The Latest “Taxing” Nonsense From Mikey The Liar

(Note: I felt like I had to work the subject of the date into this post somehow.)

The Bucks County Courier Times printed a Guest Opinion this morning from the presumptive Republican nominee to challenge Patrick Murphy for the PA-08 U.S. Congressional seat this fall (the person Murphy beat in 2006 to obtain the seat in the first place)…

I am running for Congress in the 8th Congressional District and I don't need to tell anyone our nation faces both global and economic challenges unlike any we have seen in decades.

After spending two honorable and gratifying years in Congress, I remain proud of my efforts on behalf of the people in the 8th Congressional District, including my open door, constituent services, and writing bills that passed into law.

“My open door”? Seriously, Mikey? You think you’re supposed to get brownie points for being accessible? That was part of your job!

Yes, Mikey, when I contacted you from ’04-‘06, your office was prompt in responding, but that was more often than not negated by the fact that you basically disagreed with what it was that I was trying to communicate to you, or you told me some mealy-mouthed nonsense that contradicted your public actions (the Iraq war, tax cuts, etc…).

And I don’t know how many bills Mikey wrote that actually were signed into law, but this Wikipedia article tells us about that Delete Online Predators Act sham of his; it passed the House, but fortunately, it died in the Senate (though, if Mark Kirk of Illinois is elected to that body – God forbid – rest assured that he will try to reintroduce it)…

The bill was introduced on May 9, 2006 by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) as part of the Suburban Caucus agenda. Along with co-sponsors, he spoke in favor of it. The Caucus' "Suburban Agenda" was shaped around the results of a January 2007 survey conducted by John McLaughlin [2]. McLaughlin focused on issues that could weaken the expected impact of midterm elections on the Republican hold of Congress in Suburban constituencies like Bucks County, Pennsylvania and Orange County, California. [3]

So the point of the bill, really, was to find a way to restrict social networking sites for the purposes of hindering or preventing online communications, organizing and fundraising on behalf of Democratic candidates, all disguised by Mikey as an effort to protect our kids.

And you’re not going to believe who tried to prevent this mess from passing the House…

On July 26, 2006, DOPA was brought up for debate and an immediate vote in the House. It was criticized by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) for being hastily rewritten before its vote and did not get markup of a full House Committee.[4] The House of Representatives voted 410-15 (7 Not Voting), on a Roll Call vote, to pass the bill as amended.[5] The following day, the bill was received in the U.S. Senate and referred to the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

As a House bill, it was passed to the Senate for approval. The bill was not voted on by the Senate.

Yep, that would be the same Bart Stupak, the pro-sepsis, coat hanger abortion Dem from Michigan who is stepping down; at least he saw the folly of what Mikey was trying to do here, though he couldn’t stop it in the House anyway.

Continuing with Fitzpatrick…

I am running for Congress because it is imperative we pull ourselves out of this crisis with new leadership. I'm not certain; however, one voice in Congress is enough to stop the flood of bad legislation and spend-and-tax packages that are leaping like bullfrogs from the Obama administration desks in Washington. Congress has passed one of the most disastrous bills of all time by skirting usual procedures and using shady tactics and unprecedented arm-twisting to win over reluctant holdouts in Congress.

This is about as clear as mud, though of course it is full of the “red meat” that typically works the Repug base into a frenzy ("leaping like bullfrogs," huh? Who was the RNC flak who came up with that one, I wonder?).

Is Fitzpatrick referring to health care reform here? If he is, I’m not aware of “arm twisting” in the U.S. House (I’m sure it occurred, but proof from Mikey would be nice). The “Cornhusker Kickback” (which ended up being defeated before HCR was signed into law, by the way) and the giveaway to Mary Landrieu of Louisiana occurred in the Senate, not the House.

Continuing...

In three short years, Congressman Murphy has gone from a political novice, under the wings of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid, to a political echo. In that role, the congressman is an ineffective representative for our district.

Please read the information at the third bullet in this post to learn more about how this “echo” cast key votes against the Democratic Party because he believed it was in the best interests of his constituents.

In three short years, he's earned a reputation as being "out of touch," more liberal than the people he represents, inaccessible, and more often than not, declines to answer direct questions from the media.

Oooh, sounds like Mikey wants to play a fun new game – how many times can you try to scare voters by saying the word “liberal.”

Can I play?

Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal

Do I win?

And that’s how seriously I take Mikey’s charge that Murphy “declines to answer direct questions from the media”…again, proof for such a charge would be nice (and the cranky rantings of the Courier Times editorial board who were unhappy about having to talk to former Murphy spokesperson Kate Hansen instead don’t count, by the way).

Continuing...

Unelected spokespeople usually speak for the congressman. Furthermore, in advance of one of the most life-changing votes held in recent history, he never held a real town meeting on the costly, controversial, confusing health care bill that is worrisome to a majority of Americans.

Murphy held tele-town hall phone calls on health care reform last summer…this is a recording…I’ve pointed this out at least a dozen times by now and ranting about Murphy not providing a forum for the Tea Klux Klan is waay past the point of being a tired talking point (Above Average Jane has more on that here).

Most outrageous of all is his knack for calling a tax increase, a tax "cut," and his ultra-liberal voting record, "fiscally conservative."

This tells us that the stimulus provided the largest middle-class tax cut in history (and Murphy voted for it).

Recently, the congressman ignored the fact that the current health care plan will add another trillion dollars to the national debt, when he labeled it "a tax cut for the middle class."

This tells us that the CBO projects $1.2 trillion in savings from health care reform through “the slower growth of premium tax credits in 2018 and the more aggressive indexing of the thresholds on excise tax on high-cost plans,” as well as “extending the payroll tax on unearned income and some other adjustments in the bill on minor revenue offsets. On the spending side, the bill contains stronger savings and efficiencies in Medicare Advantage.”

Back to Mikey…

It is urgent to unseat Congressman Murphy for all of the above reasons. He has not demonstrated a connection with his constituents, but remains tied to Obama Democrats who unloaded one of the worst bills in recent memory on the American people in the name of health reform - and a bill signed March 23 that will swamp future generations in unprecedented debt.

Oh, and speaking of “swamp(ing) future generations in unprecedented debt,” I found this in the comments thread, written by a Republican about his own party (and while it’s true that Fitzpatrick didn’t vote for either of the ruinous Bush tax cuts or Medicare Part D – blame Jim Greenwood for that – Mikey didn’t really do a whole hell of a lot to oppose them either).

Continuing...

We're resilient, however. We've survived many historic crises, but not without honest, intelligent, creative thinkers leading the way. At this time, we need representatives in Congress who are willing to say "no" to more debt and "no" to unbridled partisanship and "yes" to fiscal responsibility and accountability.

And by the way, on the subject of “fiscal responsibility and accountability,” Above Average Jane tells us the following among many other items in this great post about Mikey and Dubya’s Not-So-Excellent Iraq Adventure…

In 2005, Fitzpatrick voted against an amendment to provide $5 million to establish a select committee to investigate reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, including contracting procedures, protection against money laundering, and the allocation of contracts to foreign companies and small businesses. In October 2004, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board released an audit of the Bush Administration's management of Iraqi oil proceeds and other funds in the Development Fund for Iraq. Problems found involved hundreds of millions of dollars, numerous sole source contracts and missing and nonexistent contract files. The amendment was rejected, 191-236, Fitzpatrick voted no.

Back to Mikey…

Certainly, we need people in Congress who understand the magnitude of the problems we face and are capable of taking bold steps to improve health care for all Americans - without tearing into the system and driving up the cost of care. We can agree on the need for reform, but I disagree on the way this cumbersome, partisan bill was hustled through the Congress. We need to repeal those provisions and mandates of the health care bill that are overly burdensome to the taxpayer.

In response, let me say that I’m glad Fitzpatrick has apparently recovered from his bout with cancer. However, that does not automatically give him any insight into matters pertaining to health care, particularly when you consider the following (from here)…

He failed the mothers of children suffering from autism as these women advocated exploring whether or not vaccines could be responsible for this awful affliction (yes, I know the jury, literally and figuratively, is "out" on that, but he could have done more).

He “consider(ed)” supporting legislation to allow Medicare Part D recipients to buy drugs in bulk for less money, even though Medicare Part D wasn’t listed as an issue on his “Mike On The Issues” health care page back in '06.

He stated his support for adult stem cell research, which holds nowhere near the potential for curing life-threatening illnesses as embryonic stem cells.

Mikey concludes (mercifully)…

Reasonable people know there are workable solutions to correct the flaws in the health care system, without gutting the system. But the Obama administration and its cohorts in Congress obviously were on a do-or-die mission that evolved from a political timetable of their own - and a certain arrogance.

I would ask Patrick Murphy if he has a plan to redirect this nation, to cure some of the ills, or the courage to rise up in the hallowed Halls of Congress and tell his party leadership they embarked on a reckless and flawed mission?

I think not, and that's why I'm running for Congress.

(And by the way, I wonder if Mikey's usage of the phrase "reckless and flawed mission" is his way of trying to throw Patrick Murphy's opposition to Iraq back in his face by using the terminology in an altogether inappropriate context?)

Speaking only for myself, there aren’t too many politicians out there who truly summon the bile from yours truly and generate such utter contempt quite the way that Mike Fitzpatrick does. Under the guise of a supposed moderate (long-time Bucks County guy, supposedly imbued with some “cred” for that reason as well as his Catholicism), he manages to concoct and propagate some of the most grotesque lies I’ve ever seen. And this is yet another example, proving once more that he has nothing constructive to offer to our political dialogue that would help us to solve the problems he either helped create or did nothing to try and solve while he held federal elective office.

I said awhile back that I wished Fitzpatrick well with his health and his personal life, and I still do. I also said that he should never run for public office again.

He should have listened.

Update 5/20/10: This column from J.D. Mullane features another Mikey lie, this that Patrick Murphy “(doubled)…the national debt in four years.” As an astute commenter pointed out, “On May 21 2006 the national debt was $8,344,448,730, 993.01 today it is $12,984,666,665 ,110.57. That is not doubling” (source here).