Berman-Sherman Analysis Falls Short
As a legislator and a Jewish Journal subscriber, I was deeply disappointed in “Berman vs. Sherman: Evaluating Their Congressional Records” (June 29), Bill Boyarsky’s effort to measure each member’s legislative effectiveness through an Internet search engine.
We are still waiting for Henry Waxman to promote his own legislative effectiveness.
GovTrack.us is actually a very effective, non-partisan website, one which I am certain the Congressman does not want his next delegation of constituents to look into.
Waxman is one of the most left-leaning legislators in the state and in the country.
He sponsored legislation that barely passed Congress -- ObamaCare and Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade -- then he effectively shuts down legislation or dismisses legislation in committee that will create jobs and diminish the growing debt swallowing this country whole.
This man is too partisan to know how to play a part in his own party!
The effectiveness of a legislator can be judged by whether people listen when they speak, whether they can capably influence the legislative process, and whether the amendments and bills that they offer have a meaningful impact on the debate.
Waxman does not listen to anyone. He has been in office for nearly forty years, swinging into office every term without campaigning. He had not visited the Malibu area in nearly four years before he decided to speakl at the Malibu Democratic club last month. Where has he been?
If Mr. Boyarsky wanted to truly gauge the effectiveness of Reps. Berman and Sherman, he could have asked some of their colleagues from the California congressional delegation and surveyed why Sens. Feinstein and Boxer and 25 of the 27 members who have issued endorsements have endorsed Rep. Berman.
I am certain that Mr. Boyarsky was looking for a non-partisan analysis of Berman and Sherman's records. Every voter in the Santa Monica Bay ought to take a look for themselves and see what Waxman has actually accomplished for the voters in his district.
And hy is Waxman singing the praises of two legislators duking it out for a Congressional seat in the Valley? Waxman is supposed to be running for reelection in the South Bay, where voters want to know if the next Congressman who represents them will get out of the way and promote the aerospace and technology industries which have flourished in the region.
I have never read so blatant a puff piece endorsing Howard Berman, yet Waxman has the audacity to attack Boyarsky for his non-partisan methodology?
He could have probed for a perspective about which member is more capable at garnering votes for key pro-Israel legislation or at smoothing passage of legislation by enabling other members seeking visibility on an issue to take credit. Both are hallmarks of Rep. Berman’s tenure in office.
We are waiting for Congressmen who will be pro-United States as well as pro-Israel. How does Henry Waxman measure up?
I not only question Mr. Boyarsky’s methodology, I was also surprised that his article appeared to downplay the significance of Rep. Berman’s success in passing and enacting legislation this year in a gridlocked Congress lambasted for enacting the fewest bills in congressional history. Mr. Boyarsky’s calculations don’t even account for Rep. Berman’s key role in enacting strong sanctions against Iran’s central bank early this year as part of the Defense Authorization bill or his current efforts to shepherd the Iran Threat Reduction Act into law.
I wish The Journal’s readers could have gotten a straightforward analysis that truly reflects the legislative effectiveness of the members.
The residents of the 33rd Congressional district, where Waxman is running for reelection, are waiting for a representative who will put the interests of the country, the state, and the district ahead of green interest groups and socialist impulses which scare away jobs, waste taxpayer dollars, and sink the country into an already too-deep debt hole.
Henry A. Waxman
Congressman, 30th District
Editor’s note: The race is not over, and columnist Bill Boyarsky will continue to examine the two congressmen’s records.
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