There May Be Hope For Congress After All

I have to admit that I am a bit behind on listening to my podcasts. However, I was awestruck by one I heard earlier today which was recorded at The Heritage Foundation on August 1 entitled "When Do You Know You're Winning? Combating Insurgencies - Past, Present and Future". Congressional Representative Thadeus McCotter (R-Michigan) was the guest speaker and I particularly liked this exchange (emphasis added):

Question - "How do you gauge your caucus’s temperature on Iraq? Do you think it is going to stay together in September?"

Answer - "I earlier advocated and I continue to advocate that this is not a political matter for our party. That if we descend to the level where national security and elemental questions of right and wrong become an issue where we can be coursed or cajoled then we have not done our jobs as the representatives of the sovereign American people and we will descend to the level of those that view everything as a political matter in relation to your national security.

When your nation is engaged in warfare overseas you retain your right to descent. But you also have the responsibility to put forward constructive solutions to further the cause of victory. If you do not like what the President is doing then you should tell the President how we can best achieve our goal, be victorious and allow our troops to come home to their loved ones. I think that when you treat this as political matter you stray from that fundamental principle and you get into all sorts of trouble.

So we have not whipped our caucus on this and we will not. It is a matter of conscience and we believe that, in the end, this is the best way to approach this because it is the right way to approach this. I know how I will be voting; my constituents will know how I will be voting; and I think that is right and proper and anyone that asks me will be told. But if they do not ask, I will not force it upon them."

Just when I began to think Congress was nothing more than a collection of blithering idiots this man comes out and very concisely articulates my very feelings about how the liberals have come perilously close to treasonous behavior regarding the war. All I want to know is if/when he will consider running for higher office. I think he just might have a future.