Where's Rick?

Remember that game where you had to look at a picture of a huge crowd of people and try to find a funny looking guy in a striped hat?  Sometimes you could look and look and never find him.  You had to trust that he was there, somewhere, or they would not have had you looking at the picture to start with, right?

Well, I feel like the people in the 9th district are playing that game with our representative, Mr. Rick Boucher.  He has been invited to several events both local and regional.  I personally know several people who have visited or called his office and written him emails, including myself.  His staff is good.  They cover for him and say he is out, unreachable.  We get their form letter replies with his liberal explanation for why he continues to vote for Nancy Pelosi’s spending bills when we have no money to spend.  We even get his campaign letters telling about all the pork money he is spending in our region, more money we don’t have. 

But what we don’t get is Mr. Boucher.  He either declines or in some cases, the Boucher office has given no response at all.  The requests were ignored completely.  Many of these requests were for forums where local issues should be discussed between the candidates and the voters.  His opponents were willing to come and did so.  They faced tough questions and discussions about our issues, why won’t he?  

After all, the Congressional recess exists so Representatives can be in their districts to touch base with the people who live there.  So why isn’t he here?  Is that any way to treat your constituents?  Don’t the people who pay his salary and hired him to represent them deserve better.  Doesn’t Mr. Boucher owe his bosses the courtesy of a personal appearance?

Instead of a face to face with Mr. Boucher, we get the Where’s Waldo game.  I am sorry; we just can’t find him though we are told he is there.  Well, I guess it is time for a new representative.  We need someone who is responsive and who listens, not just appears when he feels like it.  On November 2^nd, we can have our say and we can vote out Mr. Boucher.  Though a different person may not be the perfect congressman, with the standards that Mr. Boucher sets, our new representative should have no where to go but up.