Representation at its finest
An interesting account from someone who calls their Representative.
From
Big Government:
The Heat is On: Congressman�s Office Says Constituent Calls Are �Harassment�
Yesterday, I decided to call Rep. John Garamendi�s (CA-10) office in Washington, D.C. He�s my representative and I wanted to voice my opposition to the Senate Health Care Bill. I spoke with a female staffer and politely told her that, while I support health care reform, I oppose the Senate Bill because it wasn�t true �reform.� She said the Congressman thinks it�s a good bill and that he campaigned on health care reform. I told her I knew that. I also mentioned that I voted for him. When I tried to give her specific reasons why the Senate Bill would harm our system rather than reform it, she refused to listen. She said she was very busy and hung up on me. Being the persistent person that I am, I kept calling back. Each time I tried to finish my point, she hung up.
I called one more time. This time she said, �If you call one more time, we will notify Capital Police.� I asked why my conduct warranted involving federal law enforcement agents. She said I was �harassing� her. I tried to explain that trying to convince a representative to change his or her vote didn�t constitute �harassment.� Before I could fully explain, she hung up again.
I called back. This time, I asked to speak to her supervisor in order to report her repeated hanging up as well as the threat she made. I was placed on hold. Thinking I was holding for her supervisor, I was shocked when a Federal Agent with the Capital Police picked-up the telephone.
At first, the Agent was curt with me. He claimed I was harassing Mr. Garamendi�s staff by continually calling after being told to stop calling. I asked him when it became a federal crime to lobby a congressman. He said that it wasn�t but it was a crime to �harass� congressional members and staff pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 223. I told him I was an attorney (which I am) and that I would research the statute he had cited.
After researching 47 U.S.C. 223, I called Mr. Garamendi�s office again and asked to be transferred back to the Capital Police Agent. The Agent picked up the phone and I explained to him that the statute he cited was not controlling since it only prohibits people from calling with the specific intent to harass. I further explained that I was simply trying to voice my concerns with the intent of getting Mr. Garamendi to change his mind, not to harass his staff. The Agent eventually agreed with my position and said he would call Mr. Garamendi�s office and instruct his staff that I was within my rights to call my congressman and voice my concerns.
After I hung up, I realized that this story should be told. Besides being an attorney, I�ve also had the privilege of serving this great country in the United States Marine Corps. Having seen the ugly legislative process the Senate Bill had been through, I saw this as not just another tactic to pass the Senate Bill at all costs, but also as an affront to our liberties.
The legislators are not only not representing their constituents, they are instructing their staff to actively block opposing viewpoints from reaching their office.
It's not just me that is livid -- the 1,260+ comments to this post are an interesting read. A few of them:
"We are told to shut up or face federal agents. Such treatment may be acceptable in the former Soviet Union, but it�s repulsive in the country I love and served. Is this hope and change?"
So this is how full throated Marxism gets started in a country like Venezuela. You vote them in, they get disconnected from the electorate, and then they subvert the rule of law.
People like that aren't fit to govern a bowl of Sea Monkeys�
Welcome to the club! I called my Congressman (Dave Reichert) in regard to "Cap-N-Trade" to find out if he read the full text of the bill. I called everyday asking the question but never getting an answer (the even sent me a canned letter that did not answer the question I asked) I was given a "single point of contact" (Russel) who would not answer. After several days of this they started transferring me to the Capital Police who informed me my "privilege to contact my rep by phone or email has been revoked" I asked for the law that gave them the power to revoke "my privilege" and was never given one. I have a RIGHT as a US citizen to be able to redress my government for grievances�. I kept calling until Dave's Chief Of Staff gave me the answer I was asking all along�
BTW. Dave DID NOT READ THE BILL BEFORE HE VOTED ON IT!!!!
One of the threads that runs through the comments is that a sleeping giant has been awakened. Considering that Obama is now setting his sights on legalizing the 30,000,000 illegal immigrants already in this country, that giant is coming out of its slumber and right into a blind rage.
We are in for some interesting times to say the least...
Posted by DaveH at March 24, 2010 8:06 PM