Race Horses and Jackasses

Published 4/14/2010

A race horse is a beautiful animal, treated with care and coveted by its owner and caretaker. In return for all of the positive attention this animal will run hard and fast, win races, and in some cases bring home millions of dollars in winnings. By contrast, a jackass is not as beautiful, he’s stubborn, and typically abused to get work done. My friend Barry once shared with me a saying his attorney told him about divorce court, “ex-wives should treat their ex-husbands like race horses and they will bring home the winnings. Instead, too many ex-wives take them for granted, don’t appreciate them, and make their lives hard, treating them like jackasses so they act like jackasses.” In my opinion, any relationship could be described the same way: employer and employee, husband and wife, parents and teenager. I would also say the same holds true in politics and the current members of Congress seem to have started treating constituents like mules to do work. Ironically it seems to be the party that uses a donkey to represent itself that has taken this approach.

I must offer, the poster child for audacity and egotism in the Democrat party is local Congressman Alan Grayson. Orlando television station WFTV reported his outburst at a Perkins Family restaurant where a small group of his republican constituents were meeting. There are two sides to every story, but Grayson continues to build a reputation built on insults, outlandish statements, and ignorance of his constituents. In the video he states he knows exactly what his constituents are worth when he says, “There are 308 million people that pay my salary ($174,000/yr). Do you know what that breaks down to per person?” A little quick math shows Grayson knows it is $0.0006 per person. To me, it sounds like Grayson considers his constituents valueless mules, not successful race horses.

The Democrats faced supposed name calling and threats as a result of passing healthcare. In the aftermath of disregarding the legislative process for the sake of unilaterally passing an agenda disliked by the majority of American people they have reacted with surprise to the dislike for their actions, both as a party and personally. But, hell bent on passage they treated the American people with disrespect and total disregard. Thus, not listening and treating constituents like jackasses instead of race horses that bring home winnings has come back to haunt them. In the days after healthcare passage the media reported how horrible treatment had been including threats and racial slurs against Congressmen. With thousands of people on hand, from both sides, that afternoon it is amazing not a single video or recording has been forthcoming offering proof.

From the Republican side the best example of failing to treat others like race horses would come down to the floor debates regarding healthcare. At the same time though, no personal attacks were made in that venue, but there are those on the blogging and reporting side that offered up more questionable statements.

As children we are all taught the Golden Rule. However, researching this column and having watched the recent political process I would assert the disregard for the constituency comes not from personal hatred but understanding how little we are valued when compared to the lobbyists offering millions of dollars. Even if every citizen of Volusia County pulled together against our own Congresswoman Kozmas, by Congressman Grayson’s math the influence on her would only be about $300. I guess Grayson, Kozmas, and every other Congressman can afford to treat constituents like jackasses.