Still Not Yours to Give

It’s Still Not Yours to Give

“Money with them is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people. But it is the one great thing for which most of them are striving, and many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it.” --- Col. David Crockett commenting on his fellow Congressmen.

Chris Riggs is a stalwart conservative challenging Rep. Calvert in the Republican Primary for the 44^th Congressional District seat. The challenger has, in stark contrast to the incumbent, taken an unequivocal stand against congressional earmarks. One recurring objection Riggs told me he has encountered on multiple occasions from members of the local Republican establishment is that they believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with bringing taxpayer money back to the district.

Although having an appropriator for a representative may be desirable to the few that actually benefit from the wasteful spending, there is, in fact, one very serious thing wrong with it. That is the fact that the money is quite simply not their money to take or spend. Col. Davy Crocket, an American legend and former U.S. Congressman (1827-1834), in "Its Not Yours to Give." recalls a speech he delivered in opposition to appropriating public funds to the widow of a distinguished naval officer. His speech ultimately defeated the appropriation.

When asked why he took such a stand, he told the story of a fire that he and several other Congressmen witnessed in nearby Georgetown. In compassion for the victims of the fire, the House appropriated $20,000 of the public funds to ease their discomfort. Later, while campaigning back in his home district, Crockett was confronted by a very wise constituent of his. He challenged Col. Crocket by informing him that although his intentions may have been honorable, he was not acting in concert with the Constitution. This shrewd citizen, Horatio Bunce said:

If you have the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all; and, as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you are not at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity, and to any amount you may think proper. You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. No, Colonel, Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose.

Mr. Bunce is correct. Congress has no business giving charitably, for the financial gain of one district, or one group, is robbery to the rest. The robbery we see today is not even in the name of charity, but purely of greed. Worse still, this sets the stage for the remarkably anti-Constitutional practice of District competition. This competition to secure and spend taxpayer dollars under the guise of “compassion”, or “job creation” or “bringing home the bacon” is precisely what occurs every day in Congress. It is so commonplace that Congressmen subscribe to it as a way to keep their large political donors, who are often times the developers that have the opportunity to build these wasteful projects, at bay. (See Rep. Calvert’s donor base for a plethora of examples)

It is utter madness that Americans haven’t identified these thieves and voted them out of office. Are we a people of morals and values, or greed and self promotion? It would be easy to throw up our hands and say that we are hopelessly greedy. But I think the right response is to identify the Congressmen who are doing this, and vote the bums out regardless of their party affiliation.

This is exactly why I am supporting Chris Riggs in his run against Ken Calvert. Rep. Calvert has spent the last 18 years spending billions of our taxpayer dollars through earmarks he has requested, and stimulus packages he has voted for, including both the $170 Billion and $700 Billion packages last year.

Aristotle defined character as “that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses and avoids” The vast majority of Congress, Republican and Democrat alike, have chosen to steal taxpayer dollars under the disguise of Congressional earmarking and have avoided the right path of fiscal responsibility . Let’s clean this house by voting out those who have proven they lack character by being unfaithful with the public coffers. A very good start will be to send Ken Calvert packing on June 8^th of next year.