that the super committee was created from a group of arrogant, greedy, incompetent individuals who were abdicating their responsibility, did anyone really expect success from a smaller group considered “super”?