Vacation

Over my long career, I have on more than a few occasions postponed or completely foregone a planned trip or vacation because I had an important project to complete or a critical deadline to make. I wasn't happy about doing that, but it's what a responsible professional does when he or she has commitments that are time-sensitive.

We are being told that Congress faces critical deadlines for increasing the debt limit, establishing a budget, keeping the government funded, developing legislation for tax reform, and yes, saving a rapidly collapsing Obamacare program. Yet, Democrat and GOP members of Congress scurried out of Washington, DC to take a month long vacation. This action is, in a word, reprehensible.

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle never fail to tell us how much they're dedicated to the best interests of the country. They tell us that all of their actions are designed to make the lives of "working people" better. B.S. If they actually did care, the congressional leadership would have kept Congress in Washington throughout August, established a working schedule to address each of the issues noted, and gotten something done.

And please, spare me the notion that members of congress have to return home to "listen to their constituents." The input of the 'little people' pales in comparison to the input of major donors and lobbyists (special interests) right in D.C.

You know, if you think about it for half a second, it's almost as if the political elites don't want to get anything done. For the Dems, it's all about ensuring that Trump looks like a failure, and that Washington's chaos is all his fault. For many within the the GOP, I suspect that the intent is identical, only slightly more passive/aggressive. In effect, the elites on both sides of the aisle want to punish the "deplorables" who didn't follow the rule book established by our so-called political leaders and elected someone they despise.

Glen Reynolds of Instapundit often writes (paraphrasing) that "I'll believe there's a crisis when people who tell me there's a crisis start acting like there's a crisis." Leaving town on vacation indicates to me that Congress doesn't believe there's a crisis—or maybe, it's just that they simply don't care.