You can tell him, but will he listen?

U.S. Rep. Henry Brown made a big deal in July about how he wants to listen to your ideas. He spent thousands of taxpayer dollars to promote his name through a printed "Congressional Issues Questionnaire" that went to every address in his district from Myrtle Beach to Kiawah Island.

But it's unlikely it will make any real difference to a congressman who votes in lock-step with the Republican Party. In one question, for example, he promotes one of his favorite causes, old-fashioned nuclear power. He encourages people to tell him whether the country should "fully utilize our domestic oil producing capabilities as well as use other resources such as nuclear energy" or have the government fund renewable sources.

Isn't this just a way to get people to answer the former so he can use it as input to drill in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or to build old-technology nuclear power plants.

Anyway, you can respond to the survey online - - tell Henry what you think. We fear, however, he'll have blinders on.