Joey's Take: Putting limits on Congress

Campaigning has been fun these past few days – what with all the snow and ice. Watching the folks slipping and falling has made me appreciate being four-footed. I’ve had no problem getting around. And watching Congress slipping and falling all over the place to try to get “meaningful” legislation passed has made me realize even more how much we need a sure-footed dog on Capitol Hill.

When I’m elected, one of the things I’ll push for is a limit on how long Congress can meet each year. It seems to me they are wasting all too much time and money passing bills we didn’t even know we needed. If we’ve managed to survive 220 years as a nation without a law on how loud commercials can be, we probably don’t need the law. (Yes, loud commercials are annoying. But even I know that’s what the mute button on the remote is for.) Instead of being distracted by the noise on TV, Congress needs to focus on setting a budget that doesn’t break the bank.

Then there’s the healthcare joke that’s making its way around Capitol Hill. I’ve got to admit, I’m still waiting for the punch line. Perhaps that's the joke.

What gets me is how oblivious these “leaders” are to the obvious. One reason so many people don’t have insurance these days is that they don’t have jobs. Arff! Get the economy rolling (I don’t mean adding more government jobs) and a lot of these healthcare issues will take care of themselves.

You know, had Congress taken a commonsense approach to healthcare, the legislation would have passed ages ago, the president would be relaxing in Hawaii, all the senators could be home with their families or mistresses and we would have the peace of mind that comes with knowing we – and our hard-earned money – are safe from congressional shenanigans for at least a few weeks.

Next year I know what I'm putting on my Christmas wish list -- relief from too much government.

Merry Christmas!

Joey’s Take: Unprecedented Action

Although my congressional campaign is truly unprecedented, I promise not to overuse that word when I'm stumping -- given how much our current president has abused and misused it. Unfortunately, he has devalued that word as much as he has the dollar. (See Politico article.)

But enough jabs. Another unprecedented part of my campaign is that I’m not going to ask for your money. What I want are your prayers. Not for me, but for our country. Instead of throwing tea bags around in frustrated anger, we should be joining together in earnest, humble prayer -- all across this nation -- for our leaders.

Our prayers should not be about how right we are. And they should not be pleas that God show our leaders the error of their ways. Instead, we should ask God’s forgiveness for our lack of love toward those who disagree with us. We need to ask Him to raise up candidates on the local and national level who will stand for what’s right rather than bow to what is politically convenient. We need to continually remind our congressional delegates and local officials that we are praying for them; there is accountability in prayer. And while we’re on our knees, we also need to pray for the media.

Just picture it: God’s people, in every state, joining together and humbling themselves in prayer for the future of our country. Now that would be unprecedented.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14-15