"We're operating a f***ing casino," said Congressman X. (Photo: Zach Stern/flickr/cc)
May 13, 2016
A person claiming to be a U.S. lawmaker--one who may or may not still purport to represent American constituents--appears to rip into his congressional colleagues in a new "tell-all" book titled The Confessions of Congressman X.
"Most of my colleagues are dishonest career politicians who revel in the power and special-interest money that's lavished upon them," the alleged current or former congressman says in the questionable tome.
According to a website set up to publicize the 84-page book:
A Democrat, Congressman X demanded anonymity for his shockingly frank 'confessions,' for fear of retribution from his colleagues and constituents. His identity is known only to his editor and confidant, Robert Atkinson, the former chief of staff and press secretary for two Democratic members of Congress. As explained in the Foreword, the book is based on a series of informal conversations Atkinson had with Congressman X over a period of many years.
"However, a search for former congressional staffers with that name turned up only one Robert P. Atkinson, who served as communications director to now-former Representative Bob Inglis (R-South Carolina)," RT reported.
While some of his stated views and revelations certainly reflect growing disillusionment with the status quo, frankly, Congressman X--if he exists at all--doesn't sound like the hero who will turn the ship around.
His expose would reveal him to be among the worst offenders.
"Fundraising is so time consuming I seldom read any bills I vote on. Like many of my colleagues, I don't know how the legislation will be implemented, or what it'll cost," the lawmaker said, adding that he sometimes voted--or still votes--"yes" on a motion and "no" on an amendment "so I can claim I'm on either side of an issue."
"I contradict myself all the time, but few people notice," he reportedly said. "One minute I rail against excessive spending and ballooning debt. The next minute I'm demanding more spending on education, health care, unemployment benefits, conservation projects, yadda, yadda, yadda."
And he insults the very people who sent him to Washington, D.C., in the first place:
Voters are incredibly ignorant and know little about our form of government and how it works. Voters claim they want substance and detailed position papers, but what they really crave are cutesy cat videos, celebrity gossip, top 10 lists, reality TV shows, tabloid tripe, and the next f***ing Twitter message.
I worry about our country's future when critical issues take a backseat to the inane utterings of illiterate athletes and celebrity twits.
What's more, the "closet moderate" lifts language from the right wing, decrying his own party's "loony leftists," who he says are "intolerant of center-leftists" and "much too rigid and extreme in their beliefs."
The book, whether fiction or non-, will be published May 24 by the Minneapolis-based Mill City Press.
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Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
A person claiming to be a U.S. lawmaker--one who may or may not still purport to represent American constituents--appears to rip into his congressional colleagues in a new "tell-all" book titled The Confessions of Congressman X.
"Most of my colleagues are dishonest career politicians who revel in the power and special-interest money that's lavished upon them," the alleged current or former congressman says in the questionable tome.
According to a website set up to publicize the 84-page book:
A Democrat, Congressman X demanded anonymity for his shockingly frank 'confessions,' for fear of retribution from his colleagues and constituents. His identity is known only to his editor and confidant, Robert Atkinson, the former chief of staff and press secretary for two Democratic members of Congress. As explained in the Foreword, the book is based on a series of informal conversations Atkinson had with Congressman X over a period of many years.
"However, a search for former congressional staffers with that name turned up only one Robert P. Atkinson, who served as communications director to now-former Representative Bob Inglis (R-South Carolina)," RT reported.
While some of his stated views and revelations certainly reflect growing disillusionment with the status quo, frankly, Congressman X--if he exists at all--doesn't sound like the hero who will turn the ship around.
His expose would reveal him to be among the worst offenders.
"Fundraising is so time consuming I seldom read any bills I vote on. Like many of my colleagues, I don't know how the legislation will be implemented, or what it'll cost," the lawmaker said, adding that he sometimes voted--or still votes--"yes" on a motion and "no" on an amendment "so I can claim I'm on either side of an issue."
"I contradict myself all the time, but few people notice," he reportedly said. "One minute I rail against excessive spending and ballooning debt. The next minute I'm demanding more spending on education, health care, unemployment benefits, conservation projects, yadda, yadda, yadda."
And he insults the very people who sent him to Washington, D.C., in the first place:
Voters are incredibly ignorant and know little about our form of government and how it works. Voters claim they want substance and detailed position papers, but what they really crave are cutesy cat videos, celebrity gossip, top 10 lists, reality TV shows, tabloid tripe, and the next f***ing Twitter message.
I worry about our country's future when critical issues take a backseat to the inane utterings of illiterate athletes and celebrity twits.
What's more, the "closet moderate" lifts language from the right wing, decrying his own party's "loony leftists," who he says are "intolerant of center-leftists" and "much too rigid and extreme in their beliefs."
The book, whether fiction or non-, will be published May 24 by the Minneapolis-based Mill City Press.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
A person claiming to be a U.S. lawmaker--one who may or may not still purport to represent American constituents--appears to rip into his congressional colleagues in a new "tell-all" book titled The Confessions of Congressman X.
"Most of my colleagues are dishonest career politicians who revel in the power and special-interest money that's lavished upon them," the alleged current or former congressman says in the questionable tome.
According to a website set up to publicize the 84-page book:
A Democrat, Congressman X demanded anonymity for his shockingly frank 'confessions,' for fear of retribution from his colleagues and constituents. His identity is known only to his editor and confidant, Robert Atkinson, the former chief of staff and press secretary for two Democratic members of Congress. As explained in the Foreword, the book is based on a series of informal conversations Atkinson had with Congressman X over a period of many years.
"However, a search for former congressional staffers with that name turned up only one Robert P. Atkinson, who served as communications director to now-former Representative Bob Inglis (R-South Carolina)," RT reported.
While some of his stated views and revelations certainly reflect growing disillusionment with the status quo, frankly, Congressman X--if he exists at all--doesn't sound like the hero who will turn the ship around.
His expose would reveal him to be among the worst offenders.
"Fundraising is so time consuming I seldom read any bills I vote on. Like many of my colleagues, I don't know how the legislation will be implemented, or what it'll cost," the lawmaker said, adding that he sometimes voted--or still votes--"yes" on a motion and "no" on an amendment "so I can claim I'm on either side of an issue."
"I contradict myself all the time, but few people notice," he reportedly said. "One minute I rail against excessive spending and ballooning debt. The next minute I'm demanding more spending on education, health care, unemployment benefits, conservation projects, yadda, yadda, yadda."
And he insults the very people who sent him to Washington, D.C., in the first place:
Voters are incredibly ignorant and know little about our form of government and how it works. Voters claim they want substance and detailed position papers, but what they really crave are cutesy cat videos, celebrity gossip, top 10 lists, reality TV shows, tabloid tripe, and the next f***ing Twitter message.
I worry about our country's future when critical issues take a backseat to the inane utterings of illiterate athletes and celebrity twits.
What's more, the "closet moderate" lifts language from the right wing, decrying his own party's "loony leftists," who he says are "intolerant of center-leftists" and "much too rigid and extreme in their beliefs."
The book, whether fiction or non-, will be published May 24 by the Minneapolis-based Mill City Press.
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