According to the DCCC there are 67 House Republicans who voted against the stimulus package. But when these no voters are back in their home states they like to brag and swagger about bringing home the bacon. On a different level, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison joins these ranks. She voted against the stimulus bill and yet she criticized Rick Perry for turning down federal funding for extended unemployment benefits.
Texas has its fair share of outstanding hypocrites. Check the list below to see if your U.S. House Rep. is included in the GOP Hall of Hypocrites. I am not shocked to admit that my Rep. is among them. I betcha your's are too.
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann smacks down the obstructionist Republicans and Blue Dogs who are getting major contributions from the health care industry.
PBS pointed out that the health and insurance industries are spending more than a million, 400 thousand dollars a day, just to destroy the "public option" - the truly non-profit, wieldy, round-up and not round-down, government, from helping you pay your medical bills with about a billionth of the recklessness with which it is still paying Halliburton and its spinoffs to kill your kids.
And much of this money is going to, and through, Republicans.
But that's the real point tonight.
Not all of it is going through Republicans...
The Dem caucus was split between those who voted for it, and those who refused to continue funding the Iraq invasion and occupation.
You might guess that gleeful House Republicans jumped to vote with the first group to split the Dem caucus, right?
Wrong.
These brave chickenhawks are so wedded to their obstructionist agenda, they all chose to vote "present". Meaning, we're here, but we won't vote for or against this measure, which allowed it to die on the floor of Congress.
So, when you see the ad telling you Dems are going to strand our troops in Iraq without support, remember these names Texas.
If one didn't know that Rep. Pete Sessions (R-CD 32) has a habit of putting the political interests of George W. Bush above the interests of the nation and his district, you'd sure know where his heart was when he voted against repealing the Patriot Act provision allowing the president to appoint interim U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation.
The vote (see http://clerk.house.g... ) was 329-78, with 113 Republicans joining 216 Democrats in approving the measure.
Sessions was one of 78 Republicans who voted against the bill.
More below.
Today it was Al Gore bringing the wood to Republicans sitting on the committee who expressed doubts on global warming. Such skeptics include Texas' very own embarrassment, Rep. Joe Barton of the 6th district. Like another Texan, Barton embarrassed our state by casting doubts on highly suspect things like "science" and "research". I think he also still believes the Earth is flat (or was that another nutcase).
Now Barton, like many of Republican reps, says there's bad science behind global warming. I wonder if the fact that Barton's top two financial backers are the Oil & Gas ($1,108,720) and the Electric Utilities ($1,013,738) industries has anything to do with his position on global warming.
Hmmm, I wonder, I wonder...
Think Progress has the video of Al Gore's smackdown of Barton. Gore had to use words that even an idiot like Barton can understand but they're worth hearing! More videos & transcripts on the flip.
I'm sure thres are lots of Texas workers (a lot of them living in apartment complexes like the one I used to live in) who would be mightily concerned about the blatent anti-worker attitudes of Rep. Pete Sessions (R-32nd CD) and other North Texas GOP congressmen like Jeb Hensarling, "Smoky" Joe Barton, Kenny Marchant, and Kay Granger.
All these congressmen voted against legislation that would give workers the right to join unions if we so voted.
The vote was 241-185, with 13 Republicans joining 228 Democrats in voting aye.
Here's the link: http://clerk.house.g... .
More below.
Today the house passed a bill (H.R. 6) which would impose a "conservation" fee on gas and oil extracted from the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, reverse $6 billion of oil industry tax breaks and try to recoup royalties lost because of an Interior Department mistake a decade ago.
Democrats said that most of the $15 billion collected woul pay to promote renewable and alternative fuel sources and provide incentives for conservation.
Among those voting no were these Texas Republicans: Barton, Brady, Conaway Hall, McCaul, Neugebauer, Paul, Sessions, Smith, and Thornberry. (List is not be complete. See roll call vote 40 for complete voting at http://clerk.house.g...
Once again, the congressman from my district, Pete Sessions, has shown a lack of concern for average Texans by voting against their interests.
Sessions did it again Thursday by being one of the only 71 Republicans who voted against legislation to reduce interest rates on student loans.
The vote was 356-71 with 124 Republicans voting aye. Sessions, along with fellow North Texas Republicans "Smoky" Joe Barton, Jeb Hensarling, and Kay Granger, showed that he was out of touch with the needs of average Texans by voting no.
Here's the link: http://clerk.house.g... .
More below.
(The GOP should've lost the Senior vote with their fraudulent Medicare bill. - promoted by krazypuppy)
Is there any group of average Texans that Pete Sessions or any other Republican do something for?
The same Pete Sessions who voted against increasing funding for stem cell research and increasing the minimum wage also showed his callousness toward some of our nation's most vulnerable citizens-- the elderly-- by voting against allowing the government to negotiate with drug companies to lower prescription drug costs for seniors.
(Here's the link to the complete vote: http://clerk.house.g... )
The House approved the proposal by a 255-170 vote, and Sessions was joined by at least four other North Texas Republicans-- Jeb Hensarling, "Smoky" Joe Barton, Kay Granger, and Kenny Marchant, in voting against the bill.
More below.
With the notable exception of Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell, North Texas Republicans joined 82 others in their party and voted to reject the minimum wage increase.
Texas Toad at North Texas Liberal reports that the following Republicans voted against the bill:
Joe Barton, R-Ennis
Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound
Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth
Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas
Pete Sessions, R-Dallas
In addition to Marchant, Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, voted to increase the minimum wage. The measure passed 315-116.
The North Texas delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives voted exactly the same way they did the last go-round.
As reported at North Texas Liberal, this is a reintroduction of the same legislation that Bush used his first veto on last year. He will likely veto it again this time, and Congress will not be able to muster two-thirds support to override it.
Check under the cut for a full list of how our North Texas legislators voted this time.
I apologize for the late post of this but I have been terribly ill for the last 3 days and just went back to work today and got caught up on emails and correspondence.
To the dissing...
In typical Barton fashion, the "enemy of the state" has once again showed his ass and his true colors to the entire Nation during Pelosi's transfer of authority as the new Speaker of the House.
After a daily drumbeat of negative publicity from radio personality Don Imus that lasted for weeks, a Texas congressman has worked out a compromise on a $945 million bill to fight autism.
What is hard to forgive or forget is that it took enormous amounts of pressure to get this guy to do the right thing. But I guess when the choices are help children or protect your corporate masters, for Joe the choice is obvious and easy.
(Another great late promote. Well done. - promoted by krazypuppy)
[A dailykos reader requested that I cross-post this here.]
A recent article in Advance magazine, a weekly trade magazine for speech-language pathologists and audiologists, caught my eye:
A bill that would increase funding for autism research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been held up in the current Congressional session despite unanimous Senate passage and 228 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
The bill, known as the Combating Autism Act (CAA), has been detained in committee by Joe Barton (R-TX), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Barring personal intervention by House speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) or House majority leader John Boehner (R-OH), the bill will die in committee when Congress recesses in December.
Celebrations all around for the hard work spent organizing and rebuilding the Party in this part of the state. We managed to pull off 6.02% from the last election totals and scored 12,483 new votes in an off year election. We knew what we needed to win and that we would not likely close the gap that quickly but it is optimistic news for 2008. Additionally, that headway was made with (thanks to our blogging buddy at DU):
You spent about .65 a vote and Smokey Joe spent almost $40/vote. Not shabby my friend.
It is not about the money folks, it is about reaching out with a message people identify with. It is time to change the way people do business and this year, we sent that message loud and clear every where.
A great big thank you to everyone for the support and assistance. Get some rest and then get back to work. Follow Me To DC will stay up and active. We aren't done, are you?
(Santorum - on the side of medical science? Tell Schiavo! - promoted by krazypuppy)
Cross posted on Daily Kos
***Disclaimer - I ONLY agree with him on this one issue and I still think he slithers when he moves. With that being said, read on...
I can't believe it, but I actually agree with Rick Santorum..."key provisions in the NIH Reform Bill missing... that are critical....Center of Excellence for Environmental Causes..." Joe Barton is holding the Combating Autism Act of 2006 hostage in Congress because he wants to pass the NIH Reform Bill in the Senate without language pertaining to investigating environmental causes.
After Chairman Barton callously denied consideration of the Combating Autism Act of 2006, our campaign was flooded with emails and pledges of support in all ways possible from Republicans and Democrats alike. This sends a clear message - this is not a political issue, it is about healthcare for children.
Hear what voters are saying:
Mr. Harris,
I am a republican but I am ashamed that your opponent calls himself one too.
His refusal to have a vote on the Combat Autism act is shocking and
disgusting. I am a life long republican but will be contributing to your
campaign. Mr. Barton must be removed from office at all costs. Any man that
plays political football with my child and the millions of children of this
country that suffer with Autism Spectrum Disorders is a sad, sad human being.
I am the Virginia Campaign Captain for the Combat Autism act and would be
willing to do commercials or radio spots supporting your candidacy. My
phone number is (number) please call and let me know how I can support
you. Mr. Barton needs to know he has gone too far and needs to be shown the
door.
Looks like Katrina survivors and those inflicted with HIV/AIDS are not the only ones that Joe Barton doesn't care about. In a move that can only be summed up as heartless, the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee has refused consideration of this landmark act, which authorizes $900 million for autism-specific funding, even after being passed in the Senate.
(I think this statement stands on its own. - promoted by boadicea)
In January of this year my campaign released a statement related to the subject of the story written by John Moritz, that the Star-Telegram published on August 31, 2006. The statement related to this very personal and painful matter was only released because my family was being harassed. I continue to stand by the January statement and would like to add clarification to the story printed this week.
On March 1, 2006, I received an email on my personal account from the soldier quoted in your story. She was posing as a reporter and made a variety of threats. In that email, she states: “You will not hear from me again, at least not until closer to the election.” On March 2, 2006 my wife and I filed complaints with Yahoo, Comcast and the Air Force Internet Abuse/IP Abuse Area at Robbins Air Force Base. The complaint included months of emails from the soldier that were received by me, my family members (at home and at work) and other bloggers listed in the article. The e-mails were generated from five different email addresses and two distinct IP addresses, one under her name and four under assumed names. The soldier received punishment/demotion due to her actions related to the harassment of my family and misuse of government property. It was only after my wife and I filed a harassment complaint against her, and her having received a demotion, that she began calling my chain of command at work and lodged a complaint against me, for which I received an administrative reprimand.
A letter dated 26 July, 2006 from the Commanding General 9th Regional Readiness Command, confirms that I received a letter of administrative reprimand and would not be subject to a court martial. All parties quoted in the Star Telegram article knew this to be the case and knew that there were no further or pending investigations. They have access to all of the facts and testimony that led to the administrative reprimand being issued. The Army has reached resolution and my family and I are working through this time together with the love of each other and the support of our friends and church. Therefore, I will no longer comment on this issue going forward.
This is clearly a politically motivated attack. While many have suggested that this attack was related to Congressman Joe Barton’s’ re-election campaign, there is no direct proof to that fact. I am confident that Congressman Barton’s’ campaign will hold true to their statement and not engage in the politics of personal destruction, as I have afforded him that same respect.
I find it unfortunate that the Star Telegram printed a story this week that was not fully investigated.
