Most people in Kentucky's 5th Congressional District, the second poorest district in the nation, don't know about Congressman Rogers and his deplorable voting record. We must make this public knowledge, and that's why we urgently need your help.
The problems of poverty in the 5th District doesn't stem from the depressed economy. For generations, Southeast Kentucky has been the epicenter of low income, low life expectancy, and low expectations. Congressman Rogers has not done anything (in the 30 years that he's been in office) to change this.
Here's just a sampling of Mr. Rogers votes, some of them date back to 1994:
NO to Unemployment Benefits, FIVE TIMES (HR 4213, HR 5618, HR 4213, HR 4851, HR 5749)
NO to Coal Mine Safety (HR 2768)
NO to Requiring OSHA to Establish Combustible Dust Safety Standards (HR 5522)
NO to Whistleblower Protection (HR 985)
NO to Union Organization (HR 800)
YES to 'Free Trade' (HR 3450)
NO to Pay-As-You-Go (HR 3961)
NO to Campaign Finance Reform (HR 5175, HR 2356, HR 417, HR 2183)
YES to Warantless Wiretapping (HR 3162)
NO to Hate Crimes Laws (HR 1913, HR 1592)
NO to Ending military involvements in Pakistan (H. Con Res 301)
NO on educating children about the dangers of tobacco (H. Amdt. 462)
This being a coal producing region, voting against coal mine safety and against establishing Combustible Dust Safety Standards will not sit well with the coal miners and their families in Eastern Kentucky, which make up the majority of the workforce. But that's not all. The fact that Mr. Rogers voted for Free Trade won't sit well with the 12-18%+ who are presently unemployed throughout the district.
The fact that Mr. Rogers voted against campaign finance reform a full four times won't sit well with voters who are disgusted with the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. Voting against whistleblower protection certainly won't sit well with the voters who are sick and tired of government corruption and neopitism.
And this is just a drop in the bucket. This is only the start. Once word gets out about Mr. Rogers wanting to direct $5 Million to a cheetah fund that could benefit his daughter, plus the homeland security earmark that Rogers' secured for a company that almost immediately thereafter hired his son. The link to those stories are here.
This is why we need your help. We need your help to get this information out to the voting public, and we need your help to do this quickly. Jim Holbert is our nominee for Congress in the 5th District. He is a Progressive Democrat running to end the wars, bring back jobs by ending 'free trade', and creating an energy policy that benefits America.
It is absolutely critical that we have the finances to take on Hal Rogers and his special interest/lobbyist money. Jim Holbert needs your help to raise at least $5,000. This probably doesn't sound like much to most people, but because the Southeast Kentucky media market is so cheap, your contributions go a long way.
Please make a contribution to the Jim Holbert for Congress campaign today. Here's the link to his ActBlue page. Please give today.
Thank you in advance for your generosity and help. We really appreciate it!
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HolbertForCongress
Twitter: @Holbert2010