In the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, our Founding Fathers declared that the brilliant centerpiece of our government was created by “We the People of the United States.” It was clearly not, “We the Politicians” or “We the Bureaucrats.”
Unfortunately, our federal government has utterly abandoned “We the People.” It was never more apparent than in the disgusting spectacle of the recently passed $1.7 trillion monstrosity known as the omnibus spending bill.
While the bill allocates $800 billion in non-defense spending, there is inadequate funding for the recruitment of more border patrol agents. Despite an historic invasion of migrants pouring across our southern border, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received no spending increase “to account for inflation” in the bill. It also placed restrictions on ICE in their working relationship with local and state law enforcement agencies.
As our politicians showed disdain for our border security, the legislation provides $410 million for the border security of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Oman. Once again, the needs of citizens in other countries were placed ahead of the protection of the American people.
The bill handsomely funded a plethora of progressive pipe dreams. For example, it included $12.3 billion for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which just received $80 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act. It also provided $10.14 billion for the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), $2 billion for “climate and environmental programs,” and $3.4 billion for “renewable energy programs.”
The legislation named a new federal building for outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and provided $3.6 million for a “Michelle Obama Trail Project,” $575 million for U.N. family planning programs, $3.5 million for a congressional office of “Diversity and Inclusion,” and funding for LGBTQ+ projects in California, Ohio and New York.
Although the suffering of average American households was ignored in this legislation, the Biden White House received a 19.5% increase in funding for the operation of their offices.
To say this bill is a monstrosity is a vast understatement. Yet, it was passed with the support of 9 House Republicans and 18 Senate Republicans. These phony conservatives are de-facto Biden supporters and many of them supported the major pieces of legislation passed in the last two years.
In fact, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was positively giddy in excitement about the bill. He was especially happy it included $45 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, boosting the total support from the United States to over $100 billion since the start of the war. According to McConnell, “Providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans.”
Really? Did McConnell conduct a poll of Republicans to determine their “number one priority?” Of course not, McConnell is so entrenched in the D.C. beltway and supportive of our enhanced involvement in the war in Ukraine that he has not bothered to check with “most Republicans.”
If he did talk to Republicans, he would find sharp disagreement with his ridiculous assertion. A recent Marquette University poll found that 58% of Republicans favored “sharply reducing U.S. military aid to Ukraine.” A new CNN survey found that only 33% of Republicans favor “prolonged” support for the Ukrainians. The support level for military aid dropped from previous polls taken in July and March.
Obviously, McConnell and his fellow establishment Republicans despise the base of their party. They supported an omnibus bill which limited border security funding. This is in sharp contrast to the Marquette University survey results which indicated that enhancing border security was the most important issue to Republicans with an astounding 94% favoring additional “efforts to stop illegal immigration along the southern border.”
Fortunately, there are a few Republicans who are in tune with the grassroots. Former President Trump blasted the bill, calling it an “unmitigated disaster.” U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ) claimed that “In all my travels across Arizona, not one of my constituents said that defending Ukraine should be our top priority. Not one.” This viewpoint was echoed by the U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH), who lamented “It would be great to see America's leaders more focused on America's borders than on Ukraine's.”
Another problem with the legislation was that it was rushed through at the end of the lame duck session of Congress. As members of Congress were busy making travel arrangements to return to their homes, no one in Congress read the entire 4,155 pages of the pork infested bill. As noted by the U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), “Irresponsibly passing a bill that you have NO IDEA what's in it is NOT the answer.”
As noted by the Wall Street Journal, the omnibus spending bill was the “worst in history.” It passed at a time when there has never been a greater disconnect between the wishes of the American people and their leadership in Washington D.C. The Capitol Hill swamp places its priorities far above the desires of the American people.
As exposed in the recent Twitter file releases, major government agencies have been working overtime to censor viewpoints which are contrary to the policies of the federal government. It has been shown that the FBI and CIA pressured Twitter to censor social media posts with contrary opinions on the 2020 election, the Hunter Biden laptop, COVID-19, and the war in Ukraine.
This type of activity is beyond disturbing, it should be illegal. Our country cannot survive as a constitutional republic if government bureaucrats and politicians thwart the will of “We the People” through intimidation of media outlets.
As beautifully outlined in the Declaration of Independence, only governments “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” are legitimate. Otherwise “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.”
It is time for “We the People” to have a government that places our needs before the needs of foreign governments or corrupt politicians. At the very least, our federal government needs an attitude adjustment.