An op-ed written by Jim Bender was published in the New Hampshire Union Leader last month.

Click the link below to view a PDF of the article.
Jim Bender Op-Ed (PDF)

“The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency. It will be easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails us. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.”

Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He made as many important decisions as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him. Most notably, the decision to use atomic weapons. This decision was widely criticized but history now believes that many many more would have died, on both sides, had he not used these weapons in the war against Japan.

One measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.

The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri. His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.
Read more of Harry Truman, a true public servant

To be chosen by the people of New Hampshire to serve in the United States Congress is a sacred trust with special responsibilities. These responsibilities are not only to the people of New Hampshire and to the United States of America, but to every person on earth who aspires to liberty, and to representative government based on the principle of popular sovereignty.

Our founding fathers set examples for us to follow as “public servants”. One such example was the signing the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.Fifty six American patriots put their countrymen above any personal gain or interest as a public servant, and placed themselves at great risk . They instantly became enemies of the most powerful ruler, King George, and country, England. For sacrificing for their countrymen, many of these patriot statesmen suffered severe personal consequences.

The last line of the Declaration of Independence shows that they knew the risks that they were taking for their fellow countrymen; “We pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor”. Can you even imagine our Congressmen and Congresswomen of today having the courage to say or act according to this sacred honor? Collectively, our Congress clearly often acts in their own interests rather than in ours. Terms like “public servant” and “sacred trust” seem like quaint anachronisms in today’s Congress.

Congress spends and wastes our money in incredibly irresponsible ways. They borrow money for which there is neither an ability nor a plan for repaying. This irresponsible spending, wastefulness, and borrowing has contributed to an alarming decline in our currency. We have now lost nearly 45% of our dollar value in comparison to the Euro in less than ten years. Congress has allowed the Federal Government to become much bigger and more expensive than necessary by any measure.

Our government is now four times bigger, in terms of expenditures, then when Ronald Reagan was elected President, while performing essentially the same tasks. To top it all off, Congress then vote themselves a series of new perks and advantages which are impossible to rationally explain during the worst recession in eighty years.

Washington has become one big corrupt grab bag, and our Congress has developed a sense of entitlement which knows no bounds. Since they individually and collectively do not exercise restraint, or even discretion, it is time for a new class of public servant to initiate legislation, imposing Constitutional boundaries on Congressional behavior.

I believe that there is nothing more important that we could do to improve both our economy and our country than to reign in our federal government, and I therefore propose and champion two amendments:

Proposed 29th Amendment to the United States Constitution:\
“Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and Representatives and any other federal public servant; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators, Representatives, and any other federal public servant that does not apply equally to all citizens of the United States “.

Proposed 30th Amendment to the United States Constitution:
“Congressmen and women who have been elected to serve twelve total years in the Congress, shall be ineligible to run again for Congress”.

Last night, I was grateful for the honor of speaking on Veteran’s Day to a group of veterans and war heroes in Laconia NH.

This holiday for our nation used to be called Armistice Day, after the document signed on the 11^th hour, of the 11^th day, of the 11^th month of the year 1918 … 81 years ago yesterday, the guns of World War I went silent. 

We recognized the service and the sacrifices of our nation’s veterans, from Valley Forge to Vietnam, from Kuwait to Kandahar, and from Berlin to Baghdad. American military veterans have borne the costs of our nation’s wars, and they have stood watch over America’s peace.

There is no mystery behind the endurance and the success of American liberty. It is because in every generation, from the Revolutionary period to this very hour, brave Americans have stepped forward and have served honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States.

We are grateful to our veterans and all who have fought to defend freedom. All have contributed to the character and to the greatness of America.

May God bless our veterans and everyone who wears the uniform of our country; every one of them deserves our thanks and admiration.