Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Letter To Rep. Collin Peterson

Originally published as a Letter To The Editor on December 8, 2010, in the Grant County Herald, Elbow Lake, Minnesota.

I recently sent a letter to Collin Peterson.  This is a copy of that letter.

November 24, 2010

Rep. Collin Peterson
2211 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

I see that you voted against extending unemployment benefits (just in time for winter and the Christmas season), apparently believing that it is the poor who should bear the burden of easing budget deficits and reducing the National Debt. Yet you voted for massive tax cuts for the rich in 2001, which increased the national debt.

You voted against the Health Care Reform bill, siding with Republicans who vowed to vote against it in order to take Obama down.

You are against gay rights, and have voted consistently for constitutional amendments to forever ban gay marriage.  Do you believe that being gay is a choice?  Do you think that the institution of marriage is somehow threatened by allowing gay marriages?

You have voted against death penalty restrictions and safeguards, and even against requiring DNA testing in federal death penalty cases. The freeing of over 100 innocent people from death row cells apparently does not concern you.

You have expressed support for teacher-led prayer in public schools, which would end separation of church and state.

You have said that you are in favor of privatizing social security. You have voted NO on reducing tax payments on Social Security benefits, even though contributions from paychecks were taken from income that had already been taxed.

The national environmental movement has rated your votes as 80% anti-environmental.

You voted for President Bush's Iraq misadventure, thus making this country fight two wars at the same time. You voted for Bush's Emergency requests for funds for the two wars, which added to the National Debt while keeping the deficit numbers down.

You voted against monitoring TARP funds, and you voted against additional funds for economic recovery in January of 2009.

You have voted against banning soft money donations to national political parties and soft money financing of election ads. This reinforces the impression that you are in favor of increasing the ability of wealthy corporations to affect elections.

You still have delusions that Republicans will work with Democrats in a bipartisan manner, when time and time again they have said they would not.

There is a difference in working with Republicans and working for Republicans. Although the majority of your votes have favored the Democratic viewpoint, too many of your votes call into question your commitment to all the people of the 7th District, most of whom are not wealthy. Too many people have bought into Republican lies, and have voted to finance the enrichment of the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. If we cannot trust you to look beyond the next election, to work for minorities as well as the majority, to watch out for the interests of the poor and of the middle class, then we can only believe that the system is truly broken.

Please think before you cast your next vote in the House of Representatives.

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