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The current economic storm created by the housing, bank and credit failures has helped to expose the weak areas of our political system and the poor leadership within our political parties. Like the Biblical parable of the house built on the sand, many of our elected officials are having their “weak leadership foundations” exposed and destroyed by this storm and will soon be swept away by the tidal surge elections of 2010.
Congressmen Spencer Bachus is one of these political leaders with weak leadership foundations that will be exposed for what they are. While Congressman Bachus is a good man, he is a poor leader in the House of Representatives. His deafening silence in the early stages of increasing fuel prices, the housing collapse and the banking scandals is very suspicious. He would not take a stand against President Bush when the president broke with the conservative principles of the Republican Party that stress “small government” and “fiscal restraint.” How can this be? Why would a 9 term Representative turn his back on the expectations of the people of his district and the “core values” of the Republican Party? I think that I know the answer.
Congressman Bachus receives more than 89% of his campaign contributions from donors outside of the 6th Congressional District and more than 80% of his contributions come from Washington D.C. area donors. In past years, 61% of his donations came from PACS and only 11% of his donations came from within his Congressional District. It would appear that Mr. Bachus is more loyal to his donors from outside of the 6th District than he is loyal to the voters of his district.
His donor list is like a Who’s Who of the banking and financial industries and includes such firms as UBS Swiss Bank, Credit Swiss Group, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, J.P Morgan Chase and Bank of America. It is of interest to note that Countrywide Financial, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been regular contributors to Spencer Bachus and they are the main players of the current crisis. Did Mr. Bachus ever denounce them? No! Did he vote to help them - knowing all the time that they were the root cause of all of the problems taking place? Yes!
It is apparent that “a political voice” and “political silence” can be bought and the voters of the 6th Congressional District have purchased neither when they voted for Mr. Bachus.
Mr. Bachus is representing the “financial powerhouses of the world - not the people of the 6th District. According to an Associated Press story in 2008 Congressman Bachus is so busy playing the stock market that he does not have time to return telephone calls from people in his district. In 2008, Mr. Bachus raised over $1,399,000.00 for his re-election campaign and spent over $1,306,000.00 to be re-elected. The question must be asked where did the money go since he ran unopposed?
The people of the 6th Congressional District of Alabama deserves better leadership than what we have been given. We need someone that will have the courage to speak out against the policies of the current administration when they lead us down the path to socialism. We need someone that will speak out against his own Republican Party when it’s leadership strays from their core values. We the people need a Congressman that will preserve, protect and defend the Bill of Rights and our Constitution and not give in to more gun control, the destruction of free speech and the disregard of State’s Rights.
The 6th Congressional District could become the economic engine of Alabama if it only had visionary leadership that cared more about “home” and less about Washington D.C.
When the elections of 2010 take place, Mr. Bachus will have served 18 years in the House of Representatives - and I ask you, are we any better off? I believe that we can do better. We will have the opportunity in 2010 to select a courageous, visionary leader that will truly represent the people of the 6th District - but it is clear that Mr. Bachus is not that person.
Dr. Stan Cooke
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