Friday, August 17, 2007

Michele Bachmann made the right move...

Even when the majority did not.

I noticed this hit piece on Michele Bachmann today, and I sent this letter in response:

Marcus Aurelius once wisely stated that, "The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"

This statement is more than appropo to those who would oppose the calling of a special session and knee-jerk gas tax hike in response to the admittedly tragic collapse of the I-35W bridge; especially given that the cause of the collapse will not be known until at least August of 2008.

Another Marcus Aurelius award can be given to our 6th District congressional representative, Michele Bachmann, who wisely voted against the recently- passed bill in the U.S. House that imposes a standard of 15% renewable electric energy by 2020.

In a letter to the editor published on 17 August, 2007, Liz Engels states, "In the future I hope Bachmann, can stand up to big business and represent her constituents in a manner that shows the character of St. Cloud and the greater 6th District with a more forward-looking and practical vote."

The irony of that statement is that with regard to this measure, Bachmann did indeed place "a forward-looking and practical vote."

Rather than imposing an arbitrary standard, the cost of which the market (and ultimately, Minnesota consumers) would find difficult, if not impossible to bear, Mrs. Bachmann wisely thought it better to allow the market, in its own time, to come up with viable solutions.

The saying, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" has been proven to be embodied in arbitrarily imposed government restrictions and/or standards that have no relationship to market forces. Often, these restrictions have resulted in inflated consumer prices, and have presented themselves as more problematic than the problems they were supposed to address.

It bodes well that we in the 6th have a legislator who recognizes this.

Thank you, Michele Bachmann!

Leo Pusateri
St. Cloud, Minnesota