Goodlatte to furloughed workers: Let them eat BBQ

Bobblehead Bob...
overdosed on tea.

Bob Goodlatte is hosting a BBQ at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds this rainy Sunday afternoon. I thought about going and asking how he could be hosting a social event when so many federal workers are furloughed and when businesses and federal contractors throughout the 6th District are severely impacted. Shouldn't our congressman be in D.C. trying to figure out a way out of this Republican/tea party ignited mess?

But, prudence took over when I re-read the letter I recently received (a friend got an identical one) from him. It doesn't take a genius to understand that our representative lives in Republican La-La Land where all blame is heaped on Senate Democrats and President Obama. Bobblehead Bob failed to address a single point in my original communication to him. Apparently his staffers just scratched through the Boehner & Friends book of "Tea Party Talking Points" and cobbled together a generic letter to send to anyone who asked him to please drop unreasonable demands and end the shutdown while moving away from the brink of default.

Looking at the invitation I realized today is not a BBQ for constituents where our congressman would listen to all points of view. Nope, not even close - this is a campaign event (the RSVP goes to his campaign) that he'll use to pick pockets of adoring lemmings for his next election (once again breaking his term limit promise). Our congressman won't do any listening this afternoon. Instead, he'll be railing against our President and against any Democrat he can find while taking irresponsible positions to make sure he doesn't get challenged from the right. I could show up but my words would fall on deaf ears and I'd risk being run out on a rail.

Better to stay home and check out what prudent steps to take as Congress Attacks America. Then maybe I'll call some family and friends who are among the groups taking the brunt of this GOP shutdown and offer some empathy or maybe a meal. Then I'll do a little reading, maybe to reassure myself that, in spite of the group gathered at the fairgrounds, Americans as a whole are pretty much a practical, common sense people. Three-quarters of us know the current impasse is driven by Republicans. As one of the pollsters in the recent NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll noted,“These numbers lead to one inescapable conclusion: The Republicans are not tone deaf; they are stone deaf.”