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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Just Say No to Fred Upton

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  November 9th, 2010 at 03:54 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Congressman Upton wants to Chair the House Energy & Commerce Committee. While I am a big fan of Congressman Barton, and he wants a waiver, I am not in favor of any waivers for House Committees and think the House GOP needs to choose someone other than Upton.

Congressman Shimkus would be great. Joe Pitts (!!!!) would be awesome. And there are others.

But of Upton, let’s review who we are dealing with.

THIS IS THE MAN WHO CAME UP WITH THE IDEA TO BAN THE LIGHTBULB!!

Here is the rest of his sorry voting record:

BAILOUTS

  • Voted YES for TARP
  • Voted YES on the auto bailout
  • Voted YES on Cash for Clunkers

SPENDING

  • Voted NO on 7 of the last 9 RSC Budgets
  • Voted YES on the Farm Bill
  • Voted YES on the 2005 Highway Bill
  • Voted NO to cap farm subsidies
  • Voted YES four times to extend unemployment benefits
  • Voted NO to end milk subsidies
  • Voted NO to cut sugar subsidies
  • Voted NO to cut NEA spending
  • Voted NO to cut AMTRAK spending
  • Voted YES to increase funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • Got a 53% on the Club’s 2009 RePORK Card
  • Got a 42% on the Club’s 2007 RePORK Card

TAXES

  • Voted YES on Patriot Tax – a surtax on high income earners

REGULATIONS

  • Voted YES for Sarbanes-Oxley
  • Voted YES to increase the minimum wage
  • Voted YES on energy bill with new CAFÉ standards and tax hikes
  • Voted NO to waive Davis-Bacon
  • Voted YES to criminalize “price-gouging”

POLITICAL FREE SPEECH

  • Voted YES to force 527s to disclose their donors
  • Voted YES on McCain-Feingold
  • Voted YES on the 527 Reform Act

ENTITLEMENTS

  • Voted YES for SCHIP

GOVERNMENT REFORM

  • Voted NO to privatize postal service for 20 communities
  • Voted 7 of 9 times to increase congressional pay

SCHOOL CHOICE

  • Voted YES on No Child Left Behind
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COMMENTS

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  • danielbdp

    Thanks for exposing this menace. Hope the House GOP will listen…

  • danielbdp

    Thanks for exposing this menace. Hope the House GOP will listen…

  • dave2131

    He represents all that is wrong with the establishment GOP.

  • jimbo51

    We can now put you on our list of someone to replace via the Republican primary in 2012. Good Job.

  • jimbo51

    We can now put you on our list of someone to replace via the Republican primary in 2012. Good Job.

  • http://www.OverbrookResearch.com TheYeomanFarmer

    Here in Michigan last year, I saw a car driving around with un Upton sticker on one side of the bumper … and an Obama sticker on the other side of the bumper. Can’t think of a simpler way to sum him up than that.

  • GT350

    Geez, you guys can be a little unrealistic. Cut the poor guy a break. Each of Fred Upton’s votes was made in order to protect a lil’ bit of pork he was earmarking for the folks back home.

    Important things, like infrastructure funds for walking paths, a new community center, and a tax waiver for the hometown employer. These things don’t just get created out of thin air.

    // Sarcasm off.

  • Scope

    He talked about his vote to ban incandescent lightbulbs. He talked about Upton for a little while, saying what a total disaster he would be on the Energy Committee. He said that if he does get the appointment, that is a sign that the Republicans just didn’t get it. Upton is the kind of Congressman that we just voted to get rid of. How did he fall under our radar? Did he have any primary challengers? Rush has a huge audience and hopefully many will come out protesting this appointment. Start looking now for his replacement in 2012.

  • http://1776challenge.com TeaPartyPreacher

    To whom should we direct our thoughts on this matter? Boehner’s office?

  • fpete13527

    I can’t believe the House is even CONSIDERING him.

    The guy is CLEARLY a pure RINO PORK LOIN.

    NO NO NO

  • pilgrim

    She is a member of the energy committee, and I think she would be an excellent choice for Chair of this committee.

  • Scope

    John Boehner-

    (202) 225-6205 Phone
    (202) 225-0704 Fax

    Eric Cantor-

    (202) 225-2815 phone
    (202) 225-0011 Fax

    Cantors office staffman assured me that he would pass my message, that I strongly oppose Fred Upton for the Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, on to Cantor. Of course it helped that I live in Cantor’s district.

    Boehner’s staffman was not so receptive. I got an “OK, I’ll tell him.”

    Please everyone call before it’s a done deal.

  • paramedichess

    Do we have a good primary challenger for Upton in 2012 yet? If not, you folks up in Michigan need to get working on it. With a voting record like that, we need to make him part of the (hopefully soon to be retired) group of republicans that lost us the majority, not the group that is going to earn the right to keep it.

  • mikefisk

    MI-6 is no conservative bastion, mainly thanks to my hometown of Kalamazoo, quite possibly the most liberal city in West Michigan. Conservatives tried to primary him this year, and Upton won out (getting almost 60% of the vote in the primary). Even if Hoogendyk won the primary, I’m not sure he would’ve won the general (my guess is he would’ve had a chance, as Cooney, the perennial Democrat challenger, is a lunatic, but it wouldn’t have been a slam dunk).

    I’m not going to actively support the idea of finding a challenger for Upton, but keeping him out of any considerable power is probably a good idea.

  • http://xmmlbchat.blogspot.com katesmith

    From Plumline 11/8, they had heard Republicans were going to go after faulty science behind global warming. Not to worry, they caved. After all this, the GOP will not touch the crime. Plumline says, “What a relief.” 2 sources say it’s not at all on the table, via Joe Barton’s spokesman, and via a ‘senior GOP leadership aide’ who says
    the ‘leadership is cool to the idea.’ “A spokesman for the leading Republican on the committee that would undertake such hearings tells me that isn’t the plan. And a senior GOP leadership aide says the leadership is cool to the idea.

    Rep. Joe Barton of Texas (the same dude who apologized to BP) is in line to be the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. A committee spokesman, Larry Neal, emails that global warming science won’t be the focus of upcoming hearings. Rather, Barton wants to hold hearings to try to get the Environmental Protection Agency to study the impact action on global warming will have on jobs.” After all this, this was the main reason to get the democrats out, and they sell out the entire country on day 1. This proves we do not exist for them.

  • rdelbov

    a fairly conventional republican.

    10% ADA rating
    72% ACU rating

    No on Cap & Trade
    No on Health care

    He supported all of the Budget and Tax plans of Bush 41 & Bush43 plus Reagan

    He supported all of the major plans of all of the GOP Presidents since 1986 while he has opposed most if not all of major plans put forth by Clinton & Obama

    He has been with the GOP on every major close vote in the house.

    Erick if the truth be told many of the liberal measures that you list up there were pushed by President Bush43 and the majority of the GOP house members voted with Upton on these matters.

    I for one opposed NCLB, Medicare D, Schip expansion, TARP and Sarbanes/Oxley. That being said Bush43 and the GOP leadership supported them. I think Joe Barton supported most of these measures too (not sure) but most GOP members did.

    Upton is not my 1st choice for this post but as I said he fits in quite comfortably with the GOP caucus.

    I really John Shimkus but I suspect he voted along side of Fred Upton on 75% of these votes. Perhaps 80%? These bills were passed with mostly GOP support.

  • JadedByPolitics

    now isn’t it! I do believe the message has been pretty standard for the past two years and that is the GOP that once spent and voted like Democrats were NO LONGER acceptable and that if they did so again they would be held accountable. I do believe Senator Marco Rubio has stated that they are on probation and this is one of their tests!

  • IJB

    ;)

  • IJB

    That, right there, eliminates him from consideration for Chairman in my book.

    Case closed.

  • rdelbov

    that. The failure to failure to follow a conservative path -Bush43 & the GOP congress mind you-was a huge part of the 2006/2008 congressional and Presidential losses.

    Not a huge fan of Upton but as I suggested Barton-Shimkus-Joe Pitts probably voted the same as Fred on nearly every one of these votes.

    In fact Blunt-Boozman-Portman(during his house time)- probably voted the same as Upton on many of these votes.

    Upton was not only the GOP member to vote to extend the Schip program.

    My point is that Upton and good men like Blunt & Boozman went along with Bush43′s program. That was the problem.

    I love Bush43 for a lot of reasons but he was no Reagan.

    Now as to the lightblub stuff he I will let Upton defend that.

  • jtlfrommd

    Good Lord. Surely this isn’t the end of the story is it? And, another study?? By the EPA on the adverse affects of global warming action? That’ll be a $50,000,000 joke (see Earmark articles interspersed througout the site). Where does it end?

  • bobmontgomery

    Abolish the EPA. Abolish the EPA. Abolish the EPA. Abolish the EPA

  • http://www.redstate.com/tnjim TNJim
  • http://www.redstate.com/tnjim TNJim
  • http://www.redstate.com/tnjim TNJim
  • After Seven

    n/t

  • gumbeaux

    I am totally with you!

  • http://www.voteforteri2010.com teridavisnewman

    I live in the 19th Illinois and John Shimkus is the biggest RINO there is. He’s co-chair of the RNC mentoring which is supposed to help Republicans get elected and didn’t lift a finger to help me. Every event I saw Costello at, Shimkus was wearing knee pads in front of him to try and get TV coverage. On the day before the election, Bill Brady came through the East St. Louis airport and Shimkus was there stealing TV coverage IN THE DISTRICT I WAS RUNNING IN! He refused to endorse me because “he and Jerry Costello don’t endorse each other’s opponents” and if there was ever a liar about being a Conservative, it’s John Shimkus. He got elected promising to limit himself to 6 years which means he should have gone home in 2002. He’s part of the problem. not part of the solution.

  • ChefSWJR

    Many of us real conservatives in SW Michigan have been trying to get rid of this guy for years. Jack Hoogendyke ran against him in the primaries this year but, alas, twas not to be. The biggest problem is Kalamazoo. A college town, is so much more liberal than the surrounding area….we just can’t shake him. Maybe if we start now, we can find a winning candidate for 2012. Mr. Hoogendyke, maybe you should find the Tea Party in your area.

  • ChefSWJR

    Contact John Boehner and tell him that we, in his district, don’t want him running any committee.

    Just for the record. I’m hording incandescent light bulbs. So there FED UPton

  • mdd1956

    Seniority = UNION, SOCIALIST thinking.

    ABILITY & MERIT = free market thinking.