Crossposted from Bluegrassroots
http://bluegrassroots.org/...
Recently the Editorial Board of the Enquirer endorsed my opponent, Geoff Davis, in the upcoming congressional election for KY-04. The Board seemed to view Davis as post-partisan, and a man unafraid to "buck the desires of his party leadership." Here are a few things they seem to have overlooked when evaluating Congressman Davis’ record:
Geoff Davis has voted with a majority of his Republican colleagues 94% of the time during the current Congress. During happier times we could simply chuckle at the Enquirer board for implying Davis was anything resembling a "maverick," but since the Republican philosophy has led our nation to the brink of disaster, this failure in judgment is far from amusing.
...continued after the jump...
In one of Davis’ most outrageous offenses against the common morality of his constituents, Davis voted against HR976, a bill which would have expanded healthcare for children. He voted, of course, with his party. Davis also voted for FISA (S1927,) an Act that allows our government to spy on us without oversight, and which we have recently learned is being abused. Davis voted repeatedly against a timeline to withdraw our troops from Iraq, even though the American public made it clear in 2006 that we want our troops and our treasure to come back home. On HR4, Davis voted against allowing the government to negotiate directly with drug-makers for lower prescription drug prices for individuals using Medicare. Davis also voted against HR1, a bill to implement the remaining 9/11 Commission recommendations, such as funding first-responders and improving cargo security. All of the above were party-line votes.
The Enquirer Editorial Board also mentions that Congressman Davis is becoming increasingly influential. This is clearly true. But rather than use his power on the House Financial Services Committee to help avert the recent Wall Street disaster, he used his power to shake down Wall Street lobbyists for campaign cash. This shameful abuse of power was recently documented by the Lexington Herald Leader. The article reveals that in recent months Congressman Davis has been sending out fund-raising invitations to Wall Street firms such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, promising lobbyists "intimate" meetings in exchange for thousands of dollars in suggested campaign contributions. Congressman Davis, one of the Representatives responsible for overseeing Wall Street on our behalf, was instead busy trading access for cash. The board states that Davis is "crafty." Maybe the right word is "shifty." The Center for Responsive Politics reports that Davis has raised around 1.5 million dollars from the financial industry in the last three years. This gives him the cash do things that "serious candidates" do, like bus in paid workers from out of state to knock on Kentucky doors for an astro-turf ground game.
As one of the few things that the Board accurately pointed out, indeed I have "done few of the things someone has to do to actually get elected."
First, I have refused to prostitute my integrity for any special interest cash that might have helped to counter Geoff Davis’ ill-gotten gains. Just minutes of research (on the Federal Election Commission or Open Secrets web sites) makes it clear that Congressman Davis does not have any qualms about grabbing fists-full of out-of-state cash from the special interest sewer - no matter how many strings are attached.
Second, I also work full-time as a family doctor and I am very involved with my four young children. This has limited my campaign to about two events per week. Since I am not a financially-independent self-funder, or a professional politician, my campaigning time has been more limited than in a traditional campaign. I have never pretended to be anything other than what I am – a concerned citizen and parent who will fight for change with the resources at hand while refusing to compromise my integrity.
We have a political system in which the candidate who raises the most money almost always wins, and the best fundraisers are usually the ones who share Congressman Davis’ moral flexibility with regards to special interest cash. The result is a Congress that most Americans don’t trust to work in the best interest of our nation and the voters.
I am a small money candidate. I am not taking a single dime of special interest money. Obviously, this makes my chances of winning lower, but if I am elected I will work for the voter - not for special interests.
Michael Kelley MD
http://kelley08.com
Sources:
Enquirer Endorses Davis
http://news.cincinnati.com/...
Davis Votes 94% with Republicans
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/...
Davis’ Party Line Votes on Kids’ Healthcare, FISA, Iraq, Medicare Drug Negotiations, 9/11 Recommendations
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/...
U.S. Eavesdropping on Innocent American Citizens
http://abcnews.go.com/...
Lexington Herald Leader Article Exposes Davis’ Shakedown of Financial Industry
http://www.kentucky.com/...
Davis’ Career Take from Financial Industry – 1.5 Million
http://www.opensecrets.org/...