Fire Smith
Rep Chris Smith's 32 year legislative record is perfectly consistent- more spending, more deficits, and more Federal Debt!
He will try to run from this record by blaming others. But he has had Republican power and support for most of that period. He had a Republican President for 20 years, a Republican Senate for 16 years, and a Republican House for 14 years. He is responsible for this record and should be held accountable.
Here is the record of national debt during Smith's term from years 1981 thru 2008.
2000 to 2009, The Lost Decade;
And Chris Smith’s recent record is even worse. He voted for trillions of dollars of spending and tax cuts- mostly for the wealthy- that resulted in even more national debt. The Wall Street Journal and some economist have called the 2000s the ‘Lost Decade’.
“The inflation-adjusted income of the median household—smack in the middle of the populace—fell 4.8% between 2000 and 2009, even worse than the 1970s, when median income rose 1.9% despite high unemployment and inflation. Between 2007 and 2009, incomes fell 4.2%” (The Wall Street Journal)
For the first time on record, in supposed good times (the 2002-2007 expansion), incomes of the average American stagnated or fell. The average income of the top 1 percent however increased 65 percent over those same years.
The declining incomes, stagnating wages, weak job creation, and rising prices resulted in an increase of more than 8 million Americans living below the poverty line in 2008, compared to when President Bush took office. By contrast, 8 million people were lifted out of poverty over the eight years of the Clinton presidency. Similarly, over 7 million more Americans were forced to go without health insurance in 2008 than in 1999.
It’s impossible to understand the economic condition of everyday Americans today or the virulence of this Great Recession without understanding the stagnating wages, declining median income, zero private sector job growth, and rising costs that hit American households over the last decade.
(For a full discussion see Jake Berliner’s paper “A Lost Decade for Everyday Americans” 12/17/09 at http://ndn.org/essay/lost-decade-everyday-americans )
The record in 2012;
And the beat goes on, "The budget plans of the leading GOP presidential candidates each call for new, significantly larger tax cuts that would add even more to projected deficits, according to independent analysts."
-CBS News, March 14, 2012
Later in March Chris Smith and the Republicans repealed the law providing for a Medicare review panel (called the Independent Payment Advisory Board) that would make recommendations on reducing Medicare spending. The nonpartisan CBO estimated that repealing this small item alone would increase the deficit by $3 billion.
The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
Why would anyone believe that electing Chris Smith again would lead to different results.
With this fiscal resume Chris Smith does not deserve to be returned to Congress by the voters.
On other issues;
- Congressman Smith signed the ‘Contract with America’ in 1994 promising Congressional term limits. On that day he and the other Republicans publicly pledged: "If we break this Contract, throw us out." It is long past time to enforce that promise and vote him out.
- Smith holds himself out as a human rights advocate but is considered anti-civil rights. He has a low 25% lifetime rating by the ACLU, indicating an anti-civil rights voting record and recently voted against limiting suspicionless Patriot Act searches. He has a failing F grade from the NAACP. and a very low 13% rating by the Human Rights Campaign. He voted to amend the Constitution to define traditional marriage and to Constitutionally prohibit flag desecration. (May 2009). In 1986 he voted against a resolution seeking the release from prison of Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress. He did not consider Mandela a political prisoner and accused the ANC of terrorism.
-Smith has a low D rating from the National Education Association for his poor support on education issues. He appears more interested that students get prayers than a good education. He voted YES on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. (Mar 1994); he supports requiring schools to allow prayer (Jan 2001); and he supports a Constitutional Amendment for school prayer. (May 1997)
-Smith has a mixed ranking on oil and the environment. He voted YES on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. (Apr 2011).