During the Republican National Convention, columnist Peggy Noonan was caught in an open microphone gotcha moment.

Noonan, one of Ronald Reagan’s former speechwriters, made condescending and colloquial remarks about Alaska’s Gov. Sarah Palin. While Noonan’s media studio mates were simply giddy with delight over such silliness; Noonan’s loyal readers took her to the woodshed over the incident.

Later, Noonan apologized for this judgment lapse. Noonan admitting she suffers from the “Washington bubble” phenomenon from time to time. It seems when good folks enter the “bubble,” they suffer hearing loss and begin speaking like a parrot as their common sense vanishes. Fighting against the bubble’s siren song is no easy task.

Spend each and every morning coffee smothered in the toxic bubble of red-diaper baby “journalism” and nightly lobbyists’ parties give humble flyover country types a chance to rub elbows with Hollywood’s silicon-enhanced dingbats. Those weeks of free cocktails with anti-capitalism pseudo-intellectuals, it will take its toll upon common sense. They begin parroting causes. That is, if a flyover country outsider wants to remain on that “D list” for all the best lobbyists’ parties. So, naturally, when surrounded by all that fakery, the Washing-ton groupthink bubble eventually displaces common sense.

Some Lawrence County folks identify people suddenly under the Washington bubble influence as “Progressives,” such as Progressive Democrats and Republicans. Progressive is a shortened phrase for the progressive cranial-rectal immersion syndrome. Progressives can’t hear the voters back home; their ears are fully covered.

And sadly, after just one term, our Congressman, Rep. Charlie Wilson, suffers this “Progressive” disease.

For example, in an earlier e-mail, Wilson stated he doesn’t understand why the high gas prices are so high. Had Mr. Wilson stopped there, no truer words would have ever been spoken by any politician. You’re not expected to know it all.

To educate himself, Wilson could have placed a telephone call. A local subject matter expert would have gladly explained the cause and origin of our energy prices and offer what Wilson might legislatively do to economically help the Ohio River Valley region.

Much of our congressional district either works in the petrochemical and fossil fuel industry; or derives a living by providing goods and services for those working in the industries. Solution? Wilson forwards us e-mails with Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s dumb-it-down talking points.

Rural Appalachia shares nothing in common with Progressive San Francisco’s SanFranNan. We don’t want all the government we’re paying for. We need less government interference in our lives.

The parrot speaks: more taxes. Wilson should listen to us back home. Corporations don’t pay windfall profit taxes, consumers pay the windfall profit taxes; in the form of higher pump prices. Government only forces the corporation to be government’s stealth tax collector. As explained in my inaugural column, the only windfall profits in the oil industry are government’s taxes.

Taxes, not oil company profits, are the single largest share of pump price for finished crude oil products. The backlash is obvious for those outside the bubble. This 9 percent congressional approval rating, it’s the sum total of your congressional staff, family members and lobbyists. The remaining 91 percent of voters think broom. A new broom sweeps clean.

Your “most ethical Congress ever” left behind more dirt than it collects. So our fall cleaning plan moves your desk to the other side of the isle. For southern Ohio, we’re thinking about giving someone a new broom. Clean up, isle “D.”