I said that because he wore a green tie.
Anyhoo, I just got back from a CIBO luncheon featuring Congressman Mark Meadows. He politely introduced himself, which blew me away. The last time I had a chance to meet him, his aides kept putting cell phones between me and him. As I impatiently waited, I asked an aide twice for his number so I could have an interview. He blew me off. This time, Meadows thanked me for all I do. Let’s see. I consume oxygen and heat lots of carbon dioxide, . . .
His talk was entitled, “Things Aren’t Always As They Seem,” which evokes the same alarm as the time in college, when we were taking a final. The prof was doodling around the front of the room in boredom and flipped the switch for the movie projector screen. When it went up, it revealed the quote on the chalkboard, “Everything you know is wrong.” Ergo, you may take the following with a brick of salt.
Overall, I tend to agree with Meadows when he takes bold stances. My favorite answer was in response to an inquiry about whether or not Fanny and Freddie would get more subsidies. He said, “Normally government has to subsidize anything that doesn’t work.” He then said deregulating lenders would have a greater impact on unleashing the housing market. He further acknowledged that the US’ tax structure was sending businesses overseas.
On the downside, he isn’t immune to porking. He strays from strict role-of-government positions when people are hurting. What would you do if you had the power to alleviate suffering? He has the “Elizabeth test” for legislation that doesn’t wait for charity to step up.
In other matters, (1) He has compassionate passion for Israel, which he views as an ally. The Jewish vote would get him nowhere. The only reason Iran would need enhanced ICBM capability is to use it on the United States; it is already using the technology it has to attack Israel. (2) He regretted Benghazi had become politicized; he is privileged to classified intel, and he will work for the safety of US embassies. (3) He doesn’t see this Congress moving forward on the KXL. Gas prices will have to move closer to $3.50-$4.50/gallon to generate enough economic interest. (4) Speaker John Boehner has told him he got the message. 3000 people had called his office asking him not to support his re-appointment. (5) He tries to work across the aisle. He told about Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) with whom he has a reciprocity agreement for campaigning for each’s opponents on the grounds that the incumbent cannot work across the aisle.
Lastly, he wants to hear from you. He takes input seriously, as a representative should. He sends out surveys. His aides tally yes and no calls and emails for key issues. He often calls people back. He told of people yelling at him and then saying, “Make sure you tell the Congressman that . . . ,“ and he says, “You’ve been talking him for the last five minutes.”
