SHAFTWAXER

Joe Knollenberg is my Representative in the House of Representatives. I didn’t vote for him, but he is my representative none the less. I regularly email, call, and write to him with my concerns and opinions, and when he doesn’t vote the way I believe, I let him know. I am always polite on the phone and in all my correspondences. In my head, I despise the choices and votes that he makes, but if I want my voice heard, as soon as you start getting rude, they have every right to ignore you. I get that.

But according to his chief of staff, I am un-American. Furthermore, I hate this country and want Iran to win the war in Iraq. Even though my father was a long standing member in the UAW and I married into a family that works for GM, I want Toyota to destroy GM. Apparently, I hate this country because I have political opinions. And according to his chief of staff, he is speaking directly for the congressman. It makes you wonder why I even try communicating my views with my elected official. Does he truly have such a low opinion of the people he was elected to represent? I get form letter after form letter expressing his views. I don’t expect personal responses, but wow. I don’t get this guy. It’s shockingly sad to think that an American with a dissenting opinion is not an American at all.

If there really is an issue with harrassment, then by all means. Go to court. Get the police involved. We have institutions in place to deal with things like that. But just because you hear an opinion you don’t like from people you are PAID to represent doesn’t excuse this kind of action.

See for yourself. Watch the video along with commentary from MSNBC, then follow up with this and this for some context.

2008 can’t come fast enough.