Below is a story from an involved citizen in the great state of Indiana. I KNOW it is a long read but I ask that you take the time to do so. I have not edited it. I was SO upset after reading this I felt compelled to share it with all of my readers. This story happened back in 2007. This Senator is STILL in power. For now……
I can tell you for a fact that Lugar is FOR amnesty and virtually anything else that rewards illegal aliens. He proudly displays a framed picture of him receiving an award from La Raza in his office. I’ve been to his Indy office many times, along with likeminded friends at times, and have called more times than I can count. I have been told, and yelled at, by his staff that:
1) Being against amnesty is an emotion driven, knee-jerk reaction of uneducated constituents. There is NO reason anyone would be against it.
2) Myself and likeminded Hoosiers are just too simple to understand the big picture or the process of government the way Lugar and other amnesty supporters do.
3) Lugar doesn’t work for his constituents. He’s sent to Washington to do what HE thinks best, regardless of what the majority of his constituents demand or desire. (I kid you not. His staffer said those exact words to me “The Senator is not in Washington to do what his constituents want.”)
Here is the report I wrote after my last visit to Lugar’s office, which was awful, in June, 2007. I dissolved into tears at one point and was so stressed from this incident that I suffered a shingles outbreak the next day (something that always happens with extreme – and I do mean extreme – stress.) I shared this with bloggers, family and friends. ~ Tish
The four of us met outside Lugar’s and Bayh’s offices at around 9 a.m. Our plan was to go into each Senator’s office and register our opposition to SB 1639, the Grand Amnesty, and to formally request that each Senator vote against cloture on that bill later that morning.
I expected to have the same experiences I’ve had in the past: a staffer takes notes of our points, our suggestions, and our requests, followed by a shaking of hands all around and a quick exit from the office; nothing but a semi-friendly exchange of time for all. That is not what happened at all.
The meeting in Lugar’s office, which was conducted with two Lugar staffers, Lane Ralph, Deputy State Director, and Bob Healey, Staff Assistant, started out with Cheree giving points of why we were against the bill. They listened politely – at first.
When I suggested that it was “sheer lunacy” (my words exactly) for our Senators to even be debating amnesty for 12 to 20 million illegals and doubling legal immigration at a time when our system couldn’t even keep up with our current immigration, Lane Ralph said that was my “philosophy” and dismissed me with a wave of his hand. He said, none too friendly, he wasn’t here to discuss philosophical issues. I said it was “reality,” not merely my philosophy and that the people of Indiana agreed with me. I said 90% of the people in Indiana are against amnesty and want our borders secured. He yelled – yelled – “80% of the people in Indiana want change!” He shook his head in a cocky sort of way as he said it. I came back with, “EXACTLY! Giving amnesty is what has always been done. It’s maintaining the status quo.” His intellectual response was, “No it isn’t.” “Sure it is!” I said. He then leaned toward me (he was sitting directly to my right) and condescendingly “explained” what status quo meant, as if to suggest I was too stupid to understand the term. He said it very slowly, as if he was speaking to a mentally impaired person, “Status quo means ‘no change’.” “Yes,” I said, “this will be the 8th amnesty in 20 years. The change people want is for current laws to be enforced.” How the idiot could even suggest with a straight face that giving amnesty is not the same ol’, same ol’ is beyond me!
At this point, rather than discussing something substantive, or doing his job which was to take notes so he could give our message to the Senator, he was more comfortable with insulting me yet again, as if pretending my comments were nothing more than the “philosophical” rantings of an ignorant, mentally impaired woman weren’t enough of an insult. He said, “That is an emotional issue! This shouldn’t be an emotional issue!” I said, “Excuse me, but it is an emotional issue for many and,” kind of laughingly, I said, “I’m not a robot; if you rouse my emotions, you’re gonna see them.” He said, “Well, perhaps you’d be better of discussing this some other place then.” Cheree said, “Oh? Where should we be discussing this issue?” He responded, “Emotional counseling.” I looked at Cheree with a “WTF?!” look on my face because I could not believe what I was hearing. The cat had caught my tongue! I was so shocked that I couldn’t respond.
Helen spoke at length about various things and the entire time she spoke, he would shout over her, as though he was trying to “out” her as ignorant or something. He would aggressively shout over her, throw out demanding questions as if trying to get her to reveal that she didn’t really know what she was talking about. I watched him as he did this, half thinking of striking him, and I noticed his hands were shaking as he yelled. I started wondering if he was, perhaps, a bit unstable because of the amount of outpouring from the public over this issue. Poor staffer, made to deal with the unruly, uneducated, unwashed pestilence called the “American people.” As the meeting progressed, he made it abundantly clear that was HIS philosophy!
When Cheree made the comment about the unusual process the Senate was taking in their attempts to shove amnesty down our throats, Lane Ralph practically jumped out of his chair and, condescendingly, shouted, “You’re wrong! That’s the system. That’s the way the system works! Republicans do it to Democrats when they’re in charge and Democrats do it to Republicans when they’re in charge! That’s our system and it happens all the time!” From all of us came the question, “So Senators pass laws they don’t read all the time?!” He continued yelling “No, they don’t read every word of every bill, but someone does! Senators read summaries of the bills.” He then went into a missive about how our government works. How amendments are made to make bills better or fix them when they’re bad, etc. Cheree said that Senators weren’t being allowed to offer amendments, that they were cherry picked by a select few. Again, he yelled “That’s how it works!”
At this point, Cheree, being every bit as upset as I was, grabbed the picture of her son and said that if that was the system, it was WRONG. She held up the picture. For a moment, I thought she was going to start crying. Bless her heart, she let them have it! “This is my son. He has served and bled for this country, and he’s still being treated at Walter Reed for injuries received in Iraq. He has to fight to get anything from the government. He was just turned down by our government for occupational rehab therapy. His chosen career was law enforcement, but now he’s blind in one eye because of his service to the country. The government is denying him help, but is trying to give rights to people who have broken our laws! Don’t you tell me what’s going on is “right”! She slid the picture across the table and she was angry as hell. The only one who bothered to pick up Troy’s picture was Bob Healey. He asked a few questions about him, like how old he was, and laid the picture down. If my memory serves me correctly, Lane Ralph never glanced at the picture. He wasn’t there for anything but a fight, it seemed. I know I most likely have Cheree’s comments botched, but that was the gist of them. I felt like standing up and applauding when she was done!
I think it was at this time that Tina said that Senator Lugar should listen to and respect the wishes of his constituents. Lane Ralph began yelling something at her again, something about “hundreds of years ago when this government was formed, Senators were sent to do what they felt was best for their constituents.” I smarted off, “Oh oh, that’s a philosophical issue,” but he apparently didn’t hear me because he kept ranting. I interrupted and said things aren’t like they were 100 years ago and that Senators have the ability to learn how their constituents feel. I said a law should be introduced where issues have to be put before the people of the states and that Senators should be forced to vote accordingly. He whipped his head around to look at me, and demanded, “Oh! Like the 55 mph laws?!” Not sure what he was trying to get at, I said yes, maybe “sure”, I don’t really remember. He snorted, like he had “caught” me being stupid or something and yelled, “Oh yeah! People really follow THAT law, don’t they?” and turned away. Again I looked at Cheree and said quietly, “I’m ready to go. This isn’t getting anywhere.”
I didn’t get up to leave because I didn’t want to be rude or leave my group. I couldn’t understand much of what was said after that, except those times I smartassishly piped in, “And yet ANOTHER philosophical issue!” or “Oh, that’s your philosophy.” I remember I said that when he felt it necessary to give us uneducated four a history lesson in government and immigration, particularly at those points when he said everyone who had ever come to America was an “illegal,” that “we are all immigrants,” and that we didn’t know who the indigenous peoples of this land were, that it might even be the Hispanics who are coming here illegally. The man wasn’t there to discuss philosophies – except his own.
The point was made again that the Senator wasn’t listening to Hoosiers on this issue, as evidenced by his votes, and he blew his lid. He was glaring at Tina, I believe, and shouting, “Don’t we take your names, addresses and numbers when you contact us?! We don’t do it because WE want to, we do it BECAUSE THE SENATOR REQUESTS THAT INFORMATION!!! The Senator gets a list every day of those who contact us and why they contacted us!!!!” He was slamming the tip of his finger on the notepad in front of him as he yelled.
I finally had enough of his shouting, arguing, condescension and outright contempt towards us. I said, “That’s it!” and jumped up to leave. I knocked the chair over backwards. I said, “Sorry about the chair,” none too friendly, as I picked it up. I think I told Cheree I was going to the restroom, I don’t really remember. I just had to get away from that condescending, shouting maniac before I did something to land myself in jail. I stormed out, closing the door without taking any precautions to make sure it shut quietly. I found the restroom and my husband called seconds after I walked in. As soon as I heard his voice, I started bawling. I hate getting that angry. And then when it makes me cry, which it always does, I get even angrier for not being strong enough not to cry. I hollered, vented really, in hubby’s ears for a couple of minutes and started working on calming down. I washed my hands, wiped the tears away, and left the restroom to walk around and compose myself. Once that was done, I headed back up to Lugar’s office. I walked in and went straight to the conference room. When I walked through the door, the shouting maniac, Lane Ralph, was standing there as the meeting was coming to an end. He said, “Oh, hey, I’m sorry.” It didn’t seem genuine in the least. I responded through clenched lips which had begun quivering again, threatening tears because I was so angry, “I didn’t come here for a civics lesson. I didn’t come here for a history lesson and I didn’t come here for condescension.” He turned around and walked away. I turned and shook Bob Healey’s hand and said, as Lane Ralph stood on the far side of the conference table, “It was a pleasure meeting YOU,” and thanked him for his time. The next time I looked over, I saw Lane Ralph leaving the conference room through a back door. Good.
The whole experience was a negative, infuriating one. It left me drained and shaking. I’m shaking now, just typing this brief and remembering.
While Mr. Healey was much more friendly and affable than Lane Ralph, he still approached us from the perspective that we were really just too stupid to understand how things really work. He went through a rather lengthy explanation of how the contacts to the Senator’s office are logged and sent to the Senator at one point in the discussion. What they refuse to understand is that no one cares HOW it’s done! If the Senator is going to ignore what the large majority of his constituents want anyway, it makes no difference HOW it’s done or even IF it is done!
None of us deserved the treatment Mr. Ralph unleashed on us that day. We did not go to our Senator’s office to argue, to receive a history lesson, a civics lesson, or to be dismissed as irrelevant and ignorant. Thanks to Lane Ralph, that is precisely what happened.
It was quite clear that these staffers were more interested in telling us HOW to think and intimidating us into adopting their stance rather than listening to anything we had to say. And when we said things they didn’t like or with which they disagreed, the tactic of the day was to scream and insult us.
When we left the office, we met outside to kind of gather ourselves. We couldn’t believe what had just happened. I went to put some change in the parking meter because I had only filled up 40 minutes’ worth at around 9 a.m. The meter showed that my time ran out 59 minutes before. We had been in there for approximately an hour and a half.
I don’t know if Lane Ralph was merely at his breaking point because of the stress of his duties and the pressure from the public or not. I’m inclined to think his treatment of us is merely an extension of his boss’ view towards us, “Those pesky Americans! Why can’t they sit down, shut up and leave us smart people alone so we can do our job?!” They don’t realize that WE are their employers. I hope Hoosiers join me in reminding them at every opportunity that they WORK FOR US and WE PAY THEM. We aren’t their “subjects,” though it’s very clear that is how they would prefer it to be
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IN 2010 WE THE PEOPLE WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REMIND ALL OF DC WHO IS STILL IN CHARGE!
JP
April 9, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Two thumbs up and well worth the read. I’ll pass the story around if ok with you. I’m glad to hear we’re not taking typical rhetoric from politicians without giving them a piece of our mind.
April 9, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Please do pass it around… I would really like it if I could get some other blogs linking in with mine…
JP
April 9, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Nothing is surprising here. Senators do not do the bidding of the constituents. They do not carry out the will of the people – they carry out the will of those who fund their campaigns and who promise them political/career gain. We do not have representatives, we have puppets and it is not WE THE PEOPLE who are pulling their strings. I say, no taxation without representation. Go to the Tea Party in Indianapolis and let your voice be heard! Also, remember these things at the next election! I didn’t leave the Republican Party, it left me! Check out the Libertarians folks. They still believe in the things in which our forefathers fought and died!
April 10, 2009 at 12:23 am
Great points… I like the Libertarian folks on a lot of issues… I think there will need to be a coming together of sorts for one good candidate (notice I did not mention a party) in future elections..
JP
April 9, 2009 at 10:09 pm
WOW! What a telling account… We recently moved to Indiana and are just learning about our elected officials. Thank you for sharing this with me (US). It will make a difference come election day!
April 10, 2009 at 12:25 am
I myself moved to the state on January 1, 2009… please read https://conservative74.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/my-letter-to-us-senator-lugar-in-republican/
I will be posting regularly on these types of issues.
JP
April 9, 2009 at 10:11 pm
Oh, this raised my blood pressure. Why is it that liberals have to be such @$$es when confronted by people they don’t like??
April 10, 2009 at 12:26 am
HOLD ONTO YOUR SEAT… This Senator is our Republican Senator… I think you are probably right on when you say liberal though…. Smells like a RINO… Looks like a RINO…
JP
April 9, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I’m 71 and have been a registered Republican since I was eligible to vote. I supported Bush (both times) and held my nose while I voted for McCain. It’s time to put party aside, vote out the entire bunch (Luger is at the top of that list) while voting for those who support our Republic and the Constitution upon which it is based. Enough is enough!
April 9, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Kathy,
What makes it REALLY bad, it that Lugar is a Republican! Yep, that’s right. And that, my friends, is the BEST example of what is wrong with the Republican Party.
April 9, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Lugar used to be a good Republican and a reasonable man. I think it’s a good example of what an extended stay in Washington does to people and a good argument FOR term limits.
April 9, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Time for term limits.
April 10, 2009 at 12:27 am
Agreed. Term Limits…
JP
April 9, 2009 at 11:36 pm
What an awakening these idiots will have on tax tay when their constituents voice their disdain of OUR representatives at all the Tea Parties!!!
Both parties, Democracts and Republicans have the same mentality when they get in office of “We won.” Enough!!!! With their attitudes WE the American people lose and WE are not going to take it anymore. WE voted you in and WE can and will vote you out!!! Now we face the issue of Obama wanting to legalize 12 million illegal immigrants and if done so will take jobs needed by unemployed Americans. Again, ENOUGH!!
April 9, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Hey, JP. Thanks for getting the word out! I forgot to tell you that after this incident, I also wrote a letter to Lugar and faxed it to all Indiana offices and his DC office. Sometime later, I received a phone call from an aide in his office who said that Lane Ralph ADMITTED everything in my story was accurate. Nothing happened to him, though, to my knowledge.
April 10, 2009 at 12:46 am
Great piece and I will add you to my blog and link this story to it my next issue.
April 10, 2009 at 4:06 am
You want this kind of arrogance to stop. Then join me in KICK OUT THE TROUBLE MAKERS. Once you kick out the first, most will listen to what we tell them. They work for U.S.
Below are two web sites to start a petition drive to get rid of bad congress people. Please take a step to help all.
Web sites from Empower-the-Citizens are for a constitutional admendment to vote bad U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators OUT of office.
This has to be done with a constitutional admendment which is not easy to do and must be done with great thought and care. But many congressional actions have been a huge curtailment to progress for decades, and usually from the same troublemakers that have amassed a lot of power. We will still let them act in their normal capacity but with the knowledge “We the People” are watching and have the ability say enough is enough. In real practice with this constitutional admendment, it will be difficult to vote any one of them out of office, but once one of them gets the honor of disgrace, few will tread on those waters again. They will begin to consider what WE believe is best for our country, and our taxes.
Please sign the petitions and emial this to your friends.
It is time we take control of this country back to the citizens.
Currently, U.S. congress people feel they have no one but themselves to answer to. When they know we can kick them back home, disgraced, they will start to look for our opinion and heed the answer.
http://www.petitiononline.com/HelpNow/petition.html
http://www.petition2congress.com/2/1718/empower-citizens
April 10, 2009 at 4:15 am
The staffer’s behavior was unacceptable, and it is unfortunate that politics works the way it does. I do not believe that we will find anyone that we can elect to public office that will follow the will of the people.
After listening to John Gibson this afternoon, I realized that the conservative party will have to work out some kind of amnesty plan, because to argue the point will alienate the “legal” Hispanic vote, and we will lose the next several elections. As much as I’d hate to compromise in this way, it has to be done or we face a decade or more of socialist rule.
April 10, 2009 at 4:58 am
If we keep letting ourselves get backed into these corners of “This is too big to fail” or “If we stand up for the law we will get trampled”… we have to ask where does it end… When do we say ENOUGH? Maggie… I think you are being manipulated… Amnesty will have a devestating impact on this country.. Illegal immigration already does… this will make it worse.. imagine all of the follow up bills that will be introduced.. NEW CITIZEN ACT… I can just see it now.
JP
April 10, 2009 at 8:06 am
Also.. until borders are secured there can be NO comprehensive plan that will work… Once we have the borders secured we can move forward with a plan that will be fair to all involved.
JP
April 19, 2009 at 4:16 am
Oh, I agree that the border needs to be secured, but we don’t need to alienate the “legal” Hispanic voters who already consider themselves conservative. We will be handing Obama another victory.
August 19, 2009 at 3:43 pm
“I do not believe that we will find anyone that we can elect to public office that will follow the will of the people.”
The will of 69 million people has been followed. The will of conservatives is not the only will to consider, despite that they often act/talk like it is(case in point is quoted).
Unless of course by ‘we’ you mean conservatives, in which case I agree. Conservatives will find it difficult to elect a true conservative to office. If the last conservatives to hold office weren’t conservative enough or just ignored their constituents then you will be hard pressed to find someone who will. And even then an argument can be made that they DID follow the will of their constituents, just not YOUR particular will. As the saying goes, you can please some of the people some of the time, you can even please some of the people all of the time but you can’t please all the people all the time.
April 15, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I’m so sorry you had to experience such a travisty! Hopefully you can ‘hang tough’ and realize that those with extreme pathological problems are the very ones who try to use bullying or name-calling to dismiss their own ineptness…to make them at least feel they are better than others.
We/including you, who respectfully voice our oppositions, are far too intelligent to allow their rantings to intimidate us. Remember, it was a Democrat – Elinore Roosevelt – who stated that WE are the only ones who can allow ourselves to be indimidated.
Remember, ‘sticks n stones…’ and try to stay calm when these idots try to confront. Nothing can annoy them more than their thinking they’re being exposed for their ignorance. Just listen to the campaign promises..whatever the people want to hear…How else could our current government representative have gotten elected – except maybe for a cigarette or a sandwich?
Seems to me that the only way we can get people such as you encountered out of office is to figure out just how to honestly encourage people to vote. Not going to be easy! ..but the Tea Parties are a wonderful start for the true American patriots.
April 19, 2009 at 8:15 am
Lugar is one of our employees that needs to be in the cross-hairs. His time is up.
April 19, 2009 at 8:42 am
Rumor is that he is retiring… I hope so. Funny.. the young republicans deleted my link from Facebook. Do they not see that this piece of rubbish is hurting their cause? Whatever happens we need to replace him with someone for the people.. by the people… of the people…
JP