To Run for Congress Shouldn’t You Know How it Works?

Okay people, I’m really beginning to wonder why the 5th CD race is even a race. Time and again, John McGoff has proven that he doesn’t get how being a congressman even works. The only thing he’s run on is “if you don’t like Dan Burton vote for me”. Now that’s enough to swing some people, but that’s no platform. He’s run a negative campaign devoid of any real ideas from the beginning. And he’s still going on the attack trying to…get this…label Burton as a liberal. The idea is so absurd I don’t even know where to begin. Oh wait, yes, I do.

McGoff’s latest unfounded criticism of Congressman Burton comes on immigration. He’s going to start running ads claiming that Burton promoted amnesty for illegal immigrants. He’s even sent out mailers to scare voters into believing that Burton supported amnesty. The problem is, that couldn’t be further from the truth. So did McGoff just make this up? What he did was misconstrue the truth (that political-ese for lying).

Friend of the site Gonz O. Defenestrater wrote on his blog:

Sometimes, when you sit at the “big-boys table” and you understand the Rules and Procedures of the House of Representatives, you have to do something that they affectionately call a “kitchen sink bill” - wherein, as the Chairman or Ranking Member of a Committee or subcommittee, you put every idea that everyone has in a draft bill that will act like a “discussion draft” so that everybody has a chance to speak on the issues that concern them and beat up on the issues that they don’t agree with. It’s the process.

(Read more after the leap)

That bill (HR 5456) was intended to start a discussion on the problem of illegal immigration. And it did that. The overwhelming message was that we need to be even tougher on illegal immigrants. So, in response, Mr. Burton replaced HR 5456 from the last Congress (the old bill McGoff uses to attack Our Congressman), with (today, in the real world) H.R.3549, a bill that seeks:

(1) To withdraw Federal funds from States and political subdivisions of States that interfere with enforcement of Federal immigration law… and

(2) SECURE THE BORDER!

(Note to Devoted Readers: Sponsor: Rep Burton, Dan [IN-5] (introduced 9/17/2007) emphasis added

The legislation was referred to the following Committees:

(1)House Judiciary

(2)House Oversight and Government Reform

The latest action (according to the LIS): 10/12/2007 (emphasis added) The bill was referred to Government Oversight and Reform subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees,Border Security, and International Law.

Ummm … did anybody catch the 10/2007? By my public school math that was 7 months ago. Didn’t McGoff’s campaign bother to research that bill, or did they just selectively pick out the one thing that they could distort? (Obviously the latter.) It is just another example of the way the Nameless Campaign just shovels $h*t on the folks in the 5th district.

Know what else? When Hoosier Access Radio had Congressman Burton on in February, he addressed this very issue explaining what exactly happened with that particular bill (discussion of the immigration bill begins at the 3:15 minute mark).

 

 Dan Burton interview on HAR [44:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

And it’s not as if the McGoff campaign didn’t know, since he’s been on the show as well. So they had the facts and still distorted them (more politcal-ese for lying).

Congressman Burton even has a You Tube clip explaining his stance on immigration.

Maybe someone needs to watch a little School House Rock before the next time they decide to run for congress.

YouTube Direct