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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

It Is What Politicians Do, Not What They Say

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  May 21st, 2010 at 05:00 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Politicians will say anything under the sun to get elected.

The most Godless, secular leftist in America running in South Carolina would cling to Jesus, mom, and apple pie with the best of them.

It is why we must dig into candidates’ actions, not their words. Pledges in Washington have become a joke because of this. Anybody can sign a pledge saying they will not take an earmark, but what of their actions? It is one thing to make a promise. It is quite another to keep it.

Take Tim Bridgewater. If past performance is the best indicator of future success, Utah voters are going to want to steer clear of Bridgewater.

Bridgewater is on Twitter bragging about signing a no earmarks pledge. Someone should ask him then if he regrets all the earmarks Bob Bennett steered his way.

Bridgewater latched on to the Obama stimulus bill to fund his companies and got one of his companies a $1 million grant. Bridgewater used the $1 million grant to study geothermal energy in Indonesia. Maybe he was creating jobs for Barack Obama’s elementary school friends.

Meet Raser Technologies, Inc. This is one of Tim Bridgewater’s companies.

Bridgewater got Senator Bob Bennett to give him $5,000,000.00 of your money to develop electric vehicles. Got that? There was no free market demand, so Bridgewater got you, whether you like it or not, to give him $5 million to electrify a bunch of trucks.

Tim Bridgewater’s own personal auto bailout — funded by you.

So can we really believe him when he says he won’t request earmarks?

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COMMENTS

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  • davesinsanantonio

    you deserve what you get.

  • southernpatriots

    Politicians promising things they have no intentions to fulfill. Politicians, hypocrites! Naaaaaaa! Of course, they can’t be! Aunt Flossie, tell me it is not so!

    Rom recruits conservative candidates to run as Demonrats in conservative districts which often elect Republicans. These candidates promise to be pro-family, pro-life, against larger government, lower taxes, pro-freedom and when elected, support the San Francisco-Pelosi values. Hypocrites? Naaaaaaaw!

    Our Congressman, Dr. Paul Broun, M.D. while a candidate for the office to replace our dear and long time friend, Dr. Charlie Norwood, answered a question I posed to him: “What will be the standards by which you will make decisions and support policies when elected? His answer: “First, does it agree with the Bible? Second, does it agree with the U.S. Constitution? Third, is it supported by the people of my district?” Those are good core values and wonderful principles by which to make decisions concerning bills, and policies. If all Congressmen and candidates ascribed to similar standards what a change would happen in American politics. Dr. Broun has kept to his promises, voting against TARP, when our two Republican Senators voted for it, voting against the Stimulus, Government Motors and Chrysler bailouts, voting against Obamacare, etc. He also held numerous town hall meetings throughout his district. Keep up the good work Congressman Broun!

  • txharleyman

    Simple! If his or her lips are moving, assume that person is lying.

    Pretty simple, huh?

  • paulrph1

    This is not new stuff and people should have learned or at least have read about what is going on.

    Read “Animal Farm” and also “1984″ I hope you can find them. If not they should be brought back into print.

  • mrjiblet

    After working so very, very hard to oust Bennett we’re left with this type of nonsense. Bridgewater has been running on and off for years, but now is trying to fashion himself as the new guy who just decided to get into politics.

    It’s like working a ditch only to see the sides collapse once the water begins running through it. And, just like that ditch, we have to get in with our shovels and shore up the sides.

    So, there’s more work to do. Bridgewater isn’t the guy. Lee has his own problems, but, so far, he’s stayed out of my wallet.

  • aaroninutah

    When Chris Matthews said that Obama gave him a tingly feeling in his leg, I now know what he meant because Erick Erickson has the same warm tingly for Mike Lee. He will use any means necessary to get that guy elected.

  • http://www.hickpolitics.com Dave Poff (haystack)

    so, watcha got better than Mike Lee? Anyone tingling your leg or vibrating your chair you think we dolts ought to know about?

  • jstanard

    I have had serious concerns regarding Tim Bridgewater, for these very reasons, for weeks now. I just do not trust what has happened in the past, and don’t believe that he will change his business funding in the future.

    No one is perfect, and rarely will any of us find a candidate who matches all of our views and how we would personally vote on every piece of legislation. However, that being said, I trust, believe and endorse Mike Lee as fully as I can.

    I have gotten to know Mike Lee very well over the past three or four months, and I fully believe with all of my heart that he is truly running for the Senate only for the reasons he says. To do the right thing, to get the country back on track, and most importantly to help us return to our conservative constitutional roots by returning to Congress the Constitutional debate.

    He is making huge sacrifices in his personal life, and will make even bigger ones if he wins the election. This is not about him personally, it’s about a duty he feels that he MUST do something, like so many others of us have felt over the past couple of years.

  • aaroninutah

    Obviously if you are drinking the same Kool-Aid as Erick Erickson I could drop Ronald Reagan on your lap and you wouldn’t realize it was the gipper. I’m telling you.. Any means necessary.

  • http://theminorityreportblog.com Repair_Man_Jack

    If Erick is the new C. Matthews, you’re only 10 or so IQ points short of being the new Keith Olbermann.

  • http://www.hickpolitics.com Dave Poff (haystack)

    .

  • AHALgal

    There may be shinier congressmen with better hair, but Dr. Broun is a mighty warrior against the spoils of Washington life. I like the 4-point plan and wish more congressfolk were as principled.

  • utah_cares

    Is this why Mike Lee signed up his new Campaign Director that at one time was General Counsel for Raser Technologies, Inc. ?

    Bridgewater doesn’t own Raser. He was a consultant to Raser.

    Tim Bridgewater, Chairman of Interlink Capital Strategies, which played a key role in the USTDA grant application process, added ?This grant will result in U.S. jobs and will create opportunity for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. exports and services to Indonesia. We applaud the USTDA and Raser for moving forward on this kind of job creation opportunity

  • utah_cares

    http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=RZ+Major+Holders

  • utah_cares

    Jonathan Reid, General Counsel, Ambre Energy North America, Inc.
    [ his new campaign director]

    “Our company is the second-largest owner of oil shale leases in Utah. Mike Lee has worked to develop our oil shale resources. Most oil shale in Utah is located on federal property. The federal government currently will not allow development of this critical energy source. We need a champion to argue for responsible and immediate development of these and other natural resources on federal lands that will lead us toward energy independence– Mike Lee is that man!”

  • utah_1

    But wasn’t Bridgewater a registered lobbyist from 2004-2005? Isn’t lobbying basically what he does for his “Consulting” company? Hasn’t every single business that he has owned earned money from the government? Wasn’t he for NCLB? Wasn’t he for Medicare Part D? Wasn’t he Western States Coordinator for John McCain. Hasn’t he earned profits from NCLB and stimulus programs? Isn’t he a commission for the company in Indonesia that received stimulus money?

    Sure sounds like a real conservative to me.

  • utah_cares

    When Mike Lee clarified his story as to why he donated $500 to Bennett after tarp, did you see Erick say anything? No.

    Why Mike Lee changed what he was saying about Italy waste coming in to Utah, where was Erick?

    When Mike Lee added to his stance on War, moving from a libertarian to a hawk, where was Erick?
    –

    “As a senator, Lee said he would support legislation banning the importation of foreign waste, provided it gives companies a few years to plan accordingly.”

    I guess Mike Lee has changed his mind when he told 40 people on Dec. 5th he thought the bill Chaffetz and Matheson had signed, that had passed the house, that Bennett was sitting on, banning the Italian waste was wrong?
    –

  • utah_1

    Hey ARC, I thought you were banned from posting here. Looks like you created a new user name. Now hopefully they will ban your IP addresses.

    A $500 donation to a Republican during Obama’s wave to victory causes you problems but being a registered lobbyist doesn’t?

    Show me where Mike’s position on Afghanistan has changed.

    Show me where Mike’s stance on war has changed.

    Prove to me that Mike’s stance has changed on class A low level waste storage.

    Now I can prove to you that Tim’s stances has changed in a fundamental way about the role of the federal government. He was for NCLB but now states he is against it. He was for Medicare Part D but now says it was a mistake. He is for John McCain. He makes his living off of government money but now says he is for less government intervention in the marketplace even though he is currently profiting from it.

    ARC are you are blinded by your hatred for Mike because of your support for Cherilyn. You need to take another look at your principles and see if they are lining up with your actions.

  • utah_cares

    It wasn’t the $500, it was that he told the campaign one thing and the press another. Then he didn’t send out a clarification to what he meant.

    re: $500 to Bennett – Lee knew about Tarp or not?

    As quoted by Utah Policy: ?I was furious at Bennett for voting in favor of TARP. I almost didn?t go to the event. I was hoping that Bennett would give us some explanation why he voted in favor of the program. He didn?t.?

    As quoted by Lee supporters on facebook from Dan Hauser: “The timing needs to be put into context. This was two weeks after TARP but at the height of the election. The focus was on not letting Obama win, and many had to hold their noses with McCain. Mike was not aware of Bob?s role in TARP at that time or about the Healthy American?s Act. Mike was basically asked by a colleague to make the donation to fend off a Matheson run. So Mike did. Once the Presidential election was over and
    Mike was able to read up on TARP he realized how problematic that was.”

    I guess Lee can’t remember why he donated $500 for Bennett on October 25, 2008.

    I do know by Jan 22. 2009 someone I know was asking Mike Lee if he was going to run and Feb. 19, 2009 Mike Lee had his first house meeting in Mapleton Utah with a room full of people. He was going to probably run then, but it took until Nov. 14, 2009 before I heard for sure he would run for US Senate, but starting in Jan. or Feb. 2010.

    Perhaps Lee wasn’t as ticked at Bennett and Tarp as he could have been.