Requiem for Pelosi and the Democrats

October 31, 2010

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Brian Baird, Democrat Representative for Washington State 3rd Congressional District and retiring after 6 terms in office, is following in the footsteps of many who went before him. He wrote a book about his time in office, , “Character, Politics and Responsibility: Restarting the Heart of the American Republic.”

Baird, well known for “official” congressional trips to exotic locales takes some pretty controversial stands in his book.

Of the Pelosi led Congress Baird says, “It’s been an authoritarian, closed leadership.”

On “cleaning out the swamp” as many Democrats campaigned on throughout 2006, Baird states, “We abandoned all that work after the election, and leaders told us we should trust them to clean things up. I don’t know a single member of the Democratic caucus who saw the final rules package before they voted on it.”

On energy reform Baird claims, “With cap and trade we wound up with a bill that didn’t accomplish much, was enormously complicated and expensive.”

Towards Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac he says, “When I was first elected I was puzzled why they were holding events in my honor as a mere freshman. I asked myself, why is a federal entity so involved in political activity?”

On health care reform he said, “What the hell were we doing voting on this? I had labor groups come to me and insist the bill was so important we couldn’t wait to know what was in it,” even though he still stands by his voting for the bill.

With the claims made in his book, all I can ask is why now? Why did he not speak out earlier or stand up against this mess? Where were you when you should have been representing us, Mr. Baird, not those special interests you rail against today.

Read more at Wall Street Journal

Baird says what he would say to incoming freshmen Republicans, if they win as big as expected, “Governing isn’t as easy as you think.”

To the Reflector’s Marvin Case he claims, “elected leaders do not always tell the truth and refuse to take responsibility for solving problems. They focus more on party or personal power than common good. As a result, people lose faith in and respect for government. Honesty means making decisions through reason, not blind obedience, wishful thinking, fear, anger, intimidation or raw power.”

Maybe if he had avoided some of those exotic trips or stood by constituents, it might not be as hard as it has been made.

Tell ’em where you saw it. Http://www.victoriataft.com