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4A – Daily News – Monday, January 10, 2011 Opinion Republicans rule the House of hypocrisy D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 The U.S. House of Representa- Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 tives shares equal responsibility for lawmaking with the U.S. Sen- ate. As conceived by the framers of the Constitution, the House was to represent the popular will, with its 435 members directly elected by the people. At 53, the great state of California has the largest number of representatives of any state. John Boehner, the new Repub- lican speaker of the House, says that his party intends to carry out "the agenda of the American peo- ple" and that its takeover is a sign that most Americans agree with his party on the important issues facing the country. To be truthful he should first move to rename the chamber he now controls the "House of Hypocrisy" and his party members as Hypublicans to clearly indicate that most Ameri- cans do not agree with the House majority on the major issues. Approximately 2/3rds of vot- ers were against giving budget busting tax breaks to the wealthi- est of Americans but this didn’t stop the Republicans from threat- ening to filibuster any attempt to do so. Nearly four in five favored ending "don’t ask, don’t tell," and 54 percent supported the DREAM Act, which would have enabled young illegal immigrants to become citizens if they attend- ed college or joined the military. In addition, two-thirds of Ameri- cans supported Senate approval of the new nuclear-arms treaty with Russia. In all of these cases, Republicans worked against the desires of the majority of the American people. Even on a core issue with which most Americans are in agreement with them—reducing the deficit—they voted instead to increase it dramatically by extend- ing the Bush tax cuts and gutting the estate tax. Not only that, Hypublicans implemented a new budget rule that axed the Democ- rats’ pay-as-you-go rules requir- ing offsets for spending increases and tax cuts. The new rules exempt tax cuts from being offset and require any spending increas- es—in Medicare, for example— be offset by tax cuts, not by rais- ing taxes. The only way these rules lead is toward greater deficits - the hypocrisy is so obvi- ous as to stagger the mind. Hearings will soon get under- way with Hypublican insistence to repeal the landmark health care reform recently enacted, although the majority of Americans support it, and even greater majorities sup- port individual elements such as closing the donut-hole for pre- scription medications and making sure that health insurance policies are available to those with pre- existing conditions. True to form the Hypublicans discount the tremendous federal savings calculated by their own Congression- al Budget Office and espouse disingenuous trickle down theories and other fiscal fan- tasies. To make matters worse our own U.S. Rep. Wally Herger, H- Chico, was appointed Thursday to lead a House subcommittee that writes health care tax law, and he says his first mission will be to try to repeal health care reforms pushed last year by Presi- dent Obama. With his character- istic tone deafness to much of his constituency Wrong Way Wally says, "Since the debate over health care reform began, the American people have strongly signaled their opposition to this job-killing law that puts Washing- ton at the center of American health care. It is my top priority to put an end to ObamaCare and put into place solutions that will truly Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point address health care costs — like increasing competition, eliminat- ing frivolous lawsuits, and creat- ing a level playing field for all Americans to have access to afford- able coverage." Fortu- nately his quest is tooth- less since there aren’t enough votes even with a new Hypublican majority to override Obama’s veto power. Like most Ameri- cans I am anxious to see our representatives working together to address our economic problems and restore sanity to federal, state, and local government budgets. This will not be possible if the lower chamber is incapable of accurately assessing and enacting the will of the people without regard to partisan puffery. Let’s realize that tax revenues must increase, military spending must diminish, and that those that live in luxury must sacrifice to put our house in order. Political posturing in a House of Hypocrisy ruled by Hypublicans will not suffice. Richard Mazzucchi can be reached at living-green@att.net. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3063 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Messages over a truly diabolical attack Commentary The topic selections for this week’s column – the outrageous slew of new laws in California, whether California Republicans are really a dying breed, and shed- ding light, facts and truth on some of our local writers’ economic assertions – will have to wait. I’ve chosen, instead, to address the hor- ror of a deranged young man and his killing spree at the town hall style appearance of Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Gif- fords. The news broke as I sat down to write and I simply cannot ignore what I’ve heard and read. Knowing all there is to know as I write, and knowing that there are those among our readers and writ- ers who will likely echo the themes of the liberal media and left wing bloggers, I’m putting together a "pre-buttal," shall we say, to their predictable statements. We’ll sure- ly read typical pap about the role of extreme rhetoric from the right in general, with attempts to focus on the Tea Party in particular. Attempts will be made to tar talk radio, Fox News, and outspoken conservative voices, not unlike President Clinton’s attack on Rush Limbaugh over the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Now, there appears to be no connection whatsoever to any identifiable Tea Party or main- stream conservative group (one group, "Alliance" something-or- other, mentioned as a possible association, is not what I call main- stream conservative). His Internet postings are unhinged and without the type of statements one can source to the Tea Party or any other groups. There are no reported sightings of the shooter, Jared Loughner, at Tea Party events, but even if that changed, it means noth- ing beyond the inherent openness of such rallies. Had he not arrived at Ms. Giffords event determined to kill, he would just have been a marginal character in the crowd. The AP and network sources reported such things as his being a "pot smoking loner," and counting among his favorite books, Mein Kampf, The Communist Mani- festo, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He inarticulately obsessed over mind control and a new currency, among other con- spiracy-oriented themes. He still lived with his parents, who I am sure are distraught. Much is being made of the vitriolic rhetoric in civic and political debate, which always happens when any violent event is thought traceable to the right. I don’t recall such concern for 8+ years over such violence-laden words and images. Not over nighttime host Craig Kilborn putting a riflescope over then- candidate George Bush’s face with the statement "Sniper want- ed." Not over Alec Baldwin screaming for Republican Henry Hyde and his family to be taken out into the street and stoned over the impeachment of Presi- dent Clinton. Certainly not over the nearly endless parade of "kill Bush" themed posters in anti- war protests, "kill Bush" themed books, plays, essays and movies, or Bill Maher wondering out loud where John Wilkes Booth was when he was needed (to, I guess, give George Bush a hug?). I don’t recall similar concern for political vio- lence when union thugs beat up black conserva- tive Ken Gladney, beat up other Tea Party rally participants, physically pushed conservatives out of town hall meetings, or when a Tea Party attendee’s finger was bit- ten off by a liberal pro- tester. Certainly not when the Democratic National Committee put out a picture of Congres- sional races with actual circular archery-style tar- gets on their Republican opponents. Nor when college leftist thugs physically assaulted and disrupted a Minuteman appear- ance. Don Polson The way I see it Maybe President Barack Obama should have thought better of using violence-suggesting phrases about bringing a gun to a knife fight, or for his supporters to "get in (opponents’) faces," or referring to Republicans as "ene- mies." Maybe Obama, other Democrats, liberal media pundits, and even a cartoon on this Opinion page, should have refrained from tacitly equating Republicans with terrorists by repeatedly saying Republicans were holding Ameri- cans "hostage" and threatening, as hostage-takers, to do violence to the hostages over tax cuts. Really! This from the side that now decries the vitriolic tone of debate. Puma County Sheriff Dupnik decried "prejudice and bigotry" over the shooting, but I saw a white killer killing white people. Maybe he was stoned on pot, maybe he disliked Rep. Gifford’s desire for bor- der enforcement by the National Guard. Maybe this incident has some- thing in common with the guy who flew a plane into an IRS build- ing, the Holocaust Museum shooter, the guy in Pittsburgh that killed two policemen, and the Times Square bomber ("someone upset over health care" said Mayor Bloomberg). Those incidents all had in common that liberals and media mouthpieces jumped to conclude that there was some motivation or connection to the Tea Party, conservatives or talk radio, when none of them had any such motives or relations. Being "anti-government" was commend- able when opposing Bush, but now is somehow suspicious under Obama. Find out what the Tea Party is really all about and come to a meeting of the Tea Party Patriots, listed under the Tuesday Calendar. God bless and heal the victims of this heinous act of evil. Don Polson can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.