webb 3     My old buddy, Webbie, sure is getting the hang of being a senator who is responsive to his constituents. Whenever I contact our senators, I send them identical e-mails. Ah, the efficiency of cut and paste. Once again Webb’s response was received before any from Warner, which is a pleasant development from earlier this year. Check it out here.  

     Webbie’s recent reply was to my e-mail sent Sunday morning after the House passed their so-called healthcare reform bill. Once again Jim proved he’s the hardest working man in the U.S. Senate, since the time stamp on his e-mail carried 9:50 p.m. last evening. Jim, please go be with your family. Oh, wait a minute, you guys only work 3 days (Tuesday – Thursday); maybe it’s good if you really did burn some midnight oil.  

     Clown Boy’s response ran almost 500 words. I didn’t read it all at first because initially I didn’t get passed the 2nd paragraph which reads as follows:

“For this reason, I joined seven of my Senate colleagues in urging that legislative text and cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office be posted for public viewing at least 72 hours before the measure is debated or voted on in the full Senate.  This will allow our constituents to evaluate the proposal in detail and make their views known.  It is important for us to be very deliberate on an issue of such importance to the lives of so many Americans.”

      Let me just go through these 3 sentences to explain why it took some Coleridgian “suspension of disbelief” to read the rest of Webb’s response.

 1.)    Wow, Jim, 8 of our 100 senators want the legislative text and COB’s estimates posted for public viewing 72 hours before debate or vote on the legislation. Way to put together a huge 12 % coalition of your colleagues. What about the other 92 clowns?

2.)    Where did this 72 hour viewing period come from? 3 days to voice an opinion? What if I lived in California and wanted to “write” a letter to Senator Boxer or Feinstein. Can you guarantee the U.S. Postal Service could deliver a 1st class letter in that 3 day period?

3.)    It really is nice that your constituents are being “allowed” to “evaluate” this proposal in detail. If I remember correctly, the Baucus senate version of the healthcare bill runs some 1,500 pages. Thanks, Jim, for getting 3 whole days for the common man to wade through 1,500 pages of legalese.

4.)    “It is important for us to be very deliberate on an issue of such importance…” No kidding, Clown Boy, but 3 days is deliberate? Hey, if you haven’t noticed, Obama is approaching 11 weeks in his deliberation on troop levels in Afghanistan. You and your imperial colleagues might consider holding some Town Halls with your constituents.

      Oh, I could rant on, but I’ve vented; so I feel better. Thanks for reading.