Read to Vote!

Democrats and Republicans may disagree on many things, but here is one thing we really should all agree on: the people we elect to represent us in Congress and the Senate ought to read the bills on which they vote before doing any actual voting! It is not only lazy, it’s a dereliction of duty and dangerous for the country!

Today, Neil Cavuto interviewed Eric Yaverbaum who, with Mark DiMassimo, has created an organization called ReadToVote.org, which calls on legislators to read all bills before signing them and for Americans in general to read the bills so we can debate them in an educated manner without spin and lies. He even goes further, saying that he is enlisting people to write H.R. 3200 (the health care bill) in chalk on the Capitol steps if our elected legislators refuse to do their job and read the bill. (He will seek Capitol Police permission first, of course!)

This is a great idea, and I urge everyone to participate and call on their congressman and senators to pledge to read the bill they will be voting on it! And while you’re at it, try to read it yourselves (if you can get past the convoluted legalese!).

Our Founding Fathers themselves said that the key to a truly free republic is for the people to be educated, and for Americans to make educated choices in the voting booth and when debating issues, they must know what is going on. We cannot expect to get the truth from the media or Jon Stewart or late night talk shows. Sure, we can watch or listen, but we must still go to the sources ourselves and form our own opinions!

The republic will fail if we fail to remain independent in forming our opinions.