Tom Reynolds - AMF!!!

In only a few more days one of the worst Congressmen in America, NY-26's Tom Reynolds will no longer he stinking up the halls of Congress and betraying his constituents by consistently voting against their interests. Not that I ever had any doubt, but Reynolds has finished off his last term by again being one of the most anti-middle class members of Congress and clearly the most anti-middle class member of the NY delegation.

An excellent website themiddleclass.org http://www.themiddleclass.org/ tracks the voting records of all Senators and Congressmen on bills that directly effect the well being of the middle class. Although the organization will not issue final grades for 2008 until March, its pretty clear that Reynolds is on his way to his fifth consecutive grade of "F". That's right, five consecutive years of a voting record that is so counter to the interests of his constituents that he grades out at "F". Reynolds has by far the worst rating in the NY delegation, whose overall record is pretty good. According to themiddleclass.org, Reynolds voted with the pro-middle class position only 46% of the time in 2008. The only NY representative that even came close to this sorry record was Randy Kuhl at 50% and the voters wisely retired Randy in November. That's right, not only was Reynolds the most anti-middle class NY congressman, he was FAR worse than his Republican colleagues from NY, who averaged a 65% pro-middle class record in 2008.

Thankfully we do have members from Western NY who stand up for the middle class. Brain Higgins had a grade of 95% in 2008 and Louise Slaughter had a grade of 96%.

Want are some examples of Reynolds scum-baggery? Well here are a few:

- Voted NO on the Auto Industry Refinancing and Restructuring Act.

Well hey, auto industry jobs aren't too important the WNY's economy right?

- Voted NO on the The Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act

This bill, which passed, uses incentives and initiatives to encourage energy efficiency and the development and use of renewable energy. It mandates that a minimum of 15% of electricity comes from renewable resources by 2020. An overly modest goal and a somewhat flawed bill but a least a step in the right direction to the majority in Congress, but not Reynolds.

- Voted NO on the The Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008

A bill which, while flawed, protects middle class wage earners from the unintended consequences of the AMT. Why was Reynolds opposed? Because the lost revenue from middle class relief was replaced by increased taxes on hedge fund and private equity managers (aka "The Rich").

- Voted NO on the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights.

Unbelievable. Maybe one of the best examples ever of Reynolds voting against the interests of his constituents. This bill passed the House by a 200 vote margin. Unbelievable.

- Voted NO on the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act

This bill, vetoed by GWB would have expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and reauthorized it for five years. Reynolds strongly supported spending $12 billion per month in Iraq but was opposed to $7-10 billion a year for Children's health care. One can only hope that there's a special room in hell reserved for those with such a twisted moral compass.

There are many more examples and I encourage you to visit http://www.themiddleclass.org/ for more information.

Thus concludes my last rant about Tom Reynolds, a disgrace and a scumbag. In a few days we'll have a new congressman, Chris Lee. I'll be watching Chris closely and frankly, I not holding out a lot of hope that he'll be much better than Reynolds. I do take some small comfort however in knowing that he can't possibly be worse.