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Wilson’s pretend indignity over spending is outrageous
Martin Heinrich
Senate candidate Heather Wilson left more than a few important facts out of her recent attack in the Albuquerque Journal. Most importantly she failed to mention her 11-year track record in Congress.
Perhaps most outrageous is Wilson’s pretend indignity over government spending. During her time in office, former Congresswoman Heather Wilson was all for taking out loans to fight two wars and pay for an unfunded prescription drug program. At the same time, she voted for tax breaks for the richest Americans and a taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout.
Here are a few of the highlights from her tenure as your U.S. representative that she hopes you won’t remember:
- As one of her final acts as a congresswoman, Wilson voted for a bill that gave a historic bailout to the Wall Street CEO’s who crashed our economy. Her support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) allowed the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in troubled assets.
- Wilson voted to max out our nation’s credit card on costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Data from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office show that Republican-Bush policies on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and new defense policies cost $1.469 trillion.
- Wilson voted for the unfunded Bush tax cuts for the ultra-rich, adding over $700 billion to the deficit over the long term. We’ve seen that Wilson’s approach to taking care of special interests and ignoring the interests of New Mexico’s middle class families has proven ineffective at stimulating job growth.
- In 2003, Wilson voted for the Medicare Part D program that gave billions of dollars to pharmaceutical companies and health care giants by not allowing Medicare to negotiate cheaper drugs for seniors. This unfunded prescription drug program costs U.S. taxpayers about $55 billion annually, paid for completely through deficit spending.
What’s more is the irony that, while Wilson focuses on earning the support of the tea party and playing an armchair political quarterback, she refuses to say whether she would vote for the House GOP’s budget that guts Medicare. Perhaps we’ve only scratched the surface on her extreme agenda.
In the months to come, we’ll surely have some tough choices to make, but going back to Heather Wilson’s devastating policies that put us in this mess in the first place isn’t one of them.
America is too great a nation to cast aside our values as we face hardship. I’ll continue working to reduce the deficit, but not on the backs of New Mexico seniors or the middle class. We must end the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, strengthen Medicare and Social Security, and accelerate our commitments to bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The path forward is one that focuses on creating jobs and puts the American middle class family first.
Heinrich, a Democrat, is a U.S. Senate candidate and the U.S. representative for New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District.
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First, I have a feeling that a job qualification for a US Senator ought to be the ability to distinguish between the word “indignity” and “indignation”. Or, in the very least, hire someone who can to edit articles for publication. They have entirely different meanings, sir. You mean to say that Wilson’s “indignation” over your party’s rampant spending is hypocritical. Sorry, buddy.
Second, only responding to Wilson’s scathing accusations of fiscal irresponsibility by saying that she voted for spending too is neither intelligent (taking part in a federal spending increase of 24 percent over two years is an increase OVER whatever spending Wilson did in congress, an easy distinction for any aware constituent to make), nor responsive (a majority of Wilson’s rhetoric has to do with you refusing to be held accountable to constituents or reality concerning your dismal fiscal record).
Not responding well to GOP accusations only makes the constituency more aware of your incompetency. Both silence and a dictionary would do you well.
Congressman Heinrich has served competently, and has been greatly admired by the DC crowd ( Huffington Post, The Hill, The Sierra Club (he was their first endorsement for the 2012 cycle), and the League of Conservation Voters.
He is, however, more liberal that President Obama. He has supported legislation like cap and trade, EPA ozone rules, which the President decided were a step too far, and he wants to increase taxes.
There are undoubtedly some New Mexicans who love Heinrich’s politics and policies, but the average New Mexican, I think, would find him out of the mainstream.
Martin Heinrich,
Thank you for taking the time to stop in Truth or Consequences this summer. Your candor and accessibility impressed many of the people who attended that meeting.
Though neither party has acted as a responsible group, I believe that the ideas you expressed were visionary reforms long overdue. Good luck in obtaining the support necessary to change the direction in which our nation is going. Sticking to your agenda and promoting those solutions will provide proof of the difference between yourself and your opponents.
Please offer us more of the ideas and proposals that provide a clear indication of why you deserve our vote, rather than explanations of the shortcomings of the others. Americans have grown tired of the NIMBY politicking that has led us to a state of bitter social division and completely dysfunctional governance.
I have a low regard for most politicians, and it doesn’t matter what side they are on. Rep. Heinrich, however, is right on this one: Ms. Wilson and Mr. Domenici did little or nothing during their tenures except to support the disastrous Bush agenda and policies that brought this country to its knees. Now, the recalcitrant right fight Obama and the dems on everything, and Obama wimps out to appease independents (their votes matter), only angering his support base.
We vote people to office to lead and govern, and to do what is best for the country, but that’s pie in the sky stuff anymore. The only thing that matters to politicians now is self-interest, party loyalty and political survival. No wonder congress is at the lowest approval rating in history of only 12% (AP Poll, Aug. 18).
OMG! Marty is attacking Heather as a big spender? Has he been asleep for the last 3 years or is he just not interested in reviewing his Congress’ record on spending. Wonders never cease in the political world as politicians live in a dream world of their own fantasies.
Mr. Heinrich.
To a large degree I think you are correct.
But you, sir have promoted an agenda that is even worse.
You have promoted an agenda of the current administration of great generosity…with other peoples money. All borrowed.
Sir, congress and the current administation are chronic borrowers and you and congress have shown zero restraint during your tenure in the House of Representatives. Thus we recieved a downgrade in our debt rating and the economy is languishing. Our current economic climate looks dismal.
More often than not, you and the current administration have promoted deficit spending, which in this voters opinion shows poor judgement.
I have indicated before that good judgement comes from experience and lots of that comes from bad judgement.
But you seem to have learned little while in Washington in this voters opinion. More of the same doesn’t cut it.
sigh Whar has your president and your party done, Mr. Heinrich to
strengthen Medicare and Social Security
create jobs
bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan
end the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires
Especially during the two year period when you had both houses of congress