As he watches the Democratic majority in Congress pushing legislation that he knows will hurt residents in the 9th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer’s message to his constituents is simple.
“If you want to be a survivor you better start pushing back,” he said during a visit Friday to the Hannibal Courier-Post.
Luetkemeyer believes this reaction has been seen at some of the health-care forums that have occurred throughout the nation. The national media, according to Luetkemeyer, has mistakenly portrayed the people standing up and speaking out - loudly at times - at these events as a “bunch of right-wing Republicans.”
“They’re not. These aren’t radicals or activists; they’re mom and pop folks. These people are taking their kids out of school, they are business folks and senior citizens who have never been involved in politics before, who are going to these things and saying, ‘Hey, we want this taxing, borrowing and spending to stop,’” he said. “The people are still scared. They’re still concerned. They’re not happy with what’s going on.”
The debate over national health care continues to make headlines. Luetkemeyer doesn’t foresee anything being passed until 2010, if then.
“Is he (President Obama) going to be able to pull off health care? I don’t see it happening. Their side is so fractured right now,” he said. “I think what will happen is they’ll spend the fall trying to figure this all out and sometime next spring come up with something. It may not happen at all, but if they get something that will be close to the timing.”
Of bigger concern to Luetkemeyer is the cap-and-trade bill.
“The timing is such that it (health care) is the issue of the day, but cap and trade is a huge problem,” he said. “Everywhere I go I tell people don’t forget about this. Right now it is the under-the-radar issue you need to be aware of. While health care is going to take over one-sixth of our economy, cap and trade is going to destroy our economy.”
Congressional estimates are that cap and trade will cost 2.5 million jobs a year.
“They don’t even debate the number any more,” said Luetkemeyer. “It blows my mind that this is something we’re even considering.”
While there is plenty domestically for Americans to be focused on, Luetkemeyer says the U.S. cannot afford to turn its attention from international issues.
“We’ve got a situation in Iran that’s about to bubble over. That’s a powder keg we’re about ready to light. If they get the nuclear capabilities the fuse will be lit and it’s just a matter of time before it goes off,” he said. “We’ve got North Korea with a 12-year-old up there running that government. What are we going to do with him?
“There’s some things I think we can do there (with North Korea). They get 70 percent of their imports from China. There’s a way we can get those guys in a corner if this administration would work with the Chinese, Japanese and South Koreans and get them in a corner and minimize their activities. Iran is another story.”
