Joey’s Take: Keeping It Real

I have to apologize for going silent for the past two weeks. My campaign computer was attacked big time by viruses. If I were paranoid, I would blame it on a vast left-wing conspiracy aimed at shutting me up. But I’m a reasonable dog, so I’ll try not to buy into all the conspiracy theories. Instead, I’ll focus on real issues that matter to real people in the real world.

On the eve of the president’s speech to schoolchildren, a few media outlets trotted out Oprah’s list, prepared for the inauguration, of how children can serve their president. Funny, I thought it was his job to serve us. But I’m just a dog. What do I know?

It did get me thinking about how the role of a public servant has changed. The time was when we had citizens serving in a part-time Congress and then going home to take care of business. Now, we have professional politicians who position themselves as leaders, not servants. Yet, ironically, we have a woeful dearth of leadership in federal government.

So here’s a revolutionary thought: My campaign will be based on service – not leadership. If I’m elected, I pledge to:

• Be a servant, not a leader.
• Keep my paw out of your pocket and keep special interest paws out of my pockets.
• Make congressional pay merit pay. Senators and congressmen and -women who don’t show up for work, read the bills they vote for or live by the laws they pass shouldn’t get paid.
• Tie congressional salaries to the economy. If there’s no COLA for Social Security or government workers, there should be no pay raise for the servants in Congress. Period.

I’m Joey. I’m running to be your servant in Congress. And I approved this message.