Camp Tries To Silence Voices In The House

Camp got out his shiny rubber stamp for yet another party line vote last week. Thanks to the Democratic majority, H Res 78 passed against Camp’s resounding ‘No’.

H Res 78 amends the House rules so that the Delegates from American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands and Washington DC, as well as the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, can vote with the Committee of the Whole.

The Committee of the Whole of the House of Representatives consists of every House member. Four out of the five Delegates/ Resident Commissioner in the 110th Congress caucus with the Democratic Party.

Recent News Does Not Bode Well For Camp

A couple of recent news pieces bring bad news for Dave Camp.

Camp's voting record clearly demonstrates that he identifies as a party line Republican. When his party's conservative, he's conservative. When his party is moderate, he's moderate. A couple of recent news pieces indicate that Camp's rubber stamp loyalty isn't going to work out for him in '08.

First, there's this disturbing Newsweek poll, which indicates that only 30% of Americans approve of Bush, while 48% say that their opinion of Bush will be at least "somewhat important" in determining who gets their vote in '08. 61% are dissatisfied with the way things are going in America. 31% of Republicans say that their party didn’t do enough to challenge the administration on the war.

(By the way, does anyone else remember the slogan, "On their turf, on our terms. Not on our turf, on their terms"? You should, if you were unfortunate enough to encounter one of Camp's campaign schleps in 2004. That's how he defended his support for the war.)

America is dissatisfied, and even Republicans aren't happy with Republicans. But Camp can take comfort in the fact that his gerrymandered district was carved out to fit him perfectly, right?

But then comes this little piece, from ABC News 12:

But as some look to the future, they say it may get worse. In Mid Michigan, Genesee County doesn’t have the highest percentage of kids living in poverty.

Of counties with populations over 65,000, Saginaw County has the most, followed by Isabella and Midland counties with numbers in the teens and Shiawassee and Lapeer with more than 10 percent of their children living in poverty.

Saginaw. Isabella. Midland. Shiawassee.

All in the 4th district.

All of them "represented" by Camp.

People are suffering. People are dissatisfied. People don't like Bush. Bush is a Republican. Camp is nothing but a Republican.

Bye bye, Rubber Stamp Camp.

Camp and stem cells

Once again, ol’ Rubber Stamp Camp has voted “no” on stem cell research just like his party told him to. He got away with it before because W, who has no problem with basing public policy on personal religious beliefs, vetoed the legislation and the Republican-controlled Congress rolled over and played dead again.

It is different this time around. Bush has vowed to veto this legislation, but this time is that the Democratics might be able to override his veto. We have the votes in the Senate, but the House is still iffy.

Contact Camp and urge him to take a brave and, for him, scary step, and vote “yes” to override the veto. If he responds with the usual “concern for human life” (something that has not concerned him much as he voted to send American soldiers to needlessly die in Iraq; legalized automatic weapons; or when he cast the many votes against funding for pre-natal health care, health care for the children of the poor, and the many other “no” votes that diminished the lives of the poor and middle class), let him know that his constituents are finally waking up his hypocrisy, and 2008 is not far away.

Rubber Stamp Camp Endangered In '08?

According to a MyDD analysis, Republican Rubber Stamp Dave Camp is the 50th most endangered Representative in Congress.

Those of us who pay attention to Rubber Stamp Camp should only be surprised that he isn't higher on the list. In '06, Rubber Stamp Camp spent over a million dollars to pull in 60% of the vote in an area that went 55% for Bush just two years earlier. Camp was up against Mike Huckleberry, who spent just over $55,000, and had very little support from the party organization.

By the way, if you’re wondering … that’s a ratio of over 19 Rubber Stamp dollars for every single Huck buck. And cost per vote? Dioxin Dave paid $6.86 for each of his votes. Huck paid a meager 55 cents.

Some people credit Huck's strong showing against Camp to the "blue wave" that swept across America, but the fact is that voters are catching on to the fact that Dave Camp is not only a rubber stamp, but a corporate sell-out and a PAC hack. Camp raised 69% of his total funds from special interest PACs, and he's delivered on those investments. One example ... in more than a decade of consistently exporting American jobs and importing Central & South American (read: low cost) labor, Camp finally stepped up to protect American workers. Which American workers, you ask? Just the sugar farmers.

You want Dave Camp to fight for your job? You gotta pay him.

And who can forget Camp’s shameless attempt to change House rules to protect the criminal Tom Delay? Dave's nothing if not loyal to his pals.



As for Camp’s ideology, that’s a bit hard to figure out. He markets himself as a small government conservative, but no public dollar is too great to spend on limiting your speech, your civil liberties, and your right to live and die with dignity. He likes to preach against “death taxes”, but he has no problem with the “birth taxes” he creates with his borrow and spend philosophy. Ask him on any given day what exactly he stands for, and he’ll get back to you after he measures which way the Republican wind is blowing. Check his voting record … Camp hasn’t had an independent thought for at least 16 years.

Camp is more vulnerable than people think. There is only one thing keeping Camp in Congress, and that’s the absence of a competitive Democratic Party.

Rubber Stamping report

"Rubber Stamp" Camp continues to vote for Party above constituents. Being a rubber stamp for the RNC means one doesn't have to get all sweaty while straining to think or actually get feedback from constituents. Just follow the Party talking points, nod your head like one of those toy dogs in the back window of a Buick, and done! It's a gravy job indoors, no heavy lifting; nice work if you can buy it.

Here's this past week's rubber stamps, read 'em and weep:

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Fair Minimum Wage Act - Vote Passed (315-116, 4 Not Voting)

This House bill would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 over the next two years.

Rep. Dave Camp voted NO

Never mind that constituents in Michigan have already insisted on changing the minimum wage through pressure on their state legislature because they couldn't wait around for their Congressional representative to actually help them with this at federal level...

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Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act - Vote Passed (253-174, 8 Not Voting)

This House bill would expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research

Rep. Dave Camp voted NO

Wonder how all the folks in the 4th CD with diseases like diabetes and heart disease feel about this vote? I'm also wondering how many constituents in the 4th CD actually DIE every year from diseases that could have been treated with gene therapy...but being a member of the "Culture of Life" means Camp doesn't have to strain himself too hard thinking about those complicated numbers.

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Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act - Vote Passed (255-170, 10 Not Voting)

This House bill would require the government to negotiate Medicare prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.

Rep. Dave Camp voted NO

Don't you wonder how many folks fell into the donut hole this past year, while "Rubber Stamp" collected his dividends on his Pfizer stock? Don't you wonder how many folks might have to choose between heat, making the rent, food or their meds last year and this winter, all because "Rubber Stamp" Camp voted to enrich himself under the last Congress? (Pssst...it's called "conflict of interest.")

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Camp caught a clue on the Implementing the 9/11Commission Recommendations Act and voted YES to support all the Commission's recommendations, but he had to wait for a Democratic majority to field this before he bothered himself with it.

Ugh. What a slacker.

Can hardly contain myself, giddy with anticipation over the prospects of yet another rubber stamping next week; watch his performance on these up-and-coming bills. Odds are even he'll vote Party line using RNC talking points rather than strain himself into a sweat checking with citizens in his district.

Upcoming Votes:

To reduce interest rates for student borrowers - H.R.5
This bill would cut the interest rate on subsidized undergraduate student loans from 6.8% to 3.4%.
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To end subsidies for big oil and invest in renewable energy - H.R.6
The House is scheduled to take up this bill that would end certain oil company incentives.
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