Thursday, January 30, 2014

Anti-Tribute to Congressman Henry Waxman



I don't know whether to laugh or throw a field goal.
After forty years of unrepentant liberalism, and after winning his toughest reelection fight by five points in 2012, and even after sending an eblast in 2013, in which he announced that he would run in 2014, Congressman Henry Waxman is retiring (or rather, retreating) with other long-term, over-time Democratic Congressmen in Washington, D.C.

It's about time! That's the first thing I can say.

But let's look at his reasons why and wherefore:

The reason for my decision is simple.  After 40 years in Congress, it’s time for someone else to have the chance to make his or her mark.

Waxman pushed a 1,200 page Cap and Trade bill. He helped author and sponsor the 2,500 page monstrosity called the Affordable Care Act. There is nothing simple about this Congressman.

Let's consider some of the lowlights resulting from passage of Obama-WaxmanCare:

1.
Massive, shocking rate hikes throughout the country. I even wrote a letter to the Beach Reporter about a Manhattan Beach resident whose insurance was cancelled, who lost his doctor because of Obamacare.

2. Covered California has been anything but a success, despite the media's spin to make it look good.

- The website registered
dreadful numbers with Latinos in California

- Californians are
witnessing the massive increases in their premiums, including the hidden rate hikes because of Obamacare

-
California doctors are boycotting the Obamacare exchanges, refusing to receive Medicare, Medicaid patients, and many more are leaving the medical profession entirely because of Waxman's legislation

-
Staggering numbers of Californians are losing their health insurance because of Obamacare.

-
Only one third of Californians who lost insurance because of Obamacare have regained their plans.

Of course, the long litany of lies, distortions, and stupid remarks from Congressman Henry Waxman would inevitably caught up with him, too:

He did not know the basic laws regulating steroid abuse, or the legal drinking age, or where $15 million for steroid abuse education ended up, yet he insisted on running oversight hearings on the subject. (
Check out clip from Bigger, Faster, Stronger here)

He did not know the contents of his failed Cap and Trade Bill (
Check out his embarrassing admission here)

He did not even know that General Motors went bankrupt in 2009 (This
was too much) He even played the One Percent card to justify the $700 TARP billion bailout, which ended up costing taxpayers billions of dollars, including retired teachers and police officers in Indiana.

Waxman claimed in open committee in early 2011 that
"We're not broke!" Because of Obamacare, failed foreign policies, stimulus largesse profligately wasted, along with reckless overspending to rival even the Bush Administration, the United States Government now has a $17 trillion national debt.

Not one, but nineteen green tech companies, subsidized with taxpayer dollars, when bust under the Obama Administration, yet Waxman would only lament
"I'm sorry Solyndra happened!" Of course, Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa pursued Waxman's potential links with the company. That was not good enough for Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-Kentucky) who slammed the LA Congressman's obstreperous behavior. Even after his close reelection, Waxman blamed the Koch Brothers for all the ills of the world, even though Waxman spent forty years ignoring the needs of LA area veterans, along with ignoring LA's need for the Subway to the Sea for better commuting opportunities along the Wilshire-West Los Angeles corridor. This country is not any better for Waxman’s efforts, whether relating to environment, health, or any other issue, for that matter.

Waxman’s 2012 challenger Bill Bloomfield remarked shortly after Waxman's announcement:
I'd like to offer my gratitude to Congressman Waxman for his dedication to public service and wish him the best personally in his upcoming life as a private citizen.
Excuse me?! This kind of “bipartisan” pandering is precisely the problem. For decades, both sides would berate each other in public, agree in private, spend money that the country does not have, and do nothing to reform the growing, unsustainable entitlement burden bearing down on our future. The last thing that we need in Washington is more politicians who please themselves and each other with niceties, while not-so-nice policies waste away our rights, opportunities, and economic freedom.
No More Waxman! Retreat!
No, Congressman Waxman did not do a good job. Of course, there are the numerous constituencies, beyond just the homeless veterans of Los Angeles County, who have been harmed by Waxman’s legislation and policy support. What would you like to tell them, Henry? He shut down constituents in open forums, he played up the most rank partisanship, and denied science while hyping up climate change as a serious issue (it isn’t. Polar vortex, anyone?). His record of pandemic liberalism has left us none the better, and he retired not a moment too soon.
So, California’s 33rd Congressional District is an open seat. Electoral reforms have done their job, so far. Possible contenders: Zev Yaroslavsky? Antonio Villaraigosa? Ted Lieu? Richard Bloom? Aside from a Malibu Exec and a West Hollywood guru, the pickings are all too slim.

At least Congressman Henry Waxman will be gone for good.

10 comments:

  1. Field goals, aren't thrown, you imbecile. And the rest of your rubbish is bullshit, too:
    From a 2005 profile by David Corn:
    It's nothing new, says Representative Henry Waxman. For decades—literally—this Democrat from the Westside of Los Angeles has mounted high-profile investigations and hearings while churning out sharp-edged reports: on toxic emissions, the tobacco industry, pesticides in drinking water. But during George W. Bush's first term as President, Waxman, the senior Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, established himself as the Democrats' chief pursuer of purported wrongdoing within the Bush Administration. He has mounted a series of "special investigations"—of Halliburton, Enron, the flu vaccine crisis, conflicts of interest at the Department of Homeland Security, national missile defense. He has produced reports on secrecy in the Bush Administration, misleading prewar assertions made by Bush officials about Iraq's WMDs, Bush's politicization of science. And he has won considerable media attention for his efforts. Working with Representative John Dingell, he sicced the Government Accountability Office on Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force to get the names of the industry executives who helped cook up Cheney's energy plan. (Cheney told the GAO to take a hike; the GAO filed suit, lost and then declined to appeal.) More recently, Waxman released a headlines-grabbing report revealing that federally funded abstinence-only sex-ed programs peddle false information to teens. (One claimed condom use does not prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.) With all this muckraking, the 65-year-old Waxman has become the Eliot Ness of the Democrats.

    "Waxman has been important for House Democrats," says Representative Jim McGovern, a liberal from Massachusetts. "With the Republicans controlling the White House and Congress, it's hard to be heard. He's found ways to get our message out." Representative George Miller, the senior Democrat on the Education Committee, notes, "He's developed the model. It's what we would like every ranking member to do—to ask questions, be persistent and not accept silence. He's motivated other Democrats and has even created some discontent within the Democratic caucus because newer members on other committees sometimes don't think the ranking members are aggressive enough." And on the Senate side, Democrats--perhaps encouraged by Waxman's example—have announced they will create their own investigative team and conduct unofficial hearings on alleged Bush Administration wrongdoing.

    The snub-nosed, bespectacled, balding and far-from-tall Waxman is not flamboyant or flashy. He speaks softly but directly and has a forceful manner. His Democratic colleagues routinely joke about his persistence and tenacity. "Don't get into an argument with Henry," says Miller. "But if you do, bring your lunch. He won't let you go."

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  2. Arthur, does the number of pages in complex legislation intimidate you, or are you admitting that you are too stupid to process the information? Or both?

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    1. given the utterly devastating state of the state in your liberal-sewer we used to call California, who's the idiot? Waxman, like so many of his ilk has not only helped bring corruption and destrouction to your state, those of you "useful idiots" have sent him to Washington D.C. where he has contributed to the destruction of the once greatest nation on Earth... pray that he and his go away none too soon to salvage hte Unted States of America. Say, why don't you guys just move to Cuba? They would love you all there.

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    2. Wow, perhaps the Titanic of California isn't sinking fast enough for you people who see that everything is working smooth as silk in the delusional state... it is utterly stunning how clueless you people are... go ahead and shoot the messenger. Schaper is your Paul Revere and this is how you repay him? Shame!

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    3. Tim/Ed/Liz has no courage, that's why he-she resorts to hate -- and it's quite entertaining! Like cats caught in their own yarn (string and tall tales) Still waiting for the Breitbart poster, Liz!

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  3. Waxman and the local democrat party told a half a dozen of us that we could not enter his townhall unless it said "Democrat" on our voter registration card.

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  4. As Kevin James said a few years ago about Obamacare, "If legislation is too complex to understand, it's too complex to work. It's just that simple."

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  5. Oh Artie...posting on your own blog as "Anonymous"! You are such a rascal!

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  6. Oh, and it's "Democratic" Party. Don't you care about journalistic accuracy, Arthur?

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  7. Oh Tim there is nothing democratic about the Democratic Party, nothing at all. Statist status quo all the way. By the way, thanks for reading and commenting. The added traffic gets my blog posts more recognition. Thanks again!

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