Every now and then a columnist touches a nerve. Sometimes that nerve already has been plucked by a congressman. Such was the case with Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem.

Shortly after his victorious re-election bid, the former freshman sent out a 7-question survey to his 9th Congressional District constituents.

Most of the questions were so overly simplistic and leading that they seemed insulting. So I had a little fun with them in a Jan. 8 column.

The response from readers was swift and severe. Most of it was aimed at Griffith.

Michael Bentley of Salem didn’t get the survey, but he responded to Griffith anyway:

“The wording of the survey that others received was . . .biased to produce responses that aligned with the views of right-wing extremists,” Bentley wrote. “Perhaps you need to hire a reputable pollster to supervise your next survey.” Read more »

Your daily Letter to the Columnist – Feb. 4, 2013

Note from Dan: The Jan. 8 column on Rep. Morgan Griffith’s ridiculous “survey” is a gift that keeps on giving. The unrelenting response from readers will be the subject of Tuesday’s column.

To: Dan Casey
Subject: Rep. Morgan Griffith’s survey

When I received the questionnaire from Rep. Griffith, I immediately recognized that some of the questions were written in such a way as to elicit a certain response, one very conservative and out there.

I checked off my answers and wrote just that in the remarks section and also wrote “Shame on you!” on there.

My daughter also noticed it right away; you’d have to be an idiot or wearing GOP blinders not to see it.

Thanks for your great columns.

Wanda Walton
CLIFTON FORGE

Wikimedia Commons

Note from Dan: Roanoke resident George Christenbury sent his proposal for gun control to me last week. The proposal, in the form of a letter to Sen. Mark Warner, is after the jump.

By George Christenbury

I often read your column and think you display good common sense.  I like to think that I too have at least a little myself.

In the days following the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT, I had an idea that I thought my be a simple, effective start in addressing the issue of increasing gun violence.  I wrote a letter to each member of my Congressional delegation with copies to the President and Vice President.

To date I have received a form letter reply from Senator Warner.  I still think that we, as a society, need to make a start toward long-term solutions to the problem.  Is there one answer, of course not, but the complex book length bills now proposed probably stand little chance of implementation.

In my opinion, the best way to make progress is to do something, anything, to get started.  The enclosed proposal would be a bill that is less than half a page long and would effect real change.  Thank you for your time and I would be glad to clarify or discuss the attached.  I think “we the people” need to impress our representatives with the urgency of this matter. Read more »

Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association tangles with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

I’ve had more response to the column about Rep. Morgan Griffith’s “issues survey” than any other so far this year. The funny thing is, I hadn’t actually seen a copy of the survey until Monday, when reader Les Reynolds of Martinsville  scanned his, with his answers, and sent it to me as a PDF. Thanks again, Les.

Apparently, Griffith’s office is mailing these things out in waves, at different times, to different parts of Virginia’s 9th Congressional District. Which is kind of unfair, you know? Why should folks like Les Reynolds and Frank Munley and Michael Bentley and Susan Sweet get to have all the fun of responding? Shouldn’t the rest of us non-constituents get to have that fun, too?

Now you can.

As what you might call a public service, I cleaned up all the answers off Les Reynolds’ copy. Below the jump is a blank survey form that you can use. Simply right click on it, save it to your hard drive and print it out on your own printer.

It’s as convenient as getting your handgun competence certificate from the Concealed Carry Institute — except that it won’t cost you $39.95. And Griffith won’t have to burn any more taxpayer funds sending these ridiculous things out to his district. Don’t let not living in the 9th District stop you. That doesn’t matter. Note the text near the bottom: Names and addresses are optional! So pass this link around to your friends and relatives, liberally.

Fill it out and mail it to Griffith’s office at: Rep. Morgan Griffith, 1108 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515

Be creative and passionate with your answers. And don’t forget to share the best ones in the comments, below! Read more »

Your daily Letter to the Columnist — Jan. 29, 2013

Mr.. Casey:

I read with interest your recent article on the illustrious Morgan Griffith’s “loaded” questionnaire.

My wife and I received the questionnaire a couple of days ago, and I filled it out and I am mailing it tomorrow.

I am attaching a scanned copy of it for your amusement. (Note from Dan: It’s after the jump)

Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

Les Reynolds
Martinsville, VA Read more »

Wikimedia Commons | Text by Dan

Note from Dan: Our guest post today is from a guy named David, who sent me this email Wednesday. It puts some words in Jefferson’s mouth that he never said and makes three easily disprovable claims as part of an argument for an unnecessary constitutional amendment. Each one is an outlandish lie, which is characteristic of the kind of garbage certain blush-proof anonymous posters (like Frank, Leon, Suzie and applewood) regularly put in comments here. If you’ll click on highlighted links in the article, you’ll find the substantiation for the falsity of the claim. Or you can read all the way to the end, where there’s some additional text by me.

By David

“The course of history shows that as a government grows liberty decreases.”  Thomas Jefferson

This, like many things, is just not the way it is supposed to be. Children of congress members do not have to pay back their college student loans. How nice!  Monday on Fox news they learned that the staffers of Congress family members are exempt from having to pay back student loans.

This will get national attention if other news networks will broadcast it. When you add this to the below, just where will all of it stop? . Governors of 35 states have filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention.

This will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on.  This is an idea that we should address. Read more »

Guest Post

Note from Dan: Well, well. It seems my column last Tuesday has encouraged some folks to write Rep. Morgan Griffith lengthy answers to the dumbly worded questions in his infamous survey of constituents. The latest is from Salem resident Frank Munley.

By Frank Munley

Dear Congressman Griffith,

Prompted by Dan Casey’s recent column on your survey (which I believe I responded to in short form), I’d like to offer more detailed thoughts on the complex issues your oversimplified and leading questions refer to.

1. “Do you support or oppose adding a balanced budget amendment to the constitution?”

I am adamantly opposed to such an amendment.  Those who support a balanced budget amendment forget U.S. economic history and the importance of stabilizers (most importantly unemployment insurance, Social Security, and discretionary federal government spending) that have prevented a repeat of the Great Depression.  The near-melt down we experienced in recent years (and still suffer from) was brought about by an unprecedented expansion over the past 30 years of the “gambling” (i.e., the financial sector) of the economy, accompanied by the elimination by free-market ideologues (Democrats and Republicans alike) of important financial regulations such as Glass-Steagall. Read more »

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County and chairman of the Houxe Judiciary Committee, opines on the ban on concealed carry at the 2012 GOP national convention.

AP Photo | Text by Dan

President Barack Obama is expected to announce his gun-control proposals around midday today. But details of his gun plan, above, were leaked to the Washington Post yesterday.

Here’s that story. Read it (or not) and tell us what you think in the comments below.

Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association has taken the low road, dragging the president’s daughters into the debate with a new ad, below. We want to hear what you think about this NRA tactic as well.