Plan for 'no complaints' day draws complaints

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Emanuel Cleaver just wanted people to stop complaining for a day and count their blessings.

What did he get for his troubles? Just more complaints.

The Kansas City Democrat was on the receiving end last week of a torrent of ill will from conservative websites about him and Congress.

"We're such a polarized nation and we look for things to argue over," Cleaver said. "But to argue over complaining?"

Cleaver offered legislation last June to set aside the day before Thanksgiving as "Complaint Free Wednesday." He did so at the request of a local faith-oriented group, which was promoting positive attitudes toward life.

Cleaver said that calls to his office went something like this: "I want you to show me where in the Bible it says I shouldn't complain. I haven't seen anything where Jesus asked us not to complain."

Some cheered the idea. An Australian radio station wrote Cleaver's office and said: "We think the idea is fantastic, and we'd like to champion it in Australia as well."

Good luck with that, Cleaver said. No stranger to sermons, he said the moral of this story was clear: "Next time you ask people to count their blessings, duck."