Connolly Comments on European Elections

Connolly Warns “We’ve seen something like seven European governments topple over the issue, really, of austerity measures to rein in debt and to try to get our fiscal house in order,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in an interview. (with Politico) “That approach obviously is not a winning approach in the electorate.” His statement raises at least two questions.  First, where was his concern with the electorate when he supported Obamacare when the majority in the electorate didn't?  Secondly, is he saying we should continue down this path knowing it is an economic disaster because if he supports government spending restraints to put us on a path to economic recovery he won't get reelected?

9 May 2012

Dear Congressman Connolly,

I just read, with dismay, your comments to Politico.  After much thought it has brought me to the conclusion that you are actually out of touch with your electorate. Your desire to get re-elected sums up the motive of most democrats and republicans when it comes to economic policy. But I think you have it all wrong.  Instead, you are buying into the spin being offered up by your party and the media as to what the electorate thinks.  I would hope you would have the courage and integrity to change course and not do just what you think will get you votes but what will actually be best for our country - reduce our debt and put us on a path of economic growth.      Is the European path the one you really want to lead us down?  The very same one that has brought Europe to it's current position of bankruptcy and social unrest?  The last 4 years of out of control spending is not creating jobs or growing our economy.  Contrary to what you believe, increased government spending is not putting us on a path to growth.   Your recent comments now lead me to believe you are not interested in putting us on a path to growth.  No, you will continue to support increasing the size of the federal government in proportion GDP,  which is not healthy economic policy, just so you can retain your position and power.   I believe you are mistaken.  November is coming.

Sincerely,

Palma Hutchinson

 
 

901 Days and Occupy This!

Dear Senator Warner,

901 days have passed and the United States is STILL WITHOUT A BUDGET!

I am of the opinion that the "Occupy Wall Street" protests are a direct result of the class warfare rhetoric the president started several months ago. You tell people enough times that the reason they don't have a job is because the millionaires and billionaires aren't paying their fair share, well they start to believe it. Then they get angry. Then at the very least they protest and at the very worst, well, I shudder to think.

These protests are clearly misguided. They should be occupying the Capitol, protesting the very body that gave wall street et al nearly a Trillion taxpayer dollars. If big corporations aren't paying taxes it is because the lawmakers have created an environment in which they don't have to pay taxes. If only the occupiers were serious about fixing our problems instead of destroying the Country. I'm glad so many democrats have come out in favor of this mob. Guess you think they'll help you keep your job....

Sincerely
Palma Hutchinson

It's Not My Fault - It's the Tea Party's - Again

This post was inspired by my dear Senator Warner. While driving in my car, listening to the radio I heard a soundbite from Senator Warner yesterday complaining about his colleagues who were being bullied by the Tea Party! So that's why the Senate cannot come to an agreement to keep the government running - those pesky, radical tea partiers and their desire for fiscal responsibility!

Dear Senator Warner, 26 Sep 2011

I heard your comments on the radio yesterday and they were quite upsetting. The refusal by the Senate to take up the CR passed by the Congress is another failure of the Senate to act in a fiscally responsible way. You were offered disaster aid along with accompanying cuts to offset the additional spending. However, the senate chose not to even put it to a vote because of the hold the green industry has on the Democrats. Worse than that is your assertion that somehow this is the Tea Party's fault. So, anyone who displays fiscal restraint is now being bullied by the Tea Party? You all may have the media on your side, but the American people can see exactly what's going on and who is looking out for the interest of Tax Paying American Citizens. Your mentality of throwing in another couple of billion dollars in spending without cutting "non-essential" spending elsewhere is business as usual. The challenging times in which we now find ourselves requires changes to the spending paradigm enjoyed by our representatives over the last several decades. I think you all keep forgetting whose money it is you are spending and how dire our economic outlook is!

The Senate refuses to cut spending dollars supporting an industry that, in the last few weeks, has cost us half a billion dollars (Solyndra)!!

Whose fault was that debacle? The Tea Party's?

Sincerely,

I Didn't Just Hear That ....Oh Yes I did!

Not once, not twice, but three times this week the Tea Party has been the target of left wing radicals. Who knew the Tea Party would become such a powerful force and warrant such wrath?

Dear Senator Warner (Webb and Connolly),

I hope you were as disgusted as I was at the language used by the Teamster President to introduce the President of the United States, the leader of the democratic party! In case you haven't read or heard, here are some of the highlights:

"We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They've got a war, they got a war with us and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We're going to win that war,"

"President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong,"

This sort of language should have no place in an event where the President is going to give a speech.

So now the Tea Party is waging a war on workers? What I know about the Tea Party is that they have 3 guiding principals; fiscal conservatism, adherance to the U.S. Constitution and less federal intrusion in our daily lives. If the unions consider these three principles as a war on unions, what then are the union's principles?

More important, where is the outrage from the President? Or from any democrat? The language used over the last week by Maxine Waters and Congressman Andre Carson went without any condemnation. Is this what political America has become? I wish you would stand up for all of America and ask your colleagues to be civil. One individual or group should not bear the brunt of such hateful political rhetoric. Your silence gives approval to this despicable behavior.


Sincerely
Palma Hutchinson

I Hereby Decree

(Sent to Connolly, Warner, Webb and Boehner)
I am so disgusted with the President and our Congress right now. The latest decree from the White House being “We shall not enforce our immigration laws”. As part of the legislative branch (the ones that make the laws) I would think this would bother you as much as it bothers me and all other Americans. When we have a President who decides which laws will be enforced and which ones won’t, and our law makers have nothing to say about it, we are in trouble. He has already decided not to enforce the DOMA, we have a justice department and other federal agencies providing weapons to drug cartels across the border, voter intimidation that goes unprosecuted. What is next? This is the same government that has shut down Marijuana clinics in at least 2 states where medical marijuana is legal (California and Montana). If the legislative body of our nation will not keep in check the executive branch, then we are in trouble. So far since 2008 we have not had a budget, have not had a comprehensive immigration policy, unemployment is still climbing, our economic growth is miniscule and the rhetoric out of Washington is all about blame and class warfare. Will you be happy when the unemployed take to the streets and start rioting? Did you happen to see the interviews on TV regarding the flash mobs in Montgomery County? Some folks responded by saying, “they’re just hungry and stealing food”. This is the America you have created. If we don’t like a law do we just ignore it? By the way, this is a country with nearly 50 million people collecting food stamps and people are stealing because they’re hungry? Maybe they're not hungry, they just don't like laws against stealing. I guess the government is not handing out enough. What’s it going to take for our representatives to wake up? 2012 can’t get here soon enough.
Sincerely,
Palma Hutchinson

So far, Congressman Connolly is the only one who has responded in an Aug 24th letter:


Dear Mrs. Hutchinson,


Thank you for contacting me about the current state of immigration in our nation. (I was really commenting on the current administration picking and choosing which laws to enforce) I appreciate your interest in this issue, and your views are important to me.

I believe you will agree that the federal government has failed to secure our borders and has done nothing to address our broken immigration system. Northern Virginia bears much of the burden created by illegal immigration. The current economic crisis highlights the need for real solutions. That is why I believe we need to pass a comprehensive immigration package that is tough and practical.

As Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, I was forced to deal with the effects of our broken immigration system. That's why I formed a Strike Team to crack down on over-crowded boarding houses and launched an anti-gang initiative. I'm proud to say that those initiatives have been successful.

In Congress, I have worked to maintain support for local public safety agencies through the 287(g) program. By partnering with the Department of Homeland Security, communities enrolled in 287(g) have had success in removing criminal aliens from our midst and targeting gangs, drugs and human smuggling. One deficiency in the 287(g) program is that it does not provide adequate funding to jurisdictions to pay the costs of incarcerating those arrested for crimes. I successfully fought a proposal from the Obama administration to eliminate such funding, known as the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which reimburses local jails more than $1.5 million a year for housing illegal aliens.

In addition, I am urging (urging. hmmm. is that like urging to balance a budget) my colleagues to tighten border security, crack down on employers who exploit undocumented workers, and reform the system as a whole. Congress recently approved a border security bill (H.R. 6080) to hire more than 1,000 new Border Patrol agents and prosecutors who will permanently patrol our southern border and 250 new Customs and Border Protection agents for our ports of entry. During the past year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also has quadrupled its audits of employer records, and it is on pace to deport 400,000 illegal aliens, a nearly 10 percent increase from 2008 and a 25 percent increase from 2007. (based on the President's decision not to deport illegals I imagine this will go down significantly).

As you can see, immigration enforcement is being addressed on multiple levels, though the system is far from fixed. Thank you for expressing your concern on this very important issue. I enjoyed hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Gerald E. Connolly
Member of Congress

Well, I had to reply to his response and here it is. I probably could have said a lot more, but I don't think it really matters since he really wasn't responding to my real query.

Dear Congressman Connolly, September 3, 2011

Thank you for your Aug 24^th letter in response to my email regarding the President’s decision to ignore our immigration laws. Although I appreciate your response, you totally missed the point of my original email which was how this administration and this Justice Department have been and are making a mockery of our laws and how Congress has failed the American people by not performing it’s responsibility of keeping the executive branch in check. How many laws has this administration decided it's not going to enforce? From voter intimidation to DOMA and many in between.
Your letter was right about one thing and I quote it here:
“I believe you will agree that the federal government has failed to secure our borders and has done nothing to address our broken immigration system. Northern Virginia bears much of the burden created by illegal immigration. The current economic crisis highlights the need for real solutions. That is why I believe we need to pass a comprehensive immigration package that is tough and practical”
You sir, are part of the federal government. Believing we need to pass a comprehensive immigration package and passing one are two very different things, obviously. But you miss my point entirely. What good is having laws if the President can decide he doesn't want those laws enforced?
I believe that from the Stimulus to Obamacare, you have been a loyal vote for President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid’s extreme agenda, which has gotten us into the worst economy in my lifetime. I hope you are not planning more of the same to try to fix it. You know what they say about doing the same thing and expecting different results?
Sincerely,

This Committe is "Special"

Dear Senator Warner, 10 Aug 2011

Given all the work you and the Gang of Six did to identify areas to cut spending I'm very disappointed Senator Reid did not assign you to the special committee. This just shows that he is not serious about tackling our nation's debt problems. Part of me thinks that the President and many in the Congress want our country to fall deeper into financial and social chaos. I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but why else do we continue with the failed policies of the last 2 1/2 years? Unemployment among Black teenagers is higher than 40%. The President has already identified the rich as the enemy of the people and the reason we’re having this debt crisis. How long before we see rioting in our cities similar to what we've seen in France, Greece and England? We need job creation and what I see in the appointments of both parties is the same old same old. Though I have disagreed more often that not with the votes you have cast, you would have been a much better choice than the three Reid has appointed. I hope you will continue to work behind the scenes.

Sincerely,
Palma Hutchinson

The Unlocked Lock Box

Written on July 13, 2011

Dear Congressman Connolly (and Senators Webb and Warner),

I was shocked to hear the President say in a TV interview last night that he could not guarantee Social Security benefits would be paid if the debt ceiling was not raised. This begs 2 questions. First, how can the Social Security Trust Fund be dependent upon raising the debt ceiling and borrowing money to pay these benefits when the trust fund is supposed to be in a "lock box" and contributions are not intended to be put into a general spending pot? The second question is, if in fact the Social Security Trust Fund is bankrupt why are democrats opposed to reforming the SS program and acting like the republicans want to throw granny off a cliff when the talk about reform? The Citizens of Virginia and the United States deserve to hear the truth and not some mumbo jumbo scare tactics. This President has become the most divisive President in recent history pitting rich against poor, old against young and black against white. I would appreciate a direct response to these 2 questions. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Palma Hutchinson

Here is Senator Warner's response:

Dear Mrs. Hutchinson,

Thank you for contacting me about Social Security, the primary source of retirement income for many Americans. I appreciate hearing from you on this important topic.

Since 1935, Social Security has provided income to and reduced poverty among seniors, dependent survivors, and disabled Americans. Over 50 million Americans currently receive monthly benefit checks. I believe that Social Security should continue to provide retirement security to all those who have paid into the system. Honoring that commitment, however, will involve developing solutions to steer the Social Security program from its current unsustainable course back toward long-term solvency.

As of May 13th, the Social Security Board of Trustees report projected that without changes, the Trust Funds for seniors, dependent survivors and disabled Americans will be depleted by 2036. This means if nothing is done, all beneficiaries will be subject to a 22 percent cut across the board. Factors including the recent economic crisis, the oncoming retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, and Americans' growing life spans have intensified the strain on the system.

I have worked for the last six months with a bipartisan group of Senators to craft a solution to our debt and deficit problem. On July 19, 2011, we put forward our plan in hopes that it would provide a solid basis for a bipartisan, comprehensive, and balanced solution. The plan we put forward would slash our deficits by $3.7 trillion over ten years and stabilize our publicly-held debt by 2014.

Apart from deficit reduction, our plan would ensure Social Security's solvency for the next 75 years. Any savings created by changes to Social Security would go back into the Social Security system, not to deficit reduction. It is important that Social Security reform remain separate from other budget efforts, but we should strive to restore long-term solvency to Social Security while providing seniors with the benefits they need.

Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER
United States Senator

My reaction: So, the President was lying about not knowing if Social Security payments could be made (according to Senator Warner the system is solvent through 2036) come August 3. AND the system does need to be reformed despite Pelosi and other radical democrats (including the President) accusing Republicans of wanting to send Granny off a cliff by discussing social security/entitlement reform. I wonder what else they're lying about.