The Do-Nothing Congress

We must realize a basic truth about our Congress. It isn’t merely dysfunctional, gridlocked or obstructionist — by any fundamental measure it has devolved into a useless branch of government. Its members, Republicans and Democrats, have only two goals: to raise as much money as possible and use that money to get re-elected time after time.

Our nation faces dire problems that require federal leadership, along with our tax dollars, to address. Many examples abound. Take our crumbling infrastructure. Our roads are infested with potholes, bridges have collapsed and our aged airports pale in comparison to those in many other countries. What has Congress done? Nothing.

Then there is gun violence. Even after the slaughter of schoolchildren by a mad man, the targeting of gays in a night club and an ISIS-inspired mass murder, our cowardly Congress, fearful of the NRA, has done nothing.

I am a firearms owner and true believer in the right conferred upon us by the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms. But do we really need the “modern sporting rifle,” the name the gun industry prefers for the semi-automatic civilian versions of weapons of war? Sure, it is a momentary thrill to send downrange in a matter of seconds 20 or 30 rounds of .223 Remington, but should civilians have access to these types of weapons? You don’t need an AR-15 to bag a deer, and they are dangerous civilian self-defense weapons because of over-penetration that places family and neighbors in harm’s way. Then there’s the “I need an AR to defend myself from an overreaching, tyrannical federal government” crowd. Good luck with that. My money is on the trained military forces.

Congress simply isn’t conducting the people’s business. Months ago, President Obama requested a modest level of Zika virus-related funds. The result? Nothing so far from Congress. As the Washington Post recently reported, hundreds in Florida have been infected and throughout the U.S. over 1,000 people have the Zika virus, including over 300 pregnant women.

Yet lawmakers are about to head back their districts unrepentant at having accomplished absolutely nothing for years. Each member should be embarrassed at this state of affairs, and we the people all should march on Washington and literally “throw the bums out.”

Mark Latham

Hartford