Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz made a startling and dangerous statement on Wednesday. In an effort to suppress the Democratic vote, Chaffetz announced that he would continue to waste millions of dollars of our (taxpayers) money on phony scandals, and politically motivated hearings in Washington in with the sole objective of obstructing progress in climate change, reining in the pharmaceudical industry for price gouging, and promoting unnecessary wars in order to increase oil and weapons profits to the nations largest corporations.
We have a better idea ..... VOTE OUT CHAFFETZ ..... It takes a village.
Currently, his opponent, Democrat Stephen Tryon is behind, but as I've said before, NO REPUBLICAN SEAT IS SAFE this year. With a BLUE WAVE underway, opportunity knocks.
I've donated $25 to Stephen's campaign, and encourage anyone who has a few extra bucks to do the same. I know time is short, but victory is possible, and would certainly send a strong statement to the rest of the Repubicans in the House and Senate. Even if the race ended up close, the statement made from a last minute surge in Stephen's poll numbers would send the same statement. If you have $5, $10, or $15 you can spare, it could go a long way in final ad buys for Stephen.
Here are a few things you should know about Steven Tryon, followed by things you should know about Jason Chaffetz.....
STEPHEN TRYON STATEMENT
"I am Stephen Tryon: a career citizen, veteran with a Bronze Star medal for valor in combat, successful business executive, gun-owner, author, and proud Democrat. I believe in our Constitution: a framework for government based on the principle of individual liberty. We have a republic where individuals are supposed to be free to make the best life they can, and love and worship as they wish, consistent with the same freedom for all others. We are all supposed to enjoy the equal protection of our laws. Republican rhetoric undermines constitutional principles. A few years ago, Texas Republicans officially condemned efforts to teach critical reasoning in public schools, and the national party platform this year advocated teaching the Bible in public schools. In other venues, phrases like "free speech" and "religious freedom" are used to pander to intolerance and bigotry. The right wing of the Republican party apparently doesn't understand the Constitution, or doesn't care about it. I encourage all American's to reject their philosophy." -Stephen Tryon
JASON CHAFFETZ
From a multi-level marketing salesman (think Amway) to Congressman, it seems that Chaffetz can sell snake oil to the public better than anyone. In 2010, Chaffetz defeated Republican conservative Chris Cannon. Cannon states “the extremists who don’t want to win elections have taken over the party. We don’t want that to happen in Utah. Politics is way too important to leave to the boors.” Yet, the tea party salesman effectively romanced the public.
Since then .....
BIG PHARMA - BIG POCKETS
Chaffetz has received substantial support from the drug industry over the years. Pharmaceutical companies were the top contributor to his campaign in the 2014 election cycle, and No. 2 so far this cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Overall, pharmaceutical interests have donated over $198,000 to Chaffetz during his career, more than any other industry. He has consistently voted against access to affordable prescription drugs throughout his career, according to the organization Progressive Punch.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
As the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, he presided over an interrogation of the president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, in a performance that was both bullying and ineffectual — which may be the worst of all possible worlds. Progressives were outraged at Chaffetz’s aggressive questioning of Richards and interrupting her before she could answer, while conservatives were angry that he nonetheless failed to land any punches.
MISUSE OF AUTHORITY
It was already obvious that the select committee was misusing its authority since there had already been eight earlier Benghazi investigations which had thoroughly examined the facts and issued numerous reports, but Chaffetz, for political expediency, championed the misuse of millions more taxpayer dollars on another witch-hunt designed to limit Hillary Clinton's ability to run for President. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) admission pulled back the very thin veil of legitimacy and exposed the Republicans to charges of malfeasance. But among the first to rush to the cameras was none other than Jason Chaffetz, the man who had just hours before been justly railing against the Secret Service illegally using its authority to damage his reputation, defending the Benghazi committee for doing the same thing and criticizing his friend Kevin McCarthy for accidentally speaking the truth.
MEDIA MONGREL
Everywhere you turned, it seemed Jason Chaffetz was on television, so much so that if you didn’t know better you might think he was running for speaker himself. Lo and behold, by the weekend, he was. A week that started off with him brow-beating the director of Planned Parenthood ended with him on “Fox News Sunday”and explaining to Politico that his rationale for running for Speaker was his superior communication skills. (And truthfully, compared to McCarthy, he’s Winston Churchill.)
DESTROY THE MIDDLE CLASS
He wants to slash Social Security, ban gay marriage and looked into impeaching President Obama. He has been everything from a liberal Democrat to a moderate Republican to a hard-right zealot, depending on where the opportunities lie at any given moment.
GREAT COMMUNICATOR - PROBLEM WITH THE TRUTH
He is good communicator, except for the fact that he seems to have a tiny problem with the truth, which he perfectly illustrated in the Planned Parenthood hearing, when he offered up a chart so misleading that it caused Politifact to call it not only misleading, but, quoting one expert, “ethically wrong.” And while he may have a point that Kevin McCarthy screwed the pooch on Trey Gowdy’s Benghazi committee, his own history of being loose-lipped and excitable puts McCarthy’s little faux pas to shame.
"...Being a freshman doesn't give him a pass for the lies he has told to his own constituents or the blind loyalty he has given to his party leaders--who haven't been freshmen for a considerable time. Chaffetz is a darling among the right-wing media because he parrots the party line so well. The few positive things I give him credit for simply aren't enough to outweigh the betrayal of party politics that he has so eagerly embraced. Chaffetz has proven himself to be as much of a pawn of the GOP as any other member. He propagates their lies as gospel truth. He ridicules the current administration while making excuses for the one that preceded it. Instead of proposing practical solutions, he riles up his base with half-truths, insinuations and regurgitation of whatever misinformation he is fed by his party handlers. Chaffetz has embraced the despicable practices of the extreme Right wing of his own free will and has become corrupted by it..." - Joe Puente (Puente's Perspective Blog)
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