Fakery

U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (Democrat - Arizona) was on the Fox Network proclaiming her opposition to our porous Southern border August 11. The Arizona Primary was less than two weeks away and it showed. She sounded like a Republican, but her voting record gave her away. I took a quick look at her conservative voting percentage and she had only a 14.37 percent lifetime conservative percentage, according to numbers compiled by the American Conservative Union (acuratings.org). She knows, of course, that most voters are barely there, have never heard of the American Conservative Union and not many realize that they can look up any member’s voting record on several sites regarding various political issues. In three years in Congress, she is doing only slightly better than before, hitting just 20 percent conservative in both 2008 and 2009. With numbers such as these, she needs all the duplicity she can muster. Several Republicans are competing in the August 24 Primary to take on Giffords, a big-time liberal  (almost all Democrats are very liberal in Congress, all are at least liberal) in November and she sees which way the political wind is blowing. Border control and the illegal invasion is the big issue in that area and she doesn’t want to be left behind, at least until after the November election. After that, she and John McCain can go back to working on “bipartisan immigration reform.” McCain is also using a lot of fakery as he tries for another six year term in the Senate, but that’s another story we’ve been covering. Please do not fall for this stuff. These people are slick. Giffords represents an area at the Southern boundary of the state overrun by illegals and will say anything to get reelected.

Another Arizona phony is Democrat Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick, also trying to sound conservative to save her hide in a Republican year. She has a different ploy. She is calling for a Congressional pay cut, which hasn’t taken place since 1933. Her $197,000 salary plus splendid benefits is safe and she knows it, but look at the publicity she’s getting. Everyone is for balanced budgets at a time like this, even as they spend wildly on everything imaginable. Her bill calls for a five percent pay cut. It will never make it to a floor vote.

If voters fall for such tactics they are indeed suckers for a slick political pitch and these folks know a lot of tricks.
Once again we consult the ratings at acuratings.org and find that Ms. Kirkpartick is very liberal. She has voted conservative only 36 percent of the time while in the House. This sounds cynical, but if she is such a champion of fiscal responsibility, why doesn’t she change parties? For all their faults, Republicans have some party members worth voting for. I can’t think of a Democrat I would vote for these days.

Ms. Kirkpatrick knows the last time Congress enacted a pay cut for its members was during the Great Depression and is grandstanding, feeling a stiff challenge coming from whichever Republican wins Arizona’s August 24 Primary. It’s August in Arizona and even hotter than usual. Speaking of stiffs, even John McCain is starting to sound conservative lately, but it won’t last beyond early November. Wouldn’t it be great to see this phony lose the Republican Primary to J.D. Hayworth?

I have a suggestion for Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick. If she is serious about her supposed desire for pay cuts, she could start by doing even more. She could sign away her Congressional pension, as Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) did a few years back. Dr. Paul will receive no pension for his years of service in the House when he retires. His toll-free message line is available at 1-888-322-1414. Congressman Howard Coble (R-North Carolina) also says he will not draw a pension when he retires. This is the kind of action we need, not the phony posturing of Gabrielle Giffords and Ann Kirkpatrick. Both are Pelosicrats, loyal to their corrupt, miserable party. Fake right, lurch left.

Ann Kirkpatrick can join these two fine Congressman on the side of fiscal responsibility by just saying no to her Congressional pension but don’t count on it. What she is doing is engaging in empty talk. Members of Congress are in the upper three percent of U.S. wage earners, plus healthy fringe benefits, with automatic pay increases, of course. The smooth ride will continue for them while we in the hinterlands way outside the D.C. Beltway struggle to get by. Give it up, Ann; your Congressional pension, that is, if you really care about fiscal responsibility, which you obviously do not.

Bumper sticker of the day: OBAMACARE: call us when you’re shovel ready!

My e-mail address is marshallem40@comcast.net.