“During a taping of Face the State, when I asked both Congressmen Jim Himes and Joe Courtney if they would endorse Pelosi for another term as their leader, they balked.
Neither were conspicuously present during President Barack Obama's visit to Connecticut in mid-September.
“The two are running for re-election in districts where Mr. Obama’s approval rating has fallen and unemployment is high. With an electorate becoming increasingly frustrated with Washington, Himes and Courtney are both stressing to voters that they are ‘independent voices.‘”The word “independent,” a curtsey in the direction of the Tea Party Patriots and Independents who have expressed their dissatisfaction with the two major parties, is one we shall be hearing often on a campaign trail that, some believe, will lead to a valley of tears in November.
Words or Deeds?
ReplyDeleteOur incumbent congressman, Jim Himes voted to increase discretionary government spending by 22% but now talks about favoring a 1% spending reduction. Himes voted with Nancy Pelosi over 95% of the time. Now, he talks about being “independent”. His evidence is that he votes against her almost 5% of the time on largely symbolic or procedural matters. This might have worked during the bubble era, but our families cannot afford Himes anymore.
Today, we are in the position of having to choose whether we should believe a record of wasteful excess or election year promises of reform. How can we decide? In 2008, we decided that we could afford to take our chances on the current congressional leadership. We trusted their good intentions, enjoyed the benefits, and ignored the costs. On one hand, they had unambiguous voting records of command-and-control statists who would bring the most important aspects of our lives under government control. Increasing amounts of our private property would be taxed, spent, and regulated out of Washington. Entire sectors of our economy would be taken over. On the other hand, their election year rhetoric indicated that they would govern based on common sense and pragmatism. They said that they would be independent, despite any concerns that voters might have had based upon their records.
This election year, Himes presents us with the same decision. In 2010, we can take Himes at his word or we can take a look at his record. Should we trust words or deeds? Our most recent experiment with trusting in the words of our politicians serves as a cautionary data point.
They may be inching away, but they are both cruising to re-election. Pelosi SHOULD be replaced as leader. She is totally out of touch with the mainstream and is one of the reasons the dems have languished
ReplyDeleteAbout six months back, I wrote about a man who exchanges the Toyota for a Rolls, moves from a ranch to a Mansion, and buys a Gulfstream V. The he gets the bill, and promises "no more spending!" The problem is, he's locked into payments for decades to come. That was in response to Obama's call for a spending "freeze" after doubling the deficit in one year. Mr. Himes calls for less spending are worthy, but a bit incredible after his votes for the Stimulus and the 2010 budget.
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