The American Spectator

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You Can Go Home Again

7.6.06 @ 12:01AM

BUMP THE RUMP CONGRESS
Re: Jed Babbin's In the Name of God, Go:

The statement by Oliver Cromwell when he dismissed the Rump Parliament was also made (more famously, IMHO) by Conservative MP Leo Amery against Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in the House of Commons in May 1940. Leo Amery was a long standing and well respected Conservative MP and a colleague of Winston Churchill -- he was one of the pitifully few MPs who supported Churchill in voting in Parliament against the Munich Agreement in 1938 to sell out Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany, standing almost alone against what was probably the lowest, most cowardly and shabbiest deal in parliamentary democracy in the last one hundred years.

In May 1940 Amery made a highly critical attack on Chamberlain in the House of Commons over his management of the war, finishing his speech with the famous, damning dismissal made by Cromwell to the Rump Parliament. Churchill later credited Amery's speech to the House of Commons and the quote from Cromwell in particular as the event that instigated Chamberlain's downfall and Churchill's own election as Prime Minister. The rest, as they say, is history. Let us all be eternally thankful.

While Cromwell can certainly claim first use of those particular words, I think their later use by Leo Amery in May 1940 against Neville Chamberlain is probably more dramatic, more relevant to history and to the lesson on the importance of replacing weak, cowardly and incompetent leaders with people who have the guts and the vision to get on with the job, regardless.
-- Christopher Holland
Canberra, Australia

Mr. Babbin has once again hit a hard line drive towards the right field fence. Telling congress to go home and stop doing whatever it is they're doing is always a good idea. I have long been a proponent of grid lock. It keeps them from doing anything to me, as opposed to for me which is really quite rare.

The only reason Mr. Babbin's line drive doesn't go out of the park is his saying they should come back next year and start over.

Umm...NO!
-- Bill Deady
Manchester, New Hampshire

I wish to second the motion made by the honorable gentleman, Mr. Jed Babbin. Until I draw my final breath, I shall maintain that the two most dangerous inventions to the health of our great Republic were, and are, air conditioning and television.

First, we air conditioned government building and our elected officials and their creation, government bureaucrats, decided that they could stay on the job year round. Prior to air conditioning, we had a respite from the wicked ways of the governing class for four to six months during the oppressive Washington, D.C. summers.

Then they decided to televise the proceedings of the House and Senate and their committees. We went from elected officials that hardly said a word during their entire terms of office, to "Will someone PLEASE tell them to shut up!" Additionally, it has gotten more dangerous to be in proximity of our Capitol building or other important government structures. If you are caught between Senators Schumer or McCain (and a few others) and the TV cameras, you can be trampled to death in a heart beat.

Yes, Mr. Babbin is right. In the name of God, Go -- and don't come back.
-- Ken Shreve
An escapee from the environs of Washington, D.C.

THE TWO TIMES: NOT TOO "SWIFT"
Re: The Prowler's SWIFT Deposits:

Speeders know that the Highway Patrol uses speed traps, yet using speed traps still catches speeders ... unless someone publishes the locations of the speed traps.

Criminals know that the police use informants, yet using informants still catches criminals ... unless someone publishes the names of the informants.

Racketeers know that the FBI uses sting operations, yet using sting operations still catches racketeers ... unless someone publishes the details of the sting operations.

Letter to the Editor

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