The Olympian is, in my opinion, nothing short of a sharply liberal newspaper. It endorsed Gregoire for Governor in 2008; it backed Obama, and every other Democrat it could find. It has obviously been fully supportive of Democrat Adam Smith in the 9th Congressional District. In an article from this week, Shannon writes:
Smith … has built a reputation as a moderate pro-business Democrat.
Let’s examine Smith’s so called “moderate” record. He gets a mere 85% from the ADA, and a shockingly high 4% from the ACU – if that is not the hallmark of a moderate, what is? Pelosi scores a mere 50% from the ADA, but is classified as an “S” presumably for being the current speaker, and glorious a “0″ from the ACU. Compared to her, it seems, Smith might actually be a moderate. But, let’s discuss that, shall we?
The ADA Record
According to the ADA, Smith failed to toe the liberal line on (with Smith vote in brackets):
#5 … repealing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for households with incomes over $200,000 and … repealing certain corporate tax breaks, while increasing funds for health care, education and job training programs, and veteran benefits and services… (NAY)
#9 … motion agreeing to … provide $162.5 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with $96.6 billion for fiscal 2008 and $65.9 billion for fiscal 2009. The bill did not include a time-frame for withdrawal… (YEA)
#13 … Farm Bill Re-authorization – Veto Override Passage by required two-thirds majority, over President Bush’s June 18, 2008 veto, of a bill to reauthorize Federal farm and nutrition programs for five years, including crop subsidies, food stamps, conservation, rural development, and agricultural trade programs… (NAY)
#5 does put Smith in the somewhat pro-business camp, but the bill really was all about deficit-neutrality. Smith, being a true liberal, voted against it. How can Democrats function without budget deficits?
#9 is commendable, but the bill wasn’t going to pass under Pelosi. No real harm done by voting for it.
#13, again, is a plus in my book. But, again, the bill was going to pass, with Republicans and Democrats both voting for it. A vote against it allows you to claim fiscal responsibility, but you know you won’t hurt its passage.
Smith agreed with the ADA on everything else, including:
#17. HR 6842. District of Columbia Gun Laws Passage of a bill to repeal District of Columbia laws prohibiting firearms possession, including the possession of semiautomatic firearms… (NAY)
#16. HR 1338. Paycheck Equality Passage of a bill to allow women who are paid less than their male counterparts to bring suits against their employers … (YEA)
#11. HR 5658. Fiscal 2009 Defense Authorization – Missile Defense Budget Franks (R-AZ) amendment that would authorize an additional $719 million for the Missile Defense Agency, offsetting the cost by a decrease of the same amount for the Defense Department’s research, development, testing and evaluation activities… (NAY)
Voting for #17 is hardly moderate. DC’s gun ban was the most extreme version of such a law this country has ever seen and Smith voted to uphold it.
#16 is barely business-friendly. Regardless of the reasons for supporting the bill, no Congressman can be “business-friendly” if he votes to allow more lawsuits against businesses.
#11 provides a mere $719 million for missile defense. This money was not an additional appropriation, but a re-allocation of funds away from the DoD’s R&D budget, which is already over bloated at almost $80 billion in 2007. Smith can’t really be “pro-defense” if he doesn’t support missile defense, quite possibly the only way America can protect itself from missile attacks from rogue states, such as Iran and Russia.
The ACU Record
Smith’s only positive from the ACU is the farm subsidies bill, not surprisingly. Mr. Smith, on the whole, is barely a moderate on the basis of his ACU scorecard. He voted against repealing tax cuts, but not really. According to the ACU, Smith voted against:
3. H. Con. Res. 312 (Roll Call 140)… [which] would have made the Bush tax cuts permanent…
So, he wants to raise taxes but not entirely explicitly. Smith also voted against:
7. Oil and Gas Exploration S. Con. Res. 70 (Roll Call 321). The House rejected a motion designed to encourage expansion of federal leases for oil and gas exploration in the West, on the Outer Continental Shelf, and in a small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge…
Oil exploration is Alaska would lead to more economic activity in the Seattle-Tacoma area through more trade and shipping business. Yet, Smith voted against it.
Smith also likes the AMT, as he voted against…
13. Alternative Minimum Tax HR 6275 (Roll Call 455). The House passed a bill extending for one year a provision to exempt 21 million middle-income taxpayers from the “millionaire’s tax” …
Smith also likes to protect his corrupt colleagues, as he voted against…
20. Ethics Investigation H. Res. 1460 (Roll Call 609). The House voted to kill an investigation into the failure of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel’s to report rental income on property he owns in the Dominican Republic and remove him as Chairman during the investigation…
Conclusion
Congressman Smith is barely a moderate; he is politically astute and obviously very smart, but still very liberal. Shannon, stop lying to the people.
Now, I had the opportunity of chatting up Jim Postma, the perennial Republican challenger, last year. Postma felt that Smith is really a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is as liberal as they get, but not quite comparable to the Commie Jim McDermott of Seattle; yet, he gets away with the moderate badge. Postma’s goal was to portray Smith as the liberal he truly is, but fundraising and personal issues got in the way.
Postma raised a few thousand dollars compared to Smith’s hundreds of thousands. Postma is a soft-spoken elderly gentleman who allowed himself to be bullied by the nasty Republican establishment in Pierce County. Despite winning the Republican primary, and being, as such, the official Republican Congressional candidate, Postma was pushed around by the men and women of the Pierce County Republican Party at several occasions. I remember a lady telling him that he could not put up his photograph on the rear wall because that privilege was reserved for Congressional candidates. Huh!
If a man does not command respect from within the party and, indeed, can’t demand respect, he shouldn’t be running for Congress against a formidable challenger as Smith. I liked Postma – an awesome guy and quite conservative too, but not a winner.
This time around, we have a couple more GOP candidates in the running: Tom Campbell and Pierce County Council member Dick Muri
Campbell is a “longtime state House member from the rural 2nd Legislative District, has had success in recent years passing state consumer-protection bills in health care and environmental protection … a patient’s bill of insurance rights and more recent bills holding hospitals publicly accountable for patients who become infected while under their care… [he is] a former Democrat who supports unions as well as gun rights, … an outcast among House Republicans … but House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt supports him. His fundraising kickoff drew more than 100 people, including Republican state Chairman Luke Esser, and he raised about $8,300…”
Campbell is the Chair of the House Environmental Health Committee, a Republican chairing a enviro committee among Democrats. He really must be a “moderate” Republican and we do need someone like him to challenge the “moderate” Smith.
