Who can we trust?

It is sadly apparent that we can no longer trust public officials. It seems that winning an election affects their common sense. In their arrogance they evidently think that the ability to win an election either makes them smarter than anyone else or allows them to succumb to self-interest.

Sadly, the most recent example appears to be our own Senator Heller. His recent vote in favor of the Senate’s Immigration Bill is in my opinion a breach of trust not only to Nevada but to the nation. He has apparently sampled Harry Reid’s power Kool-Aid and liked it. Why else would he abandon his constituents by helping Reid insert in the immigration bill what Breitbart.com calls “little more than a handout to Las Vegas casinos”?

We have come to expect this from Reid, but from Heller? His public reason was that the bill is better than it could have been. What? That is the most lame justification I have heard in some time. By that logic he should have voted for Obamacare also. Could it be that he has become complacent in the fact that he doesn’t have to run for re-election for five more years? True, he campaigned on his ability to cross the aisle to get things done, but he didn’t tell us that apparently meant at any cost and for personal gain.

I called the Senator’s office and asked if he had read the bill before he voted on it. I assumed their non-answer to be a no. At the 2010 Republican State Convention I listened to then Congressman Heller speak on conservative issues with a conservative tone. Perhaps Senator Heller would be wise to listen to Congressman Heller’s words.

Sadly, such activities are not limited to Senator Heller. We all know the damage Senator Reid has done to the country, with Obamacare, Cap and Trade (which is sidelined for now), and Stimulus, among others. His political machinations are also pervading our state legislature. I wrote previously on the shenanigans ala the Reid playbook that took place in this year’s legislative session.

This is not limited to our state. The Colorado state legislature passed some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. The result is that a major manufacturer of ammunition clips, MagPul, gave away 1,500 clips the day before the law took effect and sold thousands more at a reduced cost. They also announced they were taking their $85 million per year business with 200 employees elsewhere. Also, eight northern Colorado counties are actively pursuing secession from the state. Maybe the sixteen northern Nevada counties should follow their example.

The entire U.S. Senate, with only a handful of exceptions, and the President should be recalled or impeached. Both groups have consistently ignored their obligations under the Constitution.

The 2013 budget was the first in four years. The national debt has exploded with no serious efforts to either curb government spending or reduce the debt or spending deficit. The single largest tax increase in history, Obamacare, was enacted along with a slew of fees and taxes intended to redistribute income. Existing immigration laws are ignored in favor of a new, and if passed, more intrusive law that has little chance of succeeding. National security and foreign policy are in a shambles. Apparently more time, money, and effort is expended on spying on potential political enemies (us) than on foreign intelligence.

The courts are not immune, either. Look at some of the recent decisions that fly in the face of the Constitution and smack of judicial activism. It makes me wonder if all that NSA intrusion hasn’t snagged a Supreme Court Justice. Also, remember that most of these decisions the Supreme Court hear have gone through lower courts. Those courts show even more rampant activism in many cases.

There is no doubt our governments, state, federal, and in many cases local, have gone astray. They have become self-serving with entrenched and expanding power exertion. In wishful moments, I desire term limits for Senators and Congressmen. Mark Levin and others think elected officials at all levels should be part-time, with only a per diem and no benefits. You say government is too complex for that? If so, I counter that it is then too large.

There is no easy solution. Those looking out for their own interests are too entrenched. However, doing nothing is not an option. Remember Edmund Burke’s “all that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”