Archive for the ‘Dan Burton’ Category

This morning, I was passed along a letter to the editor of the Indianapolis Star that defending Congressman Burton against the Star’s treatment of him when they decided to endorse Burton’s Democrat challenger.

Listen, I understand the Star can endorse who they want whenever they want, but the reason they endorsed Burton’s opponent was because of a single vote against a piece of the ethics legislation without ever finding out why he voted against it.  Why?  Because that would involve investigative reporting and we all know the Indianapolis Star is above doing their job.

Burton Campaign Manager John Donnelly wrote a letter to the editor explaining the congressman’s vote.  He was called and emailed by the Director of the “Letters” page that John’s letter would indeed run.  Then yesterday, he was told that Director’s “Superior Editors” had pulled the plug on John’s letter.

Since the Star refuses to drop their petty squabbles with the Congressman, we are posting John’s letter here.

Members of the Editorial Board:

In response to the grievances with Congressman Dan Burton you noted in the endorsement of his opponent, I can not, in good conscience, allow your condemnation of his lone vote against Title II of the 2007 House ethics legislation (H. Res. 6, roll call no. 7) to go unanswered.

If you dig deeper than the politically correct name “Ethics Reform” and look at the actual language of Title II in House Resolution 6, you will find a bill easily exploited by loopholes. As the House and Senate Ethics Committees have sought to interpret the broad language of the bill in 2007-08, countless bizarre and confusing parameters for Members of Congress and Congressional staff have been created, and actual reform is nowhere to be seen. Here are a few examples of why the so-called ethics reform has become the joke of Washington, D.C.:

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Really!?! Star Editorial Board.  In your tradition of giving out political endorsements you actually backed the Democrat who is running against Dan Burton in a district that last went Democrat before the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Really!?! You didn’t endorse Congressman Burton because he was the lone vote against an ethics reform bill that he didn’t think went far enough (and also contained bad legislation, but heaven forbid you actually report that), but you endorsed his opponent who hasn’t paid her rent all year and is scheduled to appear before a Grant County judge for said refusal of paying rent the day after election day.  The Marion Chronicle-Tribune reported that, but for you, that would have required doing work now wouldn’t it.

And Really!?! You endorsed a candidate who claims that she will begin running ads on Comcast soon, but has yet to fill out a single FEC report (individuals) (committees) explaining how she would have the money (in kind, self loan{wait, what about rent?} or normal donation) that would explain how she could afford such an ad let alone pay for two campaign offices, yard signs and her fancy website?

(Btw, since you threw out investigative reporting a long time ago, here is the FEC rule of which the Congressman’s opponent appears to be in violation of….saves you the time from having to do real actual work…you can thank me later)

House and Senate Candidates. All campaigns that have a reporting obligation must file quarterly reports in 2008. Generally, an individual becomes a candidate for federal office, thus triggering registration and reporting obligations, when his or her campaign exceeds $5,000 in either contributions received or expenditures made.

If the campaign has not exceeded the $5,000 threshold, it is not required to file reports. See 11 CFR 100.3(a)(1). See also 11 CFR 100.3(a)(2) and (3). The authorized committees of House and Senate candidates must also file pre-primary election and pre-general election reports before any election in which the candidate runs in 2008. These committees also must file a post-general election report if the candidate runs in the general election. 11 CFR 104.5(a)(2).

Honestly, your poor attempt to see the congressman defeated has moved to the level of “just sad”.  Even though I’m a proud supporter of Congressman Burton’s I’ll admit that the best chance to beat the him was in this years primary.  But to endorse a candidate who has a good a shot of defeating Congressman Burton as Mark Leyva has of beating Pete Visclosky shows just how petty your paper has become even after the Congressman has attempted to reach out to you and offer an olive branch on more than one occasion this year despite your constant attacks.

Childish.  Just childish.

You know the routine. Fred Sanford clutches his chest and look upwards as he scream “Hear that ‘Lizabeth? I’m coming to join ya honey!”

Well, that’s about the reaction I had when I saw the Ryerson Rag actually endorsed the Republican candidate for Southern Indiana’s 9th Congressional District.

From the Rag:

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(Last week’s letter to my district)

I am writing this today as I react to the events of the past week.

My office received literally thousands of calls supporting my decision to vote against the $700 billion dollar Wall Street bailout bill. They thought this money was excessive, undemocratic and was anti free market. I agreed and that’s why I voted against the bailout- twice.

But that’s not the worst of it. The bill also included, in the end, over $100 billion dollars more in pork spending. That included money for motorsports track owners, excise tax breaks for rum imported from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and money for Hollywood movie makers.

Let me say this again- $100 Billion more in Pork.

I am thoroughly disgusted. And I’m sure you are too.

As long as I am your Congressman, I will continue to fight for taxpayers over these special interests. I am sorry to say that my efforts to stop this bailout (along with members of both parties) failed this time.

I’ll continue to do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

CONGRESSMAN DAN BURTON VOTES AGAINST

RISKY WALL STREET BAILOUT PLAN

(Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Dan Burton [R-IN-05] released the following statement regarding the proposed $700 Billion Wall Street bailout package which failed earlier today in the House of Representatives by a vote of 228 to 205.

“I firmly believe Congress must pass an Alternative Economic Rescue Plan. Congress should not leave Washington until we solve this problem. I voted no today because, in the long term, I believe this particular bill would be devastating to the economy and create an inflationary nightmare. We must also ensure that we are not inadvertently purchasing bad debt from China or other countries. We must establish guidelines to prevent Wall Street from taking the same risks in the future.

“I am backing legislation that helps our financial markets work through this current crisis instead of just providing a handout. The bill I support would provide tax incentives like removing the Capital Gains tax to companies as well as individuals, reform the rules governing government-sponsored enterprises like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to make them more stable, and would provide companies with increased oversight and accountability.

“I believe that we should come back immediately following the Jewish holidays, bring in William Isaac, former chairman of the FDIC who got us through the savings and loan crisis in the 1980’s, and other experts who have helped get our country through similar financial crises in the past. We should then pass a bill that will protect the American people and prevent this type of thing from happening in the future.”

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From the “You Gotta Be Kidding Files” congress is voting on an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations bill for an “alien” project to search for extraterrestrial intelligence.  Yep, that’s right!  We’re not talking border crossers, we’re talking “E.T. phone home”.  Unbelievable!

From Congressman Burton’s congressional blog:

Pork Platter Menu : $1,000,000 for alien research

In the first installment of the Thursday Pork Platter we’ve got $1,000,000 of your tax dollars served up for “alien research.

As you will agree, efficient and effective operation of the Department of Defense (DOD) is critical to ensuring the security of our nation and the safety of our troops. Thankfully, because of the efforts of a few of my colleagues and I, from FY2006 to FY2007 the number of pork barrel projects decreased. But that didn’t stop a Representative from California from adding $1,000,000 to the DOD appropriations bill for an “alien” project to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Nonsense like this provoked me to pledge not to request any earmarks for the 2009 fiscal budget. While Federal dollars can be used properly to support local areas, I had to set an example for my colleagues and pledge against a single cent of pork until the system is reformed. Would alien research get approved in an up or down vote on the House floor? If I were a betting man I’d say it wouldn’t.

Thanks for checking this week’s platter, and we’ll serve up another peice of pork for you next week.

Thursday and Friday I was back in Washington DC in order to participate in the GOP revolt on the house floor.

My constituents are hurting because of high fuel prices.  Not only have they been paying for $4/gallon gas, but they’ve been experiencing inflation on a number of other commodities from food to fireworks.  And this energy crisis isn’t going away any time soon.  So instead of touring the country for personal financial gain promoting her book, Speaker Nancy Pelosi should call on Congress to get back to work, do its job, and offer real energy solutions to the American people.  Other folks can go home and play politics this August, but there’s a movement in this country to fight high gas prices, and I’m going back to give those people a voice.

America can no longer afford to send over $700 Billion annually of our Nation’s wealth to hostile foreign countries when we have the ability and resources to develop our own domestic energy sources.  We can also create hundreds of thousands of jobs right here at home.  I firmly believe that this is not only an issue of the need to develop our own energy independence, but it’s also an issue of American national security.

As Republicans, we’ve gone more than half way.  I am a member of a bipartisan group that publicly introduced an energy solution in the House last week- HR6709.  In addition to environmentally responsible drilling, the bill also would institute greater conservation efforts and investment into technology that will pave the way to energy independence.  Nonetheless, Nancy Pelosi, harnessing her power as Speaker, has forbade voting on any bill with drilling, even if it means blocking the constructive initiatives of her fellow Democrats.

If Congress had already voted for more drilling and more oil production in this country, gas prices would have never risen above $4 per gallon.  Unbelievably, however, even in the face of millions of Americans suffering financially across America due to soaring transportation, food and housing costs, Speaker Pelosi has put a blockade around any real energy legislation.  Thanks to her running the House like her own personal Pelosi politburo, we are facing a moratorium on drilling, and a moratorium on votes.  That is why I returned to Washington to protest.

I am encouraged by the outpouring of support we’ve received all over the country, particularly from our online activists (#dontgo).  With their help, we’ve been able to get around the mainstream media’s liberal bias and have gotten our message out across the country.  Keep it up.

House Republicans have been going strong all week long continuing to poor on the pressure to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring back congress and allow an up or down vote on drilling.

Today, Hoosier Congressmen, Mike Pence and Dan Burton, are front and center in the call to allow a vote. Congressman Burton was on the floor a few moments ago and had this to say:

“We have probably 50 Democrats who will vote with the Republicans to pass energy legislation. Nancy Pelosi is the only person who won’t allow it to come to a vote. That’s just wrong.” “We could stop $700 billion from going over seas to hostile nations and tin horn dictators and we could add 100,000 energy jobs if we pass an energy bill and gain our energy independence.”

While Congressman Pence summed up the effect a single call from a congressional Democrat to Pelosi could have on the debate:

“One call from a House Democrat member to Pelosi would be worth 1,000 calls from citizens.”

(H/T - House Republican Policy Committee and Robert Bluey’s twitter feed)

(H/T - Hoosier Political Report)

Congressman Dan Burton calls into Hoosier Access Radio to discuss the House happenings of Friday, August 1st and overall energy policy

 

 Dan Burton [16:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s all uploaded to iTunes. You can click on the link on the right hand side of the page and sync it to your iPod, or use iTunes on your new iPhone and search “Hoosier Access Radio”.

Congressman Burton issued this press release yesterday in response to Nancy Pelosi shutting off the lights in Congress.

LIGHTS OUT! DEMOCRATS LEAVE REPUBLICANS IN THE DARK

 

Democrats Turn off Mics, Lights as Republicans Stay in the Chamber to Speak About High Gas Prices

(Washington, D.C.) – A few dozen Republican representatives rallied in the House chamber even though the power was cut and the lights were turned off. When Democrats banged the gavel for adjournment at 11:23am, angry Republicans gathered in protest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocking any votes on drilling or other energy legislation.

The drama began when the Democrats, as expected, overwhelmingly voted to adjourn business in the House of Representatives today, and head into a five week vacation. Republicans stayed on the House floor to give speeches against taking a vacation while nothing had been done about high gas prices. Suddenly, the lights went out, C-SPAN cameras were cut, and all the microphones were turned off. The Republican lawmakers resorted to yelling their speeches in the dark as random tourists in the House Gallery and reporters stayed to watch. Politico reporter John Breshnehan, who was on the scene, described how Republican Whip Roy Blunt shielded reporters from being escorted out by police officers.

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