My representative in the House of Representatives is Colin Peterson, a blue dog democrat.
He was one of the few democrats that voted against the fiscal cliff legislation.
I wrote to him and expressed my disbelief that he would vote against middle-class tax cuts. I said I thought his vote was "irresponsible".
This was his response:
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act, known as the fiscal cliff legislation. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
Our economy has steadily improved overall, but some folks continue to struggle financially in the aftermath of the recession. Too many hard working families are still facing tough times, and that's why in the past I have supported extending the Bush tax cuts. In December, I signed onto Rep. Walz's Discharge Petition, which required the Republican leadership to bring the Senate passed, Middle Class Tax Cut Act to a vote.
While I support the extension of tax cuts for the middle class, I could not support H.R. 8 because it lacked the necessary cuts to prevent our country from spending money that we don't have. This legislation will increase the deficit by $3.97 trillion over 10 years, which was the opposite of our intent when Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 and agreed that deficit reduction was necessary.
We need comprehensive budget reform that includes tax reform, entitlement reforms, discretionary and defense spending. Unfortunately, this bill was a political solution for politicians. A true solution for the country would have included balanced reductions to confront our spending problem.
The reason I believe he was not honest with me is because it has been reported that he voted against the bill because Speaker Boehner has put aside the farm bill that my congressman has worked on. Thus, there is a deep suspicion that his vote against the fiscal cliff bill was in response to the lack of response to the ag committee and my congressperson's work on the farm bill. And he writes to me that the fiscal bill was only a "political solution" ? What about your behavior, Mr. Peterson ?
Furthermore, my congressman, who has a "A" rating from the NRA, is opposed to the assault weapon ban.
I give up on this so-called democrat. (He also did not get my vote in the last election).