This isn’t addressed to any one candidate, but to all,
especially those running for a legislative seat.
Dear Candidate:
Louisiana is faced with a lot of problems, and nearly all of
them are budget related. I’m glad that you are pro family values – so am I. I
value my family and want them to be good productive citizens. My family values
are based on my upbringing and from raising two children. Now I have
grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I value them very much. I didn’t get
any part of my belief in family values from a politician. You worry about the
budget and get Louisiana on a sustainable course. We’ll handle the family
values.
I know politicians love the 2nd amendment to the
constitution. It’s great that you support it, but that is hardly a brave stand
in Louisiana, where everyone and their grandmothers own guns. There is
absolutely no chance that a Louisiana Legislature will pass, nor a Louisiana governor
sign, any bill that limits gun rights. In fact, quite the opposite is true. So
while we are glad that you support the 2nd amendment, don’t worry.
Spend your time worrying about the budget and how you would rectify the funding
problems that we face.
So far as loving constitutional amendments goes, some of you
don’t seem too fond of the 14th amendment. The Supreme Court
recently made a ruling using the equal protection clause of that amendment
which has stirred up a lot of controversy. Alas, neither you nor a clerk of
court from Kentucky can overrule the Supreme Court. I know that some of you
have tried to turn this into a religious freedom argument, but it simply isn’t.
If the lady in Kentucky can’t uphold her oath and do her job, she is free to
get a job where she doesn’t have to do that. And she is free to believe and
worship as she pleases; she doesn’t have the right as a public official to
impose her beliefs on others. Neither do you. Don’t waste our time with this,
concentrate on the budget.
While you are at it, how about sharing your ideas for
solving the recurring budget crisis. There aren’t any more cans to kick down
the road. The legislature has begged, borrowed and stolen from every available
fund to fill the gaps in the budget for the last several years. There are no
more left to plunder. Tell us what your ideas are to solve the problem on a
long term basis.
Leave the family values and such to us.
Well said Jim
ReplyDeleteI thought the Legislature created laws which are interpreted by the Judicial Branch and enforced by the Executive Branch. The legislature is at the mercy of the Governor. The Governor controls the budget not the Legislature.
ReplyDeleteAll appropriations bills originate in the House of Representatives. The governor can veto. The governor proposes a budget, but the legislature is under no obligation to enact it. Part of the problem is that the legislators have been all to willing to surrender their constitutional powers to the governor and just 'go along to get along'. I think it is time for them to stand up and take charge and fulfill the duties they are elected to perform.
DeleteGreat advice for the candidates. Maybe one of them will listen (other than Mike Johnson). It would be amazing if the politicans were actually concerned about the real issues we have in Louisiana. Governor Jindal has been a disaster for Louisiana. Let us not make the same mistake twice.
ReplyDeleteVery well said, Jim. I don't care what church a candidate is a member of, or if he/she goes to a church at all. Uphold the oath you take when sworn in. Do the job humbly, and never forget you serve. I NEVER like to hear a legislator describe his candidacy in terms of "leadership." You're a servant, buddy. A public employee.
ReplyDeleteThe case of the KY Clerk...
You're correct; it is NOT a freedom of religion issue. A Clerk Of Court is a manager of an office that is a curator of records. A Clerk of Court is only a boss of the people who work in that office, to limits set by law. A COC is not a boss or leader of anything else. A COC does NOT get to make law. You do the job you are instructed to do by your bosses, and if they ask you to do something that violates your values -- be they religious values, philosophical values, your family's traditions, whatever -- you have a right to quit the job. You do not have a right to refuse to perform and nonetheless keep the job.
I do not endorse or agree with gay marriage. If I were a COC I would have to either do as I am told re the law, or resign.