Friday, September 03, 2004

what you voted for

Just received some campaign lit from Senator Patty Murray (D-WA). Her opponent, Rep. George Nethercutt, is apparently going to try the same smear tactic so beloved by Repubs the past few years--picking and choosing bills or pieces of bills she voted against. Here are some excerpts from her response, and perhaps Kerry/Edwards should take note:

Murray spokeswoman Alex Glass: 'Senator Murray has consistently voted for targeted tax relief for the middle class, but she won't apologize for standing up and fighting against the irresponsible Bush tax policy that has resulted in mounting deficits and the worst job numbers since Herbert Hoover.' . . .

Nethercutt's ad attacks Senator Murray for voting for increased investments in Washington state's education, health care, and security priorities instead of big tax cuts for multi-million dollar corporations and those who need it least.

George Nethercutt is attacking Senator Murray for voting for $224 billion in education funding instead of a tax break for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.

He is attacking Senator Murray for voting for $100 billion for defense personnel instead of a tax break for big corporations.

George Nethercutt is attacking Senator Murray for voting to increase veterans' health care by $1.7 billion, instead of a tax break for the wealthy.

And he's even attacking Senator Murray for voting for $311 billion for a Medicare prescription drug benefit for our seniors instead of a tax break for those who need it least.
She follows this up with some detailed Washington state statistics showing the results of votes that opted for the Bush-league tax cuts instead of other priorities.

I think this is a damn good response approach. The fact is that Kerry has right on his side in so many instances, particularly the $87B vote that got such airplay at the RNC. He voted for a responsible spending plan that would support the health of our economy instead of preserving tax breaks for the wealthiest 1 percent. Bush voted against financial sanity.