Rep. Jason Smith's Push Poll

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

My congressman, Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri's 8th district, came out with his annual internet poll of constituents yesterday.  One must assume that this type of polling is important to the congressman, especially since he does not hold public town hall meetings and seems to actively avoid any settings where he could be confronted by individuals just randomly showing up to share their thoughts with a member of Congress.  Jason Smith does not seem to be the type of man who relishes the chance of being surprised or put on the spot.

Although Congressman Smith probably feels confident in his understanding of his deeply red political district, he also understands the importance of at least going through the motions of seeking input from his constituents - hence yesterday's email poll.

Congressman Smith's poll was, to a certain extent, a "push" poll, one in which respondents are led toward specific responses.  In this case, the legislator seemed to be seeking an affirmation for the policies of Donald Trump.  There were seventeen areas listed and recipients were asked to choose those that were important to them.  Most were general "no-brainers" which would be hard to oppose, and a few seemed to be Trump-Republican campaign talking points.  Here is the list:

• Protecting Social Security and Medicare
• Increasing quality of care for veterans
• Building a wall and securing the border
• Cutting federal spending
• Protecting innocent life
• Investing in transportation and waterways
• Protecting the environment
• Lowering healthcare costs
• Reducing poverty
• Strengthening national security
• Supporting farmers
• Growing the economy
• Cutting taxes
• Protecting 2nd Amendment rights
• Repealing regulations, cutting red tape
• Lowering energy costs
• Protecting private property rights

Protecting Security and Medicare is one of the no-brainers.  Everybody is for it, or says they are for it, including the Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate who, in reality, lust to eviscerate those programs - all the while claiming that they want to make them more sound and fiscally responsible.  Social Security and Medicare - and Medicaid - face an imminent danger, a danger that is posed by Congressman Smith's political party.

Increasing quality of care for veterans should also be another no-brainer.  These brave people fought for their country - in uniform - and deserve our highest level of respect, a respect that should include exceptional health care, good jobs, and housing.  Instead they are suffering a bureaucracy that seems unwilling and even unable to meet their most basic needs.  Donald Trump showed his disdain for the Veteran's Administration when he tried to place his personal physician, a man with no administrative experience, as head of the agency.  And this week it was revealed that three Mar-a-Lago cronies of Trump, none of whom hold government positions of accountability, have actually been de facto managing the VA for Trump.  The VA is the very epitome of the Washington, DC, swamp that everyone likes to rail about - and it has gotten much swampier during the Trump administration.

So yes, Congressman Smith, I would like to protect Social Security and Medicare - and Medicaid (the one you conveniently forgot to mention), and massively increase the amount of care that our government provides to its veterans.

The third item on the list, obviously important because of its high placement, was "building a wall and securing the border."  Well Congressman Smith, I have driven along much of the border in southern Arizona and California, and I know that large segments of a wall already exist and that the border forces of the U.S. government have a strong presence there.  There are no plans at any level of government to extend the wall along the entirety of the U.S. - Mexican border, even though Trump's tone and rhetoric paint that picture.  Building large chunks of a wall would be ineffective and it would be a huge waste of money - something which would work against "cutting taxes," another item on your list.  All a bigger border wall would really accomplish would be to create a huge photo-op for Donald Trump - much like his proposed $30 million military parade.

What you didn't ask regarding border "security" was your constituents' views on separating families and putting children in cages.  Of course, you might have been uncomfortable hearing what your voting public thought of things like that.

Cutting federal spending?  Seriously?  You want to hear about our anger at the high levels of federal spending while nudging us toward cheering for Donald Trump's vanity wall?  I would be happy if we could begin by cutting Donald Trump's golf outings and federal payments to his golf and resort properties.  The amount of money that our government spends to keep Trump and his "royal" family living securely in the lap of luxury is obscene!

Protecting innocent life?  Those small brown children locked in cages in Texas look pretty damned innocent to me!  Where is your outrage for them, Congressman?

Investing in transportation and waterways?  Our nation's roads and bridges are a dangerous mess.  Donald Trump talked about improving our infrastructure, but when it got down to the massive amounts of work that needed to be done and the high costs of getting that work completed, the talk seemed to fade.  Roads and bridges and rails and waterways will have to get in line behind the needs of the defense contractors, wall-builders, and Donald Trump's golf outings.  The country has priorities, don't you know.

Protecting the environment?  Two words:  Tom Price.  Two more words:  Ryan Zinke.  It's easy to yammer on about protecting the environment, but actions will always speak louder than words.  The Trump administration and the Republican Party would appear to be hell-bent in delivering control of the environment over to business interests that will place it in peril for generations.  Yes, I am for protecting the environment, unequivocally - but are you, Congressman Smith?

Lowering healthcare costs?   They are soaring as a result of you and your party dismantling the Affordable Care Act.  America knows that, and no amount of political posturing and dissembling the truth will be able to protect Republicans from the coming wrath of the voters.  Healthcare costs are going to be lowered, Congressman, in spite of the Republican Party - count on it!

Reducing poverty???   While there is an abundance of poverty in Missouri's eighth congressional district, reducing its occurrence has never been much of a political goal, particularly by your party.  I'm for reducing poverty - but, again, are you?  Do you have a plan for making life better for your constituents in need, or is your focus on keeping life comfortable for those who are already economically secure?  This could be an area where you really shine - if you took an interest in making life better and more fair for those with basic unmet needs.

Strengthening national security.  Having served in the military myself and also having puttered around the planet for seventy years, I support the concept of keeping our nation secure.  A big part of the Pentagon's appropriation each year comes for items that the military does not want - items forced into the budget by congressmen and senators who do the bidding of military contractors so that those contractors will spend money in their districts.  The amount of waste in the military budget is astounding - as you well know.  I encourage you to move aggressively in cutting wasteful spending, and give the military what they need.

I notice that you failed to mention a major threat to our national security - the interference in our elections by foreign governments.   I am definitely amped up over that - and you should be too.  Russian meddling in American campaigns and its direct interference in the electoral process is a clear and present danger to our democracy - much more so than housekeepers and landscapers trying to make a living by illegally crossing our southern border.    Election tampering by foreign governments is THE national security issue of this decade - and you and the other members of Congress need to take action!

Supporting farmers?  Donald Trump is proposing a $12 billion government bailout for farmers to make up for the money they are losing thanks to his ill-advised (or did he receive any advice at all?) trade war.  Missouri soybean growers, many of whom live in your district, were badly hit, and they do need to be supported.  Could that be achieved in some other way than by adding to our already out-of-control debt?  Perhaps one approach might begin with conducting trade policy deliberations and negotiations with carefully trained adults, instead of by tirade and tweet.

Growing the economy and cutting taxes?  Parts of the economy are doing quite well, for now.  But there are still vast stretches of the population that fail to even get their feet wet in this downpour of wealth.   Many businesses reaped unseemly bonanzas with last year's tax cuts, but darned little of their sudden profits "trickled down" to the average worker.  And what minimal benefits that the tax cuts had on the middle and lower classes were quickly eaten up by rising costs in necessities, such as foodstuffs and gasoline.  The rich got richer off of the backs of the poor -  an old, old story.

Protecting 2nd Amendment rights.  Now there's an old bit of voter-baiting.  Both the NRA and the Republican Party endeavor to agitate the masses by instilling the fear that someone, usually a Democrat or a minority person, is coming to take their guns.  It's shameless fear-mongering, and it is highly effective.  Recently we have learned that the Russians, the same folks who have been blatantly interfering in U.S. elections, have been giving major financial support to the NRA.  It is also known that the NRA regularly stuffs the pockets of U.S. politicians, primarily Republicans, with cash.  Our junior senator, Roy Blunt, has taken more that $4 million from the NRA.  How have they been treating you, Congressman?  

Repealing regulations and cutting red tape?  Of course we all support it, so why even ask?   It's just one more reminder to voters of how massive government is, and a sly hint that you and your party are the enemy of big government - when, in actuality, both the national debt and the size of government have increased under Trump.

Lowering energy costs?  Oh, if only that was a true concern of the Republican Party.  Yes, being a retired person on a fixed income I support lowering energy costs, as do, I suspect, most people of modest means.  You have asked for your constituents' opinion on lowering energy costs, and I suspect that they have told you.  Now, the question again is, what will you do about it?

Protecting private property rights?   Like protecting the 2nd Amendment and "innocent" life, this also is a bit of bait.  No one is coming to take our guns, or our property, or to force our daughters to have abortions, but keeping people stirred up about those types of things translates into campaign donations and votes.  

Those were the concerns that Congressman Jason Smith directed his constituents toward.  He neglected to mention the needs of his district's teachers many of whom are paid near-starvation wages, Trump's tariff tantrums which are closing factories and bankrupting farms close to where the congressman lives, our government keeping children and entire families in cages - a sinful and shameful national disgrace, our scattered foreign policy which seems to be as much about benefiting Russia as it is about serving the needs of our own country, and Russia's on-going efforts to destabilize and corrupt our election process.

There is, in fact, a smorgasbord of issues that the survey did not address, things that might come up if Congressman Jason Smith ever held a public town hall where people could show up and air their own particular concerns about our government and how it functions.   Yes, he might occasionally get embarrassed or upbraided, but he would also be on the front lines where he could actually hear what a cross-section of his constituents worry about - and not just the rare few who trek to Washington or have him grace their home, farm, or business with a personal visits.  Congressman Smith represents us all, and he should make himself available.

I marked my survey and sent it back.  Congressman Smith, please consider this posting as an addendum to that email response.