When we elect a Congressman, we, in GUNNER’S VIEW, should look at certain basic criteria before getting into the issues themselves. First, no Member should serve for more than 12 consecutive years. By taking root in Washington they’re no longer really working for their constituents, but instead they’re working for themselves. Second, no Member should serve beyond age 75. They lose mental acuity, health goes downhill, and they’re no longer what we want or need. Third, Members serving due to nepotism or cronyism need to be removed. Fourth, our politicians need to be above reproach. No scandal, no criminals, no perception of misdeeds or malfeasance. Fifth, no professional politicians. Sixth, they should have served the Nation in some thankless profession first (i.e. military, Peace Corps, VISTA, Public Health Service, Assistant District Attorney or Public Defender, cop, etc.)
I do not intend to discuss the issues addressed by these man and women, only how they fit in my basic criteria. Issues are something that you and you alone, need to decide on.
Now I know that finding someone who meets all of that criteria will be tough. But you know what, you’re the employer and you get what you pay for. If you’ll settle for second or third best than you deserve what you get. And, yes, I know there are exceptions to my rules, so go find those men and women and send them to Washington.
Here are the Members of Congress and how they fit under my rules:
Alabama
Aderholt, Robert, R-4th: Will have 14 years in the House at the end of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Bachus, Spencer, R-6th: Will have 18 years in the House at the end of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Bonner, Jo, R-1st: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Bright, Bobby, D-2nd: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Davis, Artur, D-7th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man. However, he has announced that he will be running for Governor of AL in 2010.
Griffith, Parker, D-5th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Rogers, Mike, R- 3rd: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Alaska
Young, Don, R-At-Large: Will have 34 years in the House at the completion of this term. Is already 75 years old. Do not re-elect this man.
American Samoa
Faleomavaega, Eni F. H., D-American Samoa (Delegate): Just what in the heck is a delegate? There’s no such critter in the Constitution. Why are we supporting a non-voting member of Congress? American Samoa is a territory, not a state; they don’t deserve anyone in Congress. It’s about 10% of the size of Rhode Island with 10% of the population of Wyoming. If they want a Congressman, let them apply for Statehood. In any event, Mr. Faleomavaega will have been in office for 22 years at the end of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Arkansas
Berry, Marion, D-1st: Will have 14 years in the House at the end of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Boozman, John, R- 3rd: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Ross, Mike, D-4th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Snyder, Vic, D-2nd: Will have 14 years in the House at the end of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Arizona
Flake, Jeff, R- 6th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Franks, Trent, R- 2nd: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Giffords, Gabrielle, D- 8th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. However, she comes close with item 6, as her husband is CAPT Mark Kelly, USN, an Astronaut at NASA. Re-elect this woman.
Grijalva, Raul, D-7th: Was a member of Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán. This is a group that says As Chicanas and Chicanos of Aztlán, we are a nationalist movement of Indigenous Gente that lay claim to the land that is ours by birthright. As a nationalist movement we seek to free our people from the exploitation of an oppressive society that occupies our land. Thus, the principle of nationalism serves to preserve the cultural traditions of La Familia de La Raza and promotes our identity as a Chicana/Chicano Gente.’ In essence they want AZ, CA, NM, and TX returned to Mexico or set up as a separate Hispanic Nation. Do not re-elect this man.
Kirkpatrick, Ann, D- 1st: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this woman.
Mitchell, Harry E., D-5th: Meets all of my criteria except. Re-elect this man.
Pastor, Ed, D-4th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 20 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Shadegg, John, R-3rd: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 16 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
California
Baca, Joe, D-43rd: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 12 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man. That being said, I have worked with Mr. Baca in an attempt to get specific veteran’s legislation through the house. I have found him to be a caring professional. He MAY be an exception to my criteria.
Becerra, Xavier, D- 31st: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Berman, Howard, D-28th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 14 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Bilbray, Brian P., R-50th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Bono, Mary, R- 45th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 13 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Calvert, Ken, R- 44th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Campbell, John, R-48th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Capps, Lois, D- 23rd: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 13 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Cardoza, Dennis, D-18th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Costa, Jim, D-20th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Davis, Susan, D-53rd: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this woman.
Dreier, David, R-26th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 30 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Eshoo, Anna G., D- 14th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Farr, Sam, D-17th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Filner, Bob, D-51st: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man. That being said, I’ve worked with Bob Filner on the House Committee on Veteran Affairs. He’s an interested, knowledgeable, and caring man. He MAY be an exception to my criteria.
Gallegly, Elton, R-24th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 24 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Harman, Jane, D-36th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 16 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Herger, Wally, R-2nd: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 24 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Honda, Mike, D-15th: Meets all of my criteria. Re-elect this man.
Hunter, Duncan D., R-52nd: Replaced his father in the House. Nepotism. Do not re-elect this man.
Issa,Darrell, R- 49th: Meets all of my criteria. Re-elect this man.
Lee, Barbara, D-9th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 13 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Lewis, Jerry, R- 41st: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 32 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Lofgren, Zoe, D-16th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 16 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Lungren, Daniel E., R- 3rd: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 16 years at the completion of this term. However, my criteria calls for no more than 12 consecutive years. Mr. Lungren served for 10 years, than was out of office for 16 years before being re-elected. Re-elect this man.
McKeon, Buck, R-25th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Matsui, Doris O., D-5th: Replaced her husband in the House. Nepotism. Do not re-elect this woman.
McCarthy, Kevin, R- 22nd: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
McClintock, Tom, R-4th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
McNerney, Jerry, D- 11th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Miller, Gary, R- 42nd: Meets all of my criteria. Re-elect this man.
Miller, George, D- 7th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 36 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Napolitano, Grace, D- 38th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 12 years at the completion of this term. Will turn 75 during her next term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Nunes, Devin, R-21st: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Pelosi, Nancy, D- 8th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 24 years at the completion of this term. Father was Congressman from Maryland. Do not re-elect this woman.
Radanovich, George P., R- 19th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 16 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Richardson, Laura, D-37th: Meets all of my criteria. Re-elect this woman.
Rohrabacher, Dana, R- 46th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 22 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Roybal-Allard, Lucille, D- 34th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Royce, Ed, R- 40th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Sanchez, Linda, D-39th: Sister of Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. Do not re-elect this woman.
Sanchez, Loretta, D-47th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 14 years at the completion of this term. Sister of Congresswoman Linda Sanchez. Do not re-elect this woman.
Schiff, Adam, D- 29th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Sherman, Brad, D- 27th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 14 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Vacanct, 32nd:
Speier, Jackie, D- 12th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this woman.
Stark, Fortney Pete, D- 13th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 38 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Tauscher, Ellen, D- 10th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 14 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Thompson, Mike, D- 1st: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 12 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Waters, Maxine, D- 35th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 20 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Watson, Diane E., D-33rd: Is 75 years of age. Do not re-elect this woman.
Waxman, Henry, D-30th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 26 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Woolsey, Lynn, D- 6th: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Colorado
DeGette, Diana, D- 1st: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 14 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Lamborn, Doug, R-5th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Markey, Betsy, D- 4th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this woman.
Perlmutter, Ed, D- 7th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Polis, Jared, D-2nd: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Salazar, John T., D-3rd: Brother of Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Do not re-elect this man.
Coffman, Mike, R- 6th: Meets all of my criteria. Re-elect this man.
Connecticut
Courtney, Joe, D-2nd: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
DeLauro, Rosa L., D-3rd: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 20 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman.
Larson, John B., D- 1st: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 12 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
Murphy, Christopher S., D- 5th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Himes, Jim, D- 4th: Meets all of my criteria except item 6. Re-elect this man.
Delaware
Castle, Michael N., R- At-Large: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 18years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this man.
District of Columbia
Norton, Eleanor Holmes, D-Delegate: Will have served in the House of Representatives for 20 years at the completion of this term. Do not re-elect this woman. See American Samoa.
Now some of these folks I've asked you not to re-elect have done a great job. However, if we want to get the point across that we want term limits, age limits, no criminals, no anti-Americans, etc. than we have to do it ourselves, because Congress won't.
For you veterans out there who may think I'm a little off base here, think about this ~ the House of Representatives is required to appropriate the funds to keep our country running. The Federal Fiscal Year ends on 30 Sept. When was the last time, in your memory, that they managed to to pass a Department of Defense or Department of Veteran Affairs Appropriations Bill before the Fiscal Year ended? As best I can recall it's been well over ten years. Sure they pass a continuing funds resolution and when the budget finally gets passed, in say Jan or Feb (5 or 6 months late) they brag about it, saying they gave VA the biggest increase ever. What they don't tell you is that for that 5 or 6 months VA must operate at last year's level of funding and they never see the full increase.
Lord we pray that you will re-engage the memories of our Congress members so they remember why they ran for Congress in the first place.
Gunner Sends.
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