Angry in the Great White North

From the web site of Tennessee Representative Harold Ford (Democrat):

Dear Senator Frist and Speaker Hastert,

I am writing to urge you to suspend Congressional business for the week of Tuesday, September 6 to allow members in states affected by Hurricane Katrina, including Tennessee, to be home assisting in the delivery of essential services to their constituents. The House of Representatives and the Senate can be in pro forma session to ensure compliance with our constitutional requirements and so that members may be called upon to vote if required.

In addition, I am requesting official transportation for those of us who want to assist with relief efforts. Because the Congressional leadership has provided official transportation for extraordinary circumstances in the past, it would be consistent with precedent to provide that same transportation now.

I thank you once again for your consideration of these requests.

I appreciate his desire to help, but frankly, there are people already doing that. If he thought his presence was so critical, then he would get his own transportation, instead of distracting the people trying to get trucks and boats and choppers into the disaster area with requests for comfortable transportation and security befitting a congressman.

And to suspend Congress for a whole week?! There are aid packages that need to be passed, and who knows what other business that only Congress can handle. Is he trying to avoid being AWOL if an important aid vote comes up?

If he really wanted to help, he'd stay in his Washington office and work the phones. Get donations. Raise awareness. Help people get connected with the government departments they need to talk to. There's not much glory in that, of course. No pictures. No sound bites.

Oh. Right. Never mind.