I attended Thursday's round table discussion between the Lake County supervisors and our Congressman Mike Thompson at the Lake County Museum.

 

 

After comments, questions and cries of assistance from the board members and department heads Mike had time for three questions from the public – but we Lake Countians are a crafty bunch and four folks actually got to speak.

 

 

I appreciated being one of the folks who got to ask a question. During the meeting I got the what I like to refer to as the ACME answer. You remember the Road Runner cartoons, place your order to ACME and then add a drop of water – Viola! – instant prepackaged (yet somehow not satisfying) answer.

 

 

As I helped Kelly Cox set up for the meeting I also hung around to help put things away with Mireya Turner, the clerk of the board. And there my fellow policy wonks is when I got the real answer.

Mike saw me and started to speak to me about the “bill” I had asked him about. I had actually incorporated three bills into my question: 1) Gramm/Leach/Bliley, 2) Bankruptcy Act of 2005 and 3) his flip-flop on TARP, so I asked, “Which bill?”

His reply was Gramm/Leach/Bliley and he commenced to tell me how large vote was in favor of it. For some reason I could hear my dear departed mother's voice: “Just because someone else jumps off a bridge doesn't mean you should.”

To which I responded how Sen. Dorgan had stood on the floor of the Senate warning all of them that in eight to 10 years we would all be watching the wheels come off of America's financial cart as we are now doing.

“You heard him and yet you voted for it,” I said to Congressman Thompson.

And his answer was ...

Yes, that's it folks. That great big blank space. He didn't have a word to say. I do give him credit for realizing he was in a hole and it was time to stop digging. And I do appreciate the opportunity to ask him face to face.

Donna Christopher lives in Lucerne.