Since the first part of revealing the plague that is the U.S. Congress ended with Henry Waxman, it is only fitting part 2 begin with the other half of the "Beavis and Butthead" duo, Edward Markey. Mr. Markey is 67 years of age and after serving 37 1/2 years in the House was elevated to the Senate by the voters of Massachusetts in a special election.
This man has wreaked immeasurable damage on the citizens of this country, so pardon me if I don't find anything "special" about this election. He is second only to Patrick Leahy as the longest serving member of Congress from New England. Edward Markey is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Rep. Markey, with his sidekick Henry Waxman, authored the Cap and Trade Bill. Markey is the primary force behind the global warming/climate change hoax. During a hearing on global warming he once made the inane statement, "I won’t physically rise, because I’m worried that Republicans will overturn the law of gravity, sending us floating about the room.” I contend "floating" the majority of the people in that room out the door would have been a huge plus for the country.
As the complete fraud of the IPCC report on global warming was being fully exposed, Ed Markey penned a glowing article on Rachel Carson and her book "Silent Spring" in which he excoriated the "theft" of emails that began unraveling the hoax. He claimed the scientists that penned the report had been exonerated and proven right. He and Waxman put forth another report claiming floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires could all be laid at the alter of global warming. With the "leaked"
upcoming report from the IPCC, admitting the falsehood of their previous claims, I'm breathlessly awaiting the spin from Messrs. Markey and Waxman.
Congressman Markey referred to his vote for ObamaCare as "the most important legislation I've ever voted for". Of course, being the good little Marxist he is, complete control of the people would rank extremely high on his to do list. Now if he could just take away our guns! Rep. Markey has consistently voted for every liberal bill introduced in the House.
Next up is
Rep. Nick Rahall, Democrat from West Virginia. Mr. Rahall is 64 years of age and has "occupied" his seat in the House for 36 years. The good people of West Virginia have re-elected him 17 times. He also is a fanatical believer in global warming/climate change.
Rep. Rahall voted for TARP, ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, Cap and Trade, stimulus, moratorium on offshore drilling, implementing the Kyoto Protocol, Cash for Clunkers and SCHIP and its extension. He, of course, voted against drilling in ANWR and the construction of new oil refineries.
The Congressman is one of Qatar's biggest champions in Washington, but I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact his sister worked as a lobbyist for Qatar. Only a cynic would believe she was lobbying her brother.
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, Republican from Wisconsin, is now 70 years of age and has been a member of the House for 34 years. He generally runs unopposed.
While he votes conservatively a majority of the time, he is perhaps best remembered for introduction of the Patriot Act, which has now led to the massive spying on United States citizens by an out of control, dictatorial government. He also voted for NDAA. Rep. Sensenbrenner authored the Real ID Act.
Mr. Sensenbrenner is currently crusading to restore the portions of the Voting Rights Act recently struck down by the Supreme Court. His perpetuation of the Democrat racism claims is summed up in his recent statement at an event honoring the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, “I am committed to restoring the Voting Rights Act as an effective tool to prevent discrimination, more so subtle discrimination now than overt discrimination".
In the wake of new efforts to strip Americans of their Second Amendment right, it seems an opportune time to point out that Rep. Sensenbrenner voted for the Brady Handgun Bill.
Tom Petri, Republican Representative from Wisconsin, has held his seat for 34 years. He is now 73 years of age. Mr. Petri is a member of the moderate, or left leaning, Republican Main Street Partnership. The group is comprised of the more moderate (RINO) wing of the Republicans serving in Congress. It should come as no surprise that Senators John McCain, Susan Collins and Mark Kirk are also members. He is also associated with the liberal Republican conference known as The Tuesday Group. The Tuesday Group was formed in 1994 to counter the conservative trend in the House and currently has approximately 50 members. The less than conservative Rep. Fred Upton is one of the most influential members of both groups. Mr. Petri has a consistent track record of working to craft legislation with liberal Democrats.
Rep. Petri's largest campaign contributors are labor unions. He generally votes according to the wishes of those unions. He has repeatedly voted for Project Labor Agreements, as well as voting to allow the use of taxpayer funds to comply with the Davis-Bacon Act, using federal funds for collective bargaining by the TSA and taxpayer funding for the National Labor Relations Board.
From 1994 to 2004, Rep. Petri introduced his "Multicare Act" to expand the role of the government in healthcare. Much like the ObamaCare of today, it established federally funded, government-run health insurance programs. It also authorized states to mandate an individual purchase insurance from one of the plans.
The congressman introduced a bill titled "Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway National Heritage Area Act of 2012" to place 1,444 square miles of land in Wisconsin under Federal government control. Mr. Petri has voted numerous times to extend Unemployment Benefit. In addition he voted for SCHIP and its expansion, NDAA, the Patriot Act and its extension, CISPA, Food Safety and Modernization Act, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, the renewal of the renewable energy tax credits and recently the Farm Bill.
Mr. Petri is a proponent of High Speed Rail and this year introduced legislation to promote transportation-oriented development and encourage dedicated revenue sources for urban and regional rail corridor development. The bill is titled "National High Performance Passenger Rail Transportation-Oriented Development Act of 2013". It has thus far been held up in committee since April, 2013.
Ralph Hall spent the majority of his life as a Democrat. He switched to the Republican party in 2004. He has been a member of the House for 32 years. At the age of 90, he is now the oldest serving member of Congress, the oldest person to ever serve in the House of Representatives, the oldest person ever elected to a House term and the oldest House member ever to cast a vote. He is running for re-election in 2014.
Rep. Hall voted to reauthorize No Child Left Behind through 2019 and for the Patriot Act and its extensions, NDAA, VAWA, Cash for Clunkers, the Farm Bill with its $750 for food stamps, raising the debt limit and the Continuing Resolution Spending Bills.
Mr. Hall was linked to the Jack Abramoff scandal regarding a trip to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands arranged by Abramoff's group of international lawyers. Billing records show there were numerous communications between Rep. Hall's office and the law firm. The Congressman, of course, said he dealt with the "other" attorneys, not Abramoff. How convenient.
Harold Rogers, Republican from Kentucky, is 76 years old and has also taken up space in the House for 32 years. He has earned the distinction of being the longest serving Republican from Kentucky in Congress. He serves as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and has no problem sending taxpayer dollars back to his district.
To thank the Congressman for all the Federal money, earmarks by any other name, he has brought back to his district in Kentucky, the City of Williamsburg, Kentucky named their new water park and miniature golf facility the Hal Rogers Family Entertainment Center.
Even Daniel Boone was not safe from Mr. Rogers. The Congressman managed to have the Daniel Boone Parkway construction bonds paid for by the Federal government; ie, we taxpayers. The parkway was part of the Kentucky toll road system. Once we paid off the bonds, tolls could no longer be charged on the parkway. The parkway was then renamed Hal Rogers Parkway.
He used his Chairmanship of the sub-committee on Homeland Security to steer federal homeland security money away from large cities to his home district. Somehow I don't see his Kentucky district as a major terror target.
When the Prince of Pork swore off earmarking, you had to know he would find another way to disburse taxpayer money to his district. It took very little effort to uncover how he would accomplish this. He simply helped set up non-profits through which to funnel the money. The corruption is laid out in this report titled "
Rep. Rogers' Neighborhood".
Among Congressman Rogers' yes votes are TARP, Cash for Clunkers, NDAA, Patriot Act and its extensions and the Farm Bill. In 1993, Rogers was one of only three Republicans to vote for then-President Bill Clinton's economic stimulus package. He also joined with Democrats in voting to raise the minimum wage.
Rep. Rogers consistently appears on the list of most corrupt members of Congress.
The more I research our wonderful public servants, the more I am convinced taxpayer money would be well spent building a Congressional Retirement Home and using their generous retirement packages to cover the cost of their care.
Part 3 in the series will begin with another 32 year veteran of the House, Christopher Smith of New Jersey.
