Iowa’s Un-Representative: Leonard Boswell

The residents of the 3^rd Congressional District are angry. They feel that they are not being represented. They are frustrated because their Congressman has failed to heed their advice. They are confused as to how their elected representative could so willingly turn his back on their will. And most of all they are disgusted by sheer magnitude of arrogance displayed by their representative. The Congressman I am talking about is Leonard Boswell, a member of the US House of Representatives supposedly representing Iowa’s 3^rd Congressional District. Please watch the two videos at the end.

Now you may wonder why the residents of the 3^rd District would feel like Congressman Boswell is not representing them. Perhaps it is the fact that Congressman Boswell’s office took literally thousands of calls urging him to vote no on the recent Cap and Trade legislation. Despite this overwhelming show of opposition Congressman Boswell voted for the legislation. The question in many folk’s minds is why on earth would Boswell deliberately disregard his constituent’s wishes? In fact one brave young professional, Meghan Swella, spoke and asked that very question. And what was Boswell’s answer? He stated that voting yes is a part of the process.

When the issue of ethanol came up a spirited debate ensued. Unfortunately for Congressman Boswell, he come off as ill informed or deceptive when his constituents voice their belief that ethanol was not an answer to our energy concerns. Somehow Boswell interpreted the residents belief that ethanol is just a temporary fix as an attack on ethanol. If Congressman Boswell had been paying a little closer attention he might have understood that the people want real answers, not some half measure being passed about as being a solution. Furthermore Boswell attempts to refute another audience members concern that food prices will continue to rise if the use of ethanol increases. Boswell gives a strange answer talking about how his corn production compared to his father’s corn production will be the reason that food prices will stay low. I know a strange answer. It almost makes me wonder if Boswell is suffering from some form of dementia or could we be seeing the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease in the long serving Congressman. Either way here is a little factoid for Congressman Boswell. This tidbit comes from a text book written by Lester R. Brown, President of Earth Policy Institute, called Plan B 3.0 Mobilizing to Save Civilization. According to Mr. Brown the State of Iowa, in a good year, produces just 2.2 billion bushels of corn. However as of late 2006 the amount of corn demanded for use to produce ethanol reached 2.7 billion bushels. Tell me Mr. Congressman, just how can food prices not rise when the amount of corn needed for ethanol production exceeds total production.

And as I stated in a previous post the subject of cap and trade came up. In the course of discussion on this subject, one glaring truth came through. Congressman Boswell clearly does not respect the power that he wields in the United States House of Representatives, nor does he respect the voters that put him there. During the debate leading up to the vote on cap and trade it was widely reported that Congressman Boswell was concerned with portions of the bill. When Boswell capitulated and voted yes on cap and trade many of his constituents were upset with him. However when we found out at the town hall meeting in Knoxville that he still had concerns with the bill we were beside ourselves. He attempted to repeatedly claim that his affirmative vote was just a part of the process and that future versions o f the bill will remove the portions of the bill that he objected too. One courageous young lady stood up and questioned the method in which Boswell was representing our district. She pointed to the fact that thousands of calls flooded the Congressman’s office in OPPOSITION to the bill.

It has quickly become evident that Congressman Boswell no longer respects the voters that put him there. From the lies, distortions, and deceptions; Congressman Boswell has demonstrated that he is a part of the problem infesting Washington. It is politicians like him that give politicians a bad name. They scheme and plan in an effort to deceive their constituents all in a vain desire to maintain their life of luxury in the capital. With each event and each appearance Boswell’s credibility continues to plummet with the most important people in his life; his constituents. Perhaps a better title for his position would be US House of Un-Representatives.

Edited Version (approx 3 min)

Full Version (approx 20 min)

Leonard Boswell talks Energy at Iowa Town Hall Knoxville from Melody Borucki on Vimeo.