It is to my sadness that I have to say that Pete Sessions, who seems to think the only ones he needs to represent are large corporations, big donors, and his narrow ideology, represents my congressional district.
Sessions, who voted for the very Bush tax cuts for the richest 1 percent that have helped our federal deficit spin out of control, spent part of his Fourth of July trying to shift blame for what he, along with his fellow Republicans in Congress and George W. Bush wrought on our nation, and he repeated his party's call to repeal the healthcare reform legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Obama.
More below.
Here's part of what Sessions had to say about a meeting he held in his district earlier this month:
I began the town hall meeting on Wednesday with an update about our nation’s unsustainable debt and how current policies in Washington are discouraging job creation and economic growth. With current debt over $13 Trillion, President Obama’s spending plan will make our nation’s debt reach 90% of our economy (gross domestic product) by 2020 – according to the Congressional Budget Office.
For most of the meeting, I took questions from attendees – most of whom were clearly dissatisfied with the policies coming out of Washington. The questions ranged from unemployment and financial regulatory reform to Medicare and immigration. Several attendees also wanted to know how the government-run healthcare bill could be repealed – an action that I fully support but that requires a change in direction of Congress.
What is clear from the meeting is that the Democrat (sic) majority’s fiscal agenda has failed to meet the needs of hardworking American families and resulted in an unacceptable increase in the American debt and unemployment. I share the concerns expressed to me on Wednesday night and I remain committed to fighting against the majority's spending spree and am focused on getting the American people back to work.
When "Taliban Pete" says he wants to repeal the healthcare bill, here's what Pete actually says he wants.
- He wants insurance companies to be able to keep denying coverage to folks due to preexisting conditions.
- He wants senior citizens to keep paying higher rates for their prescription drugs by not closing what's called the "donut hole."
- He doesn't want 30 million Americans to be able to get affordable coverage who otherwise wouldn't have it.
And while Sessions cries about the federal deficit, he doesn't mention who's really responsible...and perhaps hopes his constituents will suffer from a collective memory loss and vote for him despite the facts.
Perhaps Sessions really agrees with his fellow Republican, Sen. Jon Kyl, that you never have to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent (that Sessions supported while Republicans controlled the Congress and the presidency) while making sure those who are out of work never get unemployment benefits (Sessions was one of 83 House members, including 66 Republicans, who voted against extending unemployment benefits last year).
I sure hope Sessions' opponent, Grier Raggio, has an opportunity to confront Sessions with all this. I'm curious to see how Sessions responds to questions about the cruel, heartless, and callous positions he has taken against average folks in his district while doing all he can to help the richest 1 percent and powerful corporations like BP.
Raggio's web site: http://www.raggioforcongress.com