Letter to the Acorn - September

To the voters of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and Woodland Hills:

My name is Arthur Christopher Schaper, a resident of Torrance, CA, and a fellow constituent in the 33^rd Congressional District.

Two months ago, I encouraged you to end the 38-year tenure of Henry Waxman, a politician who has become a fixture in Washington. Having spoken with independents and Democrats, as well as Republicans throughout the district, I can attest that a growing number of voters are tired of Waxman and want to throw him out.

In the Congressman’s recent advertisement, an unprecedented move for an 18-term  Congressman who has coasted into office with at least 60% of the vote, the announcer claims:

“For Henry Waxman’s record, look for the things you don’t see.”

Do not look for affordable health care – because Waxman’s signature legislation “ObamaCare” has increased premiums and diminished access. Do not look for debt or deficit reduction or much-needed deregulation for small businesses, initiatives which Waxman has stymied or ignored. Do not look for tax relief, as Congressman Waxman has voted against middle-class and working class tax cuts over the past ten years. Do not look for bipartisanship, either, as Waxman’s major legislative achievements have either passed on the slimmest of margins or have faced rigorous challenges in court, with little to show for the intended effects.

Some voters are wondering whether to support Waxman for his seniority or invest in a fresh candidate with new ideas. I submit that in the past five years, Waxman’s seniority has engendered loan guarantees to nineteen failed green tech companies, wasted oversight hearings on steroid use, and a partisan agenda of attacking billionaires and businesses with scant evidence and slight insight. Waxman’s brand has gone bland, like old dog food.

To every voter tired of political elites who stay in power just to legislate our lives, our money, and our freedom away, now is the time to send a message to Congressman Waxman and other entrenched politicians:  incumbency without encompassing respect for individual liberty and private enterprise is a great encumbrance. Let this be Waxman’s last term: a losing one.