They Don’t Make  Them Like They Used To (Members Of Congress, That Is)

In my previous life, I taught American history. I kept thinking this weekend about how the Founding Fathers must be turning in their graves seeing how low the depths of statesmanship and class have deteriorated in the Congress.   They have just been sworn in for the new term and members have nothing better to do then call for impeachment of the president.

Reprehensively, Rep. Rashida Tiaib called President Trump an expletive just hours after taking the oath of office. I think she should have been censured right then and there; but Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn’t got the guts to do what’s right.

This Michigan democrat of Palestinian descent and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress said, “President Trump is a direct and serious threat to our country. On an almost daily basis, he attacks the Constitution, our Democracy, the rule of law and the people who are in this country. Each passing day brings more pain for the people most directly hurt by the president and these are days we simply cannot get back. The time for impeachment proceedings is now”. But we must take a deeper look into the real intent of this woman. She posted a map of the Middle East in her office that replaced Israel on it with Palestine. It seems that her main beef with the president is that he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel and he has chastised the Palestinians and withheld funding to them. 

Tiaib also attacked Republican lawmakers and those who oppose the anti-Israel BDS movement by saying, “they forgot what country they represent. This is the United States where boycotting is a right and part of our historical right for freedom and equality”. I think that the congresswoman should heed her own words. Her loyalty to the Palestinian cause should be exposed and dealt with by the powers that be in the House of Representatives.

She is joined by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the so-called progressive socialist whose nonsense that she spouts is constantly being reported in the press. Not only are her opinions misguided, she seems to lack the intelligence to articulate her points of view to anyone’s satisfaction.  Even the actress Whoopi Goldberg, no conservative by any stretch, commented on her television program that Ocasio-Cortez “should sit still and learn the job first”.

It seems quite obvious by the example of the antics of these two women that the freshman class of the House of Representatives should have a three month probation period to see if they can cut it in the job. If they can’t then they should be booted out. It is a common practice by human resources in business and should be adopted in Congress.

If these women weren’t enough to cause anxiety, we have US. Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia who compared Donald Trump’s election as president to the rise of Adolf Hitler. He had the audacity to say this from the pulpit of a Baptist church in Atlanta last weekend. Johnson said Hitler “rode a wave of nationalism and anti-Semitism to power. Replace anti-Semitism with all Latinos crossing our borders as rapists, drug dealers and murderers.  Doesn’t that sound familiar? Hitler was accepting of violence towards the achievement of political objectives. Trump encouraged violence against protesters at his rallies and in his messaging”. Farley Weiss, president of the National Council of Young Israel issued a statement which read “Comparing the President of the United States to a tyrannical dictator who has the blood of six million Jews on his hands is outrageous and beyond the pale” The Republican Jewish Coalition called Johnson’s remarks “unconscionable”.

To add insult to injury, two Jews are causing a stir, as well. Senator Bernie Sanders has opened the door for other progressives to publically criticize Israel. Sanders said it was “absurd for Republicans to introduce as the senators’ first bill in Congress a provision that would protect states that penalize Israel’s boycotters. Its absurd that this first bill during the shutdown is legislation which punishes Americans who exercise their constitutional right to engage in political activity.”

Rep. Brad Sherman of California immediately re-introduced articles of impeachment that he had filed last year with Democratic co-sponsor Rep. Al Green of Texas on the first day of the new session.

 According to Michael Goodwin of the New York Post.  “In its common definition, the job of president of the United States is to deliver peace and prosperity, Donald Trump is doing well on both fronts.”  What the Democrats intend to do is sully the waters with impeachment or as Goodwin describes it as “death by a thousand investigations. This is the heart of their plan and what unites them. “

Another example of how low our legislators have stooped to is Senator Mitt Romney lambasting President Trump’s character before he even took his oath of office as senator from Utah. He is replacing Senator Orrin Hatch who has distinguished himself in so many ways and is now being replaced by a poor substitute. My idea of an initial probationary period is looking more and more essential with this new crop from both sides of the aisle.

I worry about who is going to protect the American people from this group of legislators. The country has so many issues to deal with; but I fear that these politicians do not have what it takes to get things done. Speaker Pelosi, Senate leaders McConnell and Schumer better get their heads out of the sand and rein in their people or maybe there should be a probationary period for them to determine their leadership competency. The members of Congress are the “people’s representatives” so they better be concerned that the American people not become so disappointed and disgruntled that they demand change.

Another words, if they don’t smarten up and watch their Ps & Qs there could develop a movement to “throw the bums out”. I’m pretty sure that the Founding Fathers would have agreed to that.

 By Cynthia Zalisky

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 Cynthia Zalisky is the Executive Director of the Queens Jewish Community Council. She can be contacted at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.