On the Fence in the 33rd? – Get Off the Fence and Vote!

End the Reign of Waxman the Taxman!

The Congressional Race in the newly drawn 33^rd Congressional District received a lot of attention even before the June 6^th primary determined who would run in the general election.

Conan Nolan of KNBC-LA hosted on “News Conference” with Michael Ward, the lone member of the California Redistricting Commission who differed with the final plan which divided Torrance and joined the Beach Cities to Beverly Hills and Pacific Palisades. Still, the Citizens Commission was not established to please any one constituency, left or right, and a number of incumbents, both Democrat and Republican, were forced from office. Two incumbents are fighting for the new 30^th Congressional District, and another LA political fixture, Henry Waxman, is facing his first real campaign after 38 years in office.

The former 36^th Congressional district (represented for 18 years by Jane Harman and then briefly by San Pedro’s Janice Hahn), with an eighteen point advantage, diminished into a sixteen point advantage, with conservative-leaning Calabasas and Agoura Hills joining with the more moderate South Bay. Conservatives and Republicans both rejoiced – they have a chance to oust King Henry Waxman the Taxman.

Six candidates took up the task of taking on the Taxman, including Libertarian Steve Collette, young Republican Christopher David, and even a “conservative” Democrat Zein Obagi. Then there was the Republican turned Independent Bill Bloomfield of Manhattan Beach, a wealthy benefactor in the South Bay who is running to save this country’s future from debt and domestic destruction.

Like many voters, including some who have commented on the Patch Network, I would have voted for a homeless person or a ham sandwich instead of Henry Waxman. “Anyone but Waxman” would have been enough for me.

However, the more I learned about Mr. Bloomfield’s stance on certain issues, I found myself sitting on the fence for a little while. I am an outspoken“full-repealer” when it comes to ObamaCare. Bloomfield wants to repeal the individual mandate. I am pro-life, while the candidate is pro-choice. I voted for Prop 8 and I believe that marriage is a relationship between one man and woman, no matter what the government says. Mr. Bloomfield has shared with the media throughout the Santa Monica Bay that he voted against Prop 8 and believes that marriage should be defined by the states. At least he doesn’t have rainbows coming out of his ears. So much for “Tea Party” or “Arch-conservative”, and a growing number of Republican and Independent voters began to have second thoughts.

Besides the fact that the guy drives a Prius (!), he thinks that Beltway gridlock is a bad thing, while I believe that the Constitutional Trinity of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson are smiling in heaven as they see the divided mind of the American electorate made fully manifest in our nation’s capital. We the People send our representative to Washington so that they will argue about these issues – and for me, that includes repealing ObamaCare, which means that President Obama must become a one-term president, as US Senate minority Mitch McConnell promised to facilitate.

With one couple in the South Bay, I shared that Bloomfield received the endorsement of US Senator John McCain, a maverick who has done some “weird things” – advancing investigations into global warming (McCain-Lieberman), sponsoring controversial campaign finance reform (McCain-Feingold), and even a failed guest worker proposal with one of the most liberal members of the US Senate (McCain-Kennedy). To say the least, McCain has driven some conservatives insane! Then there was the endorsement from Richard Riordan, the former mayor of Los Angeles who endorsed Bill Clinton for President in 1996!

So, to some this litany of “strikes” against Bloomfield have caused a number of conservative and independent voters to sit on the fence.

Let me remind you of whom he is running against. Congressman Henry Waxman has funded other Democratic candidates in the Westside for decades, since he never had to run a campaign. He has led the charge on expanding dependency and poverty with programs which by intention are supposed to help the poor yet fail to do so. This man blocked the Wilshire “Subway to the Sea” for decades, mostly l at the behest of wealthy donors in the West LA region. This guy drafted, sponsored, and to this day champions ObamaCare – do we really want Henry Waxman the Taxman to get another term? And don’t get me started on Waxman-Markey “Cap and Trade”!

Henry Waxman crows about going after underage smoking and placing nutrition labels. Too bad he refuses to talk about the national economy going up in smoke because of the insane spending spree burning through our credit and incinerating our future. Too bad that the same Obama-Waxman economic policies of “tax and spend now” and “save never” have forced an unprecedented 40 million Americans on food stamps – at least they know what’s in the food that they eat, Waxman would argue.

From the major bailouts to key issues before his own committee (“I don’t know!”), to billions of waste on green tech companies (“I’m sorry!”) to a complete denial of reality about our fiscal situation (“We’re not broke!”) Besides, Waxman is a - - - - fill in any four-letter you can think of, because I have heard them all.

Please, conservatives and independents of the 33^rd – get off the fence and throw Henry Waxman out of office!