Do you know the penalty for not voting?

By Will Brown

When I was an undergraduate an uncouth woman was recognized as Miss FAMU. We shared a last name and that was about it for commonalities. Yet for some reason classmates and others thought I was related to this Montgomery mistress.

That year the winner repulsed me to the point that I picked up one of her campaign signs after the election and kept it at my college apartment as a constant reminder that those who represent us are not always the brightest cookies in the jar.

On top of the campaign poster, which was hung on the wall in my apartment, was a quote from Plato: “one of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

The quote was recycled Wednesday afternoon when the U.S. Senate failed to pass legislation that would “ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and provide a responsible and consistent background check process.”

The bill needed 60 votes. It received 54.

When news of that vote reached Barack Hussein Obama II the American president was incensed. The second amendment specifically states “a well regarded Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Now, I’m not a constitutional scholar, but I seriously doubt any militia would accept someone with a criminal history, or someone who may be suffering from mental illness.

For the sake of this discussion, forget the second amendment. The 17th amendment is far more important.
In January a Pew study found a majority of Americans favored gun control similar to the bill introduced by West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey that did not receive enough votes to move forward.

If a majority favored regulation 90 days ago, and those We the People sent to Washington to represent us chose to vote otherwise maybe it’s time to rethink who We the People send to Washington. This is why the 17th amendment, which was ratified 100 years ago this month, is important. It gives We the People an opportunity to elect our Senators. Previously, delegates from the states selected and sent Senators to Washington every six years.

There will be 31 Senate seats up for grabs next November. Of those 31 races there will be 25 incumbents — Massachusetts will have an election in June to replace the seat vacated by John Kerry.

Susan Collins (R-Maine) was the only elephant who was bold enough to put her trunk up and vote for this legislation. The 10 other Republicans whose seats will be up for election next fall voted against the bill.

Republicans were not alone in forgetting humans are not invertebrates. Five Democrats also did not support this legislation for a sundry of reasons. Maybe it’s a coincidence that three of those five donkeys are up for reelection next year. Maybe, it’s not. The six Senators, four Democrats and two Republicans, who will not seek re-election voted along party lines. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey), Carl Levin (D-Michigan) and John Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) all supported the bill. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) and Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska) did not.

The president advocated remembering today’s vote 19 months from now. Our liberal president has proposed a lot of things, but asking the people he serves to recall how their Senator voted on one piece of legislation 19 days from now might be more difficult than passing universal health care.

In the interim we can only hope to be led by people, on both sides, who prefer our politicians display common sense, not cowardice. Otherwise we will continue to be governed by our inferiors.

Laughs and liveliness, -Wb