Editor:
National parks are being closed, hundreds of thousands of government employees are out of work, and people are wondering how they are going to pay their bills with a fat stack of “IOU’s.” Not that congressmen have anything to worry about, since they just so happen to be some of the only government employees who get to keep their paychecks, no questions asked. Now our town is in trouble. Tourists are angry and leaving due to Mesa Verde’s closure during a very busy time of the year. The town is losing out on important end-of-the-season profits, and everyone is suffering, government employee or not.
But guess who doesn’t care? Our lovely representative, right here in Colorado. Congressman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., led the charge toward our government shutdown by authoring a letter that stated that he (and anyone who signs it) would refuse to approve any kind of continuing resolution whose budget included Obamacare. Not that the two have anything to do with each other, but hey, who’s not above some good old-fashioned blackmail every once in a while? Not Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs.
Lamborn is one of 80 representatives who signed the Meadows letter, the result of which has been what you see before you today: a government shutdown with no clear end in sight. The last time I checked, when an amendment is voted on by the American people and approved, it becomes law that can only be amended or discussed for repeal through the appropriate legal processes in Congress. But no, instead here we are, twiddling our thumbs while Congress throws a wrench in the whole constitutional process. All while helpless government employees are being held hostage, losing money, and are soon to be past due on their bills. My question: Is the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of government employees and the economic stability of many small tourist towns worth jeopardizing so that Congress can throw its hissy fit? Consider that the next time you enter the voting booth. Thanks for nothing, Doug Lamborn.
Caitlyn Reese
Cortez
