Not Quite Lying

In his television commercial, Congressman McHugh is attempting to distance himself by George Bush. Who could blame him for that.

But what example does he give?

He says that he stood up for seniors by supporting an extension of the deadline for Medicare.

A noble intention, to be sure.

Lots of problems with that one, however.

I went to the source to uncover the details, McHugh's official congressional website.

Here's what he says: " H.R. 5399, The Medicare Drug Benefit Enrollment Fairness Act of 2006 would excuse the one percent-per-month premium penalty for those who missed the May 15 deadline. I have cosponsored this legislation and am hopeful the House will soon take action on it."

That's cool. Did you notice that phrase "hopeful the House will soon take action on it?"

That's right. It's still tied up in committee. 5 months after it was introduced. In other words, NO VOTE.

His opposition to the President consists of his "support" and "co-sponsorship" of the bill. Will he actually get to vote on this bill? Probably not. Most bills of this sort die in committee.

And, as for that co-sponsorship. McHugh was Johnny-Come-Lately here. The bill was introduced on May 17 by a LARGE group of REPUBLICANS and big brave Congressman John didn't sign on until a week later.

Wonder who twisted his arm to convince him to stick his neck out this way to support a going nowhere bill to provide a minor fix to a massive problem called Medicare Part D.

According to an article in THE HILL: "On a more politically sensitive issue, Grassley and Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) are waging a campaign to enact legislation that would prevent beneficiaries who missed the May 15 deadline to sign up for Part D from being assessed a financial penalty if they enroll later.The administration and the congressional leadership have been cool to the idea, despite enthusiasm among many rank-and-file Republicans, especially those vulnerable in the midterm elections."

AHA!!!! He might want you to think that he's a leader, but it looks more like he's a rank-and-file Republican and maybe a vulnerable one to boot!!!!!!!

Tell everyone you know about this one. And VOTE BOB JOHNSON!!!

The Repackaging of Senator Corker

Thanks to Chris Lydon's "Open Source" website for this.

Senator Bob Corker's lead in the Tennessee Senate race has disappeared and Harold Ford stands a good chance of taking the seat back to the Democratic side.

So Corker has reinvented himself.

See Before

and After

Johnson - a fiscal conservative who saw the light

The carefully crafted coalition which elected George Bush as President included both fiscal conservatives and social conservatives.

While some conservatives see themselves as both, these are entirely separate views of government.

What a disappointment for fiscal conservatives to see the federal deficit at record levels, so soon after the Clinton administration erased the deficit left behind by the last conservative gov'ment of R.Reagan and G.H.W.Bush.

Social conservatives, especially the religious right, are furious to see that the administration has talked loud but done little to push their issues.

All in all, the people who elected George Bush are in a large part disappointed with the results.

I am a bit surprised to see myself supporting Bob Johnson for Congress, for I have considered myself throughout my life to be liberal on all counts.. I view Dr. Bob as one of the disappointed fiscal conservatives who was able to cut through the BS and see the light... to realize that Democrats, in the Twenty-First Century, are much more conservative than the republicans.

Maybe the struggle of making a living and raising a family taught me a little bit about limited resources and the craziness of wild, unfettered spending. Maybe I realized that we were spending away our children's and grandchildren's futures

I still support the kind of programs that spend a penny to save a dollar - health care and education and public safety - but I hate waste and hate to see the hard work of our citizens pissed away on the ultra-rich.

And I feel that our current congressman is part of the piss-off.

We can't change direction unless we change the people who are running things. Take back the House. Vote Johnson.

Debate over Debates

Newswatch 50 has reported on the "debate over debates" between the Bob Johnson campaign and the McHugh campaign.

Dr. Bob wants to debate the Congressman in Oswego County. The Congressman is apparently refusing. McHugh's staff has cited 4 occasions of question and answer as sufficient debate.

One of those occasions has already occurred. It was the presentation before the Central Trades Council which was closed to the public and the press.

Another 'occasion' will be the appearance of the two men before the editorial board of the Syracuse Newspapers. This will be another non-public event, and no media other than the sponsor will be present for the questioning.

The two public events will be candidate forums in Boonville and Massena. Apparently, members of the public from Oswego, or Watertown, or Plattsburg will have to travel many miles to hear the two candidates present their opposing views.


I just watched HBO's documentary "Mr Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater." I was surprised to learn that President Kennedy and Senator Goldwater, in anticipation of being the opponents in the 1964 election, discussed hiring a plane and flying all over the US, holding Lincoln-Douglas style debates so that the American people could see and hear both sides in true, public debate.

Could we ask for anything less from our Congressional candidates?