Information 2nd Congressional District Voters Need to Know
It is nearly impossible to get a shot off at Paul Hodes when writing an opinion letter to the Monitor; in fact the newspaper’s slant towards Hodes is very evident.
In November, we once again have the opportunity to take a look at two candidates and decide who is the most fit to represent us in Washington. With the presidential primary over, our attention should now turn to the Congressional races and a little truth about Hodes’ and Shea-Porter’ performance should be revealed.
The most insidious political issue today involves earmarks and pork barrel spending. That is anything that is returned to the states districts and special interest (including government contracts with constituent companies) outside of the federal budget. The year end Omnibus bill was loaded with pork and for those who are not aware; it de-funded the building of the fence on the border with Mexico. As expected, Democrats operated Washington in a ‘politics as usual’ fashion.
I am not saying that Bass or Bradley or Gregg or Sununu have never taken earmarks or pork. I am also not implying that all earmarks are bad. Unlike Hodes, who sponsored an ethics bill that he has not lived by and campaiged against earmarks; those representatives made no promises of the like.
I will also acknowledge that Republicans have taken earmarks in the past although the Grand Daddy of all porkers is Jack Murtha. There is a fine line between earmarks and taking bribes in reality and regardless of party, the system needs to be changed.
In actuality, sending money to Washington is like redistribution of wealth under Socialism. Our founding fathers would have only supported enough money being spent to support essential government services. Their belief was that a strong centralized government would breed tyranny. How it should be is a discussion for another day.
In this blog, I wanted to include a couple of quotes from Mr., Hodes and then part of an article that appeared in USA Today on December 12th. My original intent was to give a full assessment of Hodes performance and campaign promises; including the now famous quote, “I’ll bring my backbone to Washington”, which has obviously been left at home as he knee jerked and voted with the leadership of his party 98% of the time. We'll leave that for another day as well.
Here are the facts and a little history that exposes the hypocrisy of Congressman Paul Hodes. To my knowledge none of this information has appeared in local newspapers or publications beyond a couple of stories in the Union Leader back in December.
“I support controlling earmarks; let's say that they cannot be more than one percent of a budget. One of the statistics that is of great interest to me is that Ronald Reagan vetoed a budget bill because it had 451 earmarks in it, and the last budget bill before the current budget ended up with 6,700-plus earmarks. Those are pork projects that our legislators are giving away to lobbyists, and our pet projects, that we have to look very closely at, and the only way to do that is to separate them from the main budget”. *
Paul Hodes interviewed by the Dartmouth Free Press, 2006
*(as promised he did separate them but included them in the Omnibus Bill and did not live up to his promise; instead he fell into line and took his earmarks along with the rest)
'This Administration’s “borrow-and-spend” policies, which Congress has been far too eager to sign off on so long as the pork keeps flowing, have left us in an economic bind, not unlike an overextended family facing a job loss or a medical crisis'.
Source: http://hodesforcongress.com
USA TODAY December 12, 2007
The 20 freshman members of Congress who had the most special-interest spending, or "earmarks," in the House and Senate spending bills. This includes only spending items with a single sponsor, not multiple sponsors.
Below is a list of the member and the total earmarks
Rep. Christopher Carney -- $18,185,000
D-Pa. (10th)
Sen. Robert Casey -- $16,649,579
D-Pa
Rep. Jason Altmire -- $12,475,000
D-Pa.(4th)
Rep. Patrick Murphy -- $11,822,500
(8th)
Rep. Joe Sestak -- $11,175,000
D-Pa. (7th)
Sen. Jim Webb -- $11,000,000
D-Va.
Rep. Bruce Braley -- $10,586,540
D-Iowa (1st)
Rep. Steve Kagen -- $10,485,000
D-Wis. (8th)
Rep. John Yarmuth -- $10,456,000
D-Ky. (3rd)
Rep. Brad Ellsworth -- $10,356,000
D-Ind. (8th)
Rep. Heath Shuler -- $10,333,000
D-N.C. (11th)
Rep. Chris Murphy -- $10,325,000
D-Conn. (5th)
Rep. Michael Arcuri -- $9,825,000
D-N.Y. (24th)
Rep. Baron Hill -- $9,760,000
D-Ind. (9th)
Rep. Joe Donnelly -- $9,640,000
D-Ind. (2nd)
Rep. Jerry McNerney -- $9,275,000
D-Calif. (11th)
# 17 Rep. Paul Hodes -- $8,806,000
D-N.H. (2nd)
Those who will disagree will claim that the earmarks are for good projects and needed causes but the point is that Hodes has found himself in the same position as those whom he criticized and accused to get where he is.
The jury is still out on whether Hodes earmark pork was really beneficial. A large portion was military related and that flies in the face of his core political beliefs.
New Hampshire needs to take a long look at Paul Hodes before giving him another term in Congress.
For real reform to happen in Washington, we will have to elect honest reformers, not hypocrites who, through the quest for power and ego join in and play the game rather than fight for change!
The Economy Is The Issue
The economy is headed for recession and it is cyclical. When Clinton took office we were coming out of a small recession and Bush 41 took the blame. In actuality he set up the Clinton years for a boom!
The housing market is a double edged sword. Yes, there were some predatory lenders but those who knowingly took our the loans are to blame as well. No one can't blame only Republicans for the mortgage crisis. Democrats went along in lockstep for legislation that allowed this and many profited through investment in the mortgage companies.
I do not think that anyone set out to screw home owners. The promise of home ownership was one championed by both political parties.
Once again the 'tax cuts for the rich' argument is passe and simply not true. They received a cut as did everyone else. The point of progressives is that they did not deserve a cut in taxes but as I have mentioned before in a blog over 80% of the total taxes are paid by those over $150,000 in earnings annually.
This is more about dividing and conquering tactics by creating class envy.
The answer is to make the tax cuts permanent. Let Americans keep more of their hard earned money and invest it in their future and their families. It IS their money after all and a tax cut is not a cut but allowing them to keep more of their hard earned money.
As far as the war is concerned I agree that it was a mistake but was a decision that was supported by both Democrats and Republicans. Both sides thought there were WMD...it is well documented. For those who argue that we just should have left right after we found out that they had been removed, it would have left the country in terrible shape. That is a short sighted, immature partisan rhetorical response to the issue at hand.
Has the war been mismanaged...YES! But all of that money that was spent would have been spent in entitlement spending under Democrats. The only way that we create jobs is through the economy, not through government.
Minimal government is what we need. Our forefathers stood for a weak centralized government, not a controlling authoritarian centralized government.
Democrats stand for tax increases and that brings us back to the original point. Below are some of the tax votes from Paul Hodes:
House Roll Call 947-A commitment by Hodes and others to increase taxes on hard working homeowners.
House Roll Call 959-Rejection to permanently repeal the Death Tax which effectively translates into a $1.35 trillion tax hike. This has an impact on family owned farms and other family businesses and people who wish to hand their family owned businesses on to future generations.
House Roll Call 212-Acceptance of a $400 billion tax hike proposal which would be the biggest tax increase in American history. He voted to reinstate the marraige penalty and eliminate the child tax credit.
House Roll Call 1081-Mother of all tax hikes and a repeal of the tax cuts asking for $72 billion in tax increases.
House Roll Call 746-Massive tax increase at the expense of hard working farmers. This threatens the jobs of more than 5 million farm workers.
That is just the tip of the iceberg for those who are concerned about the economy. There are at least 15 other votes that are just as insidious.
The way to economic prosperity is to stimulate job growth and that comes from investment. People need to have money to invest. Middle class Americans can not invest as they struggle through life just making their bills and living pay check to pay check. But, with good job growth and opportunity the Americans will have the opportunity to move up through the ranks and become wealthier and live a better life.
We all hear..."tax the rich" but they are the ones who invest. The only jobs government can create are government jobs and that is not the job growth that we need. Those are jobs of single tasking and minimal responsibility where people are cogs in an inefficient machine. We need CAREERS for Americans where the sky is the limit for EVERYONE. Government can't provide that.
Yes it is the economy but tax increases will only ruin the economy. Back to the point...if they had the money for earmarks from the Omnibus Bill then that should have been returned to the populace if it was that frivolous.
Paul Hodes was #17 in earmark dollars received in the Freshman class; a fact is a fact!
Your rants are getting
Your rants are getting tiresome and boring.
The Truth Is The Truth
Not really a rant, Michael. I have given readers on this blog (whether they like it or not), facts about Paul Hodes and his voting record.
Where have any of these 'facts' been written and recorded? Certainly not in the Monitor. Should we be an ostrich and bury our head in the sand or should we be informed.
The facts are the facts and the truth is the truth. If people see that as a rant then they are complicit in the issues at hand and are part of the problem. In other words they do not care about the facts and have an agenda.
Or, they might be an issue voter who ignores the 'facts' in place of an issue that strikes their emotions. Both approaches are really not the trademark of an informed, balanced voter seeking consensus.
If you have facts that refute any of these, please post them so that we can have a worthwhile debate.
I am sorry that the 'facts' are now relative and a rant like everything else viewed through that agenda driven prism.
I'm disappointed and angry with Paul
I contributed money to Paul Hodes' campaign in '06. Since then, the only information I've gotten from his office is the time and location of his next fund raiser. I get more requests for money from him than I do from the gas company .To my knowledge, he does not even put out a newsletter about his activities in Washington or free visits with his constituents. I'm not even sure he has free visits. I feel I have to pay to talk to my congressman.
I should have known better. I found out after the election that my mother and her friends in town wanted to host a coffee for Hodes, but his campaign demanded more money than they could raise to be graced with his presence. I'll probably vote to keep the Democratic majority in Congress, but I won't be happy about it. I will vote for a Republican if they give me someone outstanding. At least they're honest about being money grubbers.
Well Put
Well put, Ken.
The system is broken and earmarks, pork and egos are running wild.
Face it, Washington is a cesspool of lawyers and special interests. I would love to see them go back to chasing ambulances.
However, some earmarks and getting money back for the New Hampshire is a good thing, The question begs, however, why we have to filter it through Washington to begin with.
I guess the answer is special interests.
In any event, my vote will cancel yours out in keeping the Democratic majority.
The real issues facing the voters in Nov. will be the economy which is in recession and many will lose their homes and jobs due to the failure of the republican administration as well as the failure in foreign policy called the War in Iraq, which will cost our children and grandchildren at a minimum 1.5 trillion which has been charged to their credit card while we give tax credits to big oil and tax cuts to the wealthiest in America. Talk about redistribution of wealth. Those young people and those yet to be born have been burdened to the point where the quality of their lives will be more like those who live in the third world today.