Although 1984 is his best known book, perhaps George Orwell’s best book about the dangers of statism and government control is Animal Farm,in which the animals of a farm revolt over the hard circumstances inflicted upon them by their human ruler, the farmer Mr. Jones. The revolt is initiated by slick talking leaders who promise a better tomorrow, where every animal is equal. The problem is, of course, the slick talkers only want things better for themselves, not for everyone. When the pigs who led the revolt eventually assume absolute control of the farm and start to walk upright to the bewilderment of the other animals, the rulers’ coin the motto, “Some animals are more equal than others.”
So when 5th District Democrat U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello was asked last week at a town hall meeting whether he would enroll himself and his family in any “health care reform” plan Congress may pass, and tried to slickly evade the question, swaying from side point to side point, it kind of reminded me of Orwell’s character Squealer, succinctly described at Book Rags as:
. . . round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements and. … He is very persuasive, can convince anyone of anything, and when arguing a difficult point he has an almost hypnotic way of skipping from side to side. …
Unfortunately, for Rep. Perriello, he wasn’t as persuasive as Squealer. We post the video, you decide:
Rep. Tom Perriello: No, you first, I insist. The public option would be good enough for you, but not me.
[...] to make your Sunday evening or Monday morning a true pleasure, but I was derailed. Hey, you got two gems prior to this! So, let me point out some of the links of interest below. First, scroll down to the [...]
The 5th District’s Reasonable Response”
Two Percent Periello
Blue Ridge, VA – October 13, 2009 – According to OpenCongress.org, Congressman Tom Perriello votes against the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, only two percent of the time. Nancy Pelosi is, of course, a liberal icon and the darling of the radical left. She represents San Francisco values like same-sex marriage, anti-war activism, pro-abortion politics, marijuana decriminalization, socialized medicine, and lenient immigration policies. Clearly, Pelosi’s values are not the values of the overwhelming number of citizens in the Fifth District. And just as clearly, Tom Perriello has to be out of touch with his own constituents if he can toe the Pelosi line so faithfully.
The latest outrage is Perriello’s vote on September 21 to kill consumer choice on college student loans. The so-called Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 will eliminate the highly successful public-private student loan program that has been in place since 1965 and has provided for over 60 million Americans to attend college. Instead, Pelosi and Perriello will turn the Department of Education into a lending institution that controls all student loans.
On top of that, the bill requires that colleges and universities submit to a new federal bureaucracy, creates a new Green Schools Czar, and says that any school not complying will see its students denied federal student loans. Just wait. If this goes through you can bet it won’t be long before the Department of Education starts denying loans to students attending colleges the bureaucrats don’t like.
What is even more telling than his reliable votes for Nancy Pelosi’s agenda are the measly two percent when he opposes her. Take the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009, for instance. The bill extended unemployment insurance benefits by 13 weeks in states that have jobless rates above 8.5 percent (which doesn’t include Virginia ). It passed by a vote of 331-83 on September 28, and Perriello voted “No”. But since the bill passed by such a large margin, he could safely vote against Pelosi in order to bolster his shaky claim to being “independent.”
However, when it comes to close votes you can be sure Perriello toes the liberal party line. Just one shocking example of this occurred on June 18. That’s when Perriello sided with Pelosi to cast the deciding 213-212 vote that funded the closing of the Guantanamo Bay facility and opened the door to moving the terrorist detainees to the United States . No wonder Vice President Joe Biden recently lauded him for being a reliable vote for Pelosi.
The “Reasonable Response” believes the people of the Fifth District are opposed to the Pelosi and Perriello plans for continual Federal government takeovers. Under Obama, Pelosi, and Perriello the government has already taken over the banking industry and the car industry. Now they’re going after the student loan program and healthcare. And that is just the beginning. If Barack Obama, Tom Perriello, and Nancy Pelosi have their way the government will soon control just about everything. This isn’t the change the people of the Fifth voted for last November.
The 5th District’s “Reasonable Response” is comprised of a group of concerned citizens dedicated to exposing Congressman Tom Perriello for what he is – a mouthpiece for Nancy Pelosi. The “Reasonable Response” is deeply concerned for the direction the country is heading and believes that Congressman Perriello does not represent the views of the majority of the citizens of the 5th District. Blog—reasonableresponse.blog.com
Edward W. Clark, Jr.
5426 Bore Auger Road
Blue Ridge, Virginia 24064
ewc@prodigy.net
540-797-2337
[...] FYI, for the good folks in the 5th Congressional District: U.S Representative Tom Perreillo has released his summer town hall schedule. As with last summer, it’s extensive. So, if you are concerned about the issues of the day, and his voting record, you have every opportunity to hear him for yourself, and perhaps ask him questions. [...]