US Senate Debate Roundup: Russ Feingold Is Wrong For Wisconsin Voters
Tonight, voters had a chance to see a clear choice between Senator Russ Feingold and Oshkosh Manufacturer Ron Johnson. Senator Feingold is a career politician who has been part of the problem in Washington. At the debate Senator Feingold showed he was all rhetoric and no results. Ron Johnson stood out as the candidate with the common sense solutions to move Wisconsin and our country in the right direction. Below are the facts on Senator Feingold’s failed policies and why he is wrong for Wisconsin voters.
On the economy…
The US and Wisconsin Have Lost Jobs Since The Stimulus Was Enacted: 2.6 million American jobs have disappeared since February 2009 and 79,657 jobs in Wisconsin have been lost. ((Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Local Area Unemployment Statistics – Wisconsin,” US Department of Labor, http://data.bls.gov/, accessed 10/7/10)
On cutting wasteful spending…
Feingold Has Voted For Over 33,000 Earmarks: Senator Russ Feingold Voted In Favor Of 47 Appropriations Bills, Which Included At Least 32,980 Items Of Pork Totaling More Than $98 Billion. (Citizens Against Government Waste Website, “Pig Book,” www.cagw.org, Accessed 7/30/10)
On health care…
CMS Says Health Care Spending Will Increase More Than Before ObamaCare Was Passed. “In February, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projected that overall national health spending would increase an average of 6.1% a year over the next decade. The center’s economists recalculated the numbers in light of the health bill and now project that the increase will average 6.3% a year, according to a report in the journal Health Affairs. Total U.S. health spending will reach $4.6 trillion by 2019, accounting for nearly one of every five U.S. dollars spent, the report says.” (Janet Adamy, “Health Outlays Still Seen Rising,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/10)
“U.S. Health Spending Is Projected To Rise 9.2% In 2014, Up From The 6.6% Projected Before The Law Took Effect.” (Janet Adamy, “Health Outlays Still Seen Rising,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/10)
On a radical environmental agenda…
White House: Cap and Trade Would Cost $1700 Per Family, Per Year. “The Obama administration has privately concluded that a cap and trade law would cost American taxpayers up to $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent. A previously unreleased analysis prepared by the U.S. Department of Treasury says the total in new taxes would be between $100 billion to $200 billion a year. At the upper end of the administration’s estimate, the cost per American household would be an extra $1,761 a year.” (Declan McCullogh, “Obama Admin: Cap And Trade Could Cost Families $1,761 A Year,” CBS News, 9/15/09, cbsnews.com, accessed 10/8/10)
On tea party support…
When Interviewed By The New York Times in August, Sen. Feingold Attacked Members of the Tea Party Saying It Was Fueled By Hatred of President Obama, Not Government Spending. “I go to every county every year and hold a town meeting. Within days of the president being sworn in, I had people showing up at my town meeting with hats on, with tea bags coming out, saying this is going to be socialism.” (Jeff Zeleny, “10 Questions for Russ Feingold, The New York Times, August 31, 2010)
On Social Security…
In 1999, Feingold Voted Against An Amendment That Would Create A Social Security Lockbox. “Motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Lott, R-Miss., amendment that would create a Social Security ‘lockbox,’ establish declining limits on the public debt and create a Senate point of order against any provision that would exceed the debt limit.” (S. 557, CQ Vote #211: Rejected 52-43: R 51-1; D 0-42; I 1-0, 7/16/99, Feingold Voted Nay)
The Justice Department Credited The Patriot Act With Enhancing Information Sharing That Could Have Prevented 9/11. “The Justice Department credits the Patriot Act with expanding the government’s arsenal of investigative tools, helping it crack several cases. Law-enforcement officials say the act has greatly enhanced information sharing within the FBI, and with the intelligence community at large. The law helped erode the legal and bureaucratic ‘wall’ that used to separate the intelligence and criminal sides of an investigation. Federal authorities say this wall is at least partly responsible for FBI and CIA intelligence failures prior to the attacks of Sept. 11.” (Larry Abramson, Maria Godoy & Katie Gradowski, “The Patriot Act: Justice Department Claims Success,” www.npr.org, 7/20/05)
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