First Major Mistake of the 2012 Election Cycle

I realize the year 2011 has just begun, but Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) has provided us with a revealing sound bite that should be played at every opportunity in the 2012 election ads:

Clyburn called for the Transportation Security Administration, which administers airport security checkpoints, to interact “a little better” with the Capitol Hill Police.

“We’ve had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congresspeople should be treated like everybody else,” he said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, we are held to a higher standard in so many other areas, and I think we need to take a hard look at exactly how the TSA interact with members of Congress.”

Nothing quite shows the arrogance of congress as clearly as a complaint about being treated like those miserable wretches known as citizens (or considered subjects to Clyburn). Now, I won't pretend to be confident that we can unseat Clyburn as he is a longtime fixture in the House from a very safe district. However, some of his more vulnerable colleagues have to be aware his remarks will used to paint them as equally arrogant.

We do NOT need to take legislative action to further protect members of congress in response to the Arizona attack. We have been a country for over two hundred years and the shooting of Rep. Giffords is one the only shootings of a sitting member of congress. We are a nation of over three hundred million people and statistically odds are some of them are nuts. More special treatment and privileges for our pampered ruling class is not a proper action to take at this time.