Further Evidence of Rampant Illiteracy in Congress

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Further Evidence of Rampant Illiteracy in Congress

August 20, 2007 – Washington D.C. Another disturbing piece of evidence came to light this past Friday adding to speculations that at least half the legislative branch of the United States government is completely illiterate.

This latest incident involved Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl and his stunningly irrelevant reply to one of his constituents. The constituent had e-mailed Senator Kohl regarding “Cost of Defeat” Congressional Call-In Day last Thursday, 16, August.

“It is roundly known that the radical defeatist group MoveOn.org launched a campaign today to pressure members of Congress into voting for retreat from Iraq because war is expensive,” read the constituent’s letter. “Follow through on their demands would, of course, cause us to lose the war, and most likely much more. I would like you to know that I for one want to win the war on terror, and the cost of defeat is a price I am NOT willing to pay! And yes, I do see Iraq as a crucial front in the War on Terror, as does our enemy.”

The constituent continued…

"It is not insignificant that several news outlets – conservative and otherwise (even the NY Times!) - have increasingly been reporting on progress being made by General Petraeus and our troops. General Petraeus will be giving his testimony in September. He and our troops have earned a fair hearing. Please do them the honor of hearing them out. In the meantime, might I recommend you get a genuine idea where the military, their families, and their supporters are at on this issue: www.mudvillegazette.com; http://www.michaelyon-online.com/ , http://www.victorycaucus.com. These are not mere activists’ sites. These are soldiers who not only believe in the mission, but are risking their lives for it. I think that bears hearing out. I’m sure you would agree.”

Yet despite the constituent’s powerful, heartfelt, and fairly well-written prose, Senator Kohl’s response (below) suggested that he didn’t (or couldn’t???) read a word of it

"Thank you for contacting me regarding the war in Iraq. As you can imagine, on a topic such as this, many people take the time to write to me. Please be aware that I am listening to all Wisconsinites on this critical topic.

The President has misused and abused his authority to go to war in Iraq and failed to adequately plan for the post-war situation. This failure has resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqis. According to our intelligence community, the war in Iraq has done nothing to stop terrorism, but instead has turned that country into fertile ground for recruiting violent extremists. The country continues to be plagued by sectarian fighting that shows no signs of letting up in the near future.

In late 2006, the President announced his intention to deploy over 20,000 soldiers to Iraq to quell the ongoing violence, most of which were deployed to Baghdad. I heard little in the President's strategy that sounded encouraging. Against the advice of his senior commanders, the Iraq Study Group, and the majority of the American people, he has opted to commit more troops to the fighting. This approach has not been successful in stemming the violence in the past and will result in further escalation of our commitment to Iraq at a time where our soldiers are stretched to the breaking point.

Over the last few months, the Senate debated several measures that would have directed the President to begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. The measures called for redeployment within 120 days of passage, with the goal of having combat troops out of Iraq by April 2008. The first bill, S.J.RES.9, the United States Policy in Iraq Resolution of 2007 was defeated 48-50. The second attempt was included in H.R.1591, the Fiscal Year 2007 Emergency Supplemental Spending bill. Like its predecessor, this attempt to bring the troops home failed.

Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) sponsored an amendment to H.R.1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which would have called for the end of combat operations in Iraq by April 2008. Following an all-night session of debate on the war, the Senate failed to gain the 60 votes necessary to end a filibuster on the amendment by a 52-47 vote. Senator Harry Reid removed the defense authorization bill from the floor to be reconsidered later this year, at which point Congress will resume debate on ways to end the war.

Congress plays a vital role in the ongoing discussion of the war in Iraq, and as the debate continues on ways to end the war, I will keep in mind your strongly held beliefs.

Sincerely,

Herb Kohl

U.S. Senator

Such profound disconnect bears deeper consideration, particularly after the Senator began his letter by stating, “Please be aware that I am listening to all Wisconsinites on this critical topic.”

“He’s not listening to me,” countered the constituent in his interview with Churchill’s Parrot. “Charlie I’ve sent this clown your Iraq Invasion Anniversary Online Refresher Course, I’ve studied and digested your Information Warrior Virtual Bootcamp and sent him all the relevant links and sources of REAL information regarding Iraq and the greater war on terror, and still he throws this crap at me. The same crap they’ve been dishing out since 2003 no matter what facts come to light or what developments take place in Iraq. It’s enough to make me want to move to Illinois. But THEY’VE got Durbin!”

The constituent’s anguish is not uncommon. Millions of Americans have issued similar complaints about their “representatives”, oddly the majority of them – sadly not all – democratic. We at Churchill’s Parrot have previously brought to light similar instances of such chilling disconnect between constituent and representative, particularly on the issue of Iraq (see our posts regarding Senators Ted Kennedy, Russ Feingold, and the entire United States Senate.
Explanations for this phenomenon vary, but one in particular seems to be gaining consensus among a majority of congressional watchdog experts: illiteracy.

“Clearly these poor slobs cannot read,” explains one expert. “I mean what else could it be? It’s either that or they just don’t give a rat’s a** about their country and the soldiers protecting it,” continues the expert. “But … nobody thinks that. Do they?”

The urgency of this situation cannot be understated. Fortunately, a number of organizations have leapt to action in the fight to end Congressional illiteracy. If you would like to help, please consider contributing to any and all of the following:
· The Heritage Foundation
· The Victory Caucus
· Michael Yon Online
· Milblogs

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Via his web log, http://www.churchillsparrot.com/, Charlie, Sir Winston’s 107 year old pet parrot, endeavors to reinvigorate the flagging will of Western Civilization through regular injections of the Churchillian spirit, so desperately lacking in the enfeebled, addle-brained “culture” left us in the wake of the 1960’s.