Ringing In The New Year

With the ringing of the New Year, like many others, I find myself at a crossroads in my life. A number of things have gone on in my life, and some of them have been unexpected surprises, to include one being the unexpected layoff of one of my most respected colleagues this morning. Not exactly the way to start off the year, but it has taught me to continue to remain on my toes, to watch my back and to be extremely careful as to whom I trust.

Christmas was a wonderful time for me as I celebrated it with my youngest and had the chance to visit with friends and family over the phone. It gave me the chance to focus on that which was most important and to renew my commitment to those things I value most, and in the process I remembered just how important those priceless intangibles are.

America begins the New Year with the war on terrorism continuing both in Afghanistan from a combat standpoint as well as on the home front from the public relations angle. Unlike Vietnam, the Pentagon is strictly controlling press access on the grounds that too much press access turned the American public against the Vietnam War. At least, Washington learned one lesson in that regard.

Sen. Daschle (D-SD)

Meanwhile, gridlock has resumed in the Hill over a number of issues, with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) seemingly doing all he can to commit political hara-kiri. Whether it is regarding issues of funding or just about anything else he can think of, Daschle wants it wither his way or no way at all.

Sen. Lott (R-MS)

As for Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), he is just an out-and-out weenie as it pertains to having any degree of backbone. When the GOP had its 90 days of control of the Senate last year prior to the defection of James Jeffords (I-VT), Lott actually agreed to the asinine idea of power sharing with Democrats. What the hell is wrong with this guy? Were a general in the military to pull this kind of stunt, he would have immediately been relieved of his command.

Had Gore and Lieberman been elected and the Senate been 50-50 and Lott asked Daschle for a 50-50 power share, you can rest assure that Daschle would have told Lott where to get off, and justifiably so. Why the Senate GOP leadership didn’t frag Lott’s hide over that one is beyond me. Exactly what information is in those FBI files that Clinton and his cronies dug up early in their administration and did Clinton and their pals turn them over to the Democratic National Committee?

After all, it’s an open secret that Clinton is pulling the strings behind the DNC in the first place – this despite the fact that he is America’s moral leper in far greater measure than Ted Kennedy ever was. Ted Kennedy’s body count was just one; Clinton’s last count stood at 106 I believe, and is by no means done climbing.

So, as we go into the second session of the 107th Congress, we head once again into a season where we have public servants that all too often get too little done with too much bickering.

As a people, we have the responsibility to ensure that our voice is heard. To do so, we need to get in touch with our elected officials in Washington as well as on the local scene. To get in touch with our Senators and Congressional officials, we can go the Senate and House web sites and look up who our officials are. We need to encourage them to stand up for principle over party line and to help their parties return to the principles for which they originally stood.

For it is only through getting in touch with those we elect that we can effect meaningful change in making America a better place for ourselves and more importantly, our children and our children’s children.

What better legacy can we leave them?

Timothy Rollins

• Photo of Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) courtesy of his Official Senate Web Site
• Photo of Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) courtesy of his Official Senate Web Site

You can e-mail your comments to Timothy at tim@opinionet.com

Copyright © 2002 by Timothy Rollins.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission