Brief by Central Staff
Politics – April 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
We’re all for congressmen staying in touch with their constituents. That’s why they have a “franking privilege,” which allows them to send mail at public expense.
But the most recent mailing from Rep. Doug Lamborn is essentially a piece of campaign propaganda. Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, represents Colorado’s 5th Congressional District. Most of its population lives in El Paso County, but it also comprises Chaffee, Frémont, Lake and and part of Park County in Central Colorado.
Lamborn’s latest mailing, in full color on thick glossy stock, does not cover matters like public lands management, Brown’s Canyon wilderness, the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, Piñon Canyon, or a host of other federal issues of some importance to the residents of this district.
Instead, he gave us a “family issues update.” Does that mean he’s making it easier for families to get health care? Or helping families hold their homes during a financial meltdown? Or proposing more college loans, or veteranss benefits, or money for schools?
Well, no. We learn that among the bills he’s promoting, there is the “Pledge Protection Act,” which “prohibits federal courts from reviewing cases that alter the Pledge of Allegiance.” Whatever you think of the Pledge (originally written by a socialist), just how would this help families? Does he believe that the Jehovah’s Witnesses who don’t say the pledge have some kind of family problems?
He also supports the “Deleting Online Predators Act,” that “would allow schools and libraries to ban obscene materials and dangerous websites.” We figure that’s a job for parents, but perhaps Lamborn has joined Hillary Clinton in the “It takes a village” camp.
And there’s the “Right to Life Act,” which states that “Human life begins at conception.” Thus any miscarriage would logically have to be investigated. This from somebody who has told us we need a smaller, less-intrusive government?
As long as we’re in a congressional district with Colorado Springs, we’ll have a Republican representative. We’d prefer a representative who pays some attention to the entire District, as Joel Hefley did, rather than one who sends us pictures of himself getting an award from Focus on the Family.
