We Must Defeat Wayne Gilchrest
by Big Dog on Jan 16, 2008 at 23:15 Political
Wayne Gilchrest is the Congressman who represents the 1st Congressional District in Maryland and he is my Representative. It is no secret to anyone who regularly reads this blog that I do not want Gilchrest to win another term in office. He is a liberal and when one looks up the word RINO in the dictionary his picture accompanies the definition. Gilchrest has sided with Nancy Pelosi and the rest of her Democratic gang more than he has voted with his own party. Gilchrest is also in favor of pork and has never voted against a bill aimed at ending that practice of wasteful spending. Gilchrest and I have gone back and forth in email and snail mail and his letters are patronizing and he distorts his record. It is time to replace him and there is no one better to fill the job than Andy Harris. The Washington Times has endorsed Harris and has this to say about Gilchrest:
For example, Mr. Gilchrest was wrong on the Iraq troop surge: In March, he was one of two Republicans to join Mrs. Pelosi and virtually the entire House Democratic Caucus in voting to set a timetable for troop withdrawal. He is also wrong on Iran: suggesting that Tehran is misbehaving because the Bush administration failed to conduct a “dialogue” with Iran.
According to the Club for Growth, Mr. Gilchrest earned a 0 percent rating in voting against 46 amendments to strip pork-barrel spending projects from fiscal 2008 appropriations bills. He earned a 100 percent rating in 2006 from NARAL Pro-Choice America. Mr. Gilchrest has a mixed record on illegal aliens: voting on at least three occasions in 2004 and 2005 against amendments denying certain types of federal funding to sanctuary cities; supporting amnesty for more than 800,000 illegal-alien agricultural workers in 2007; and voting in favor of awarding illegals from Mexico with Social Security benefits in 2004. Washington Times
Here are a few other votes from the so called Republican (from Wikipedia):
Gilchrest’s voting record is considered liberal for a Republican, and voted with Democrats more than any other Republican house member in 2007.
- On February 14, 2002, Gilchrest voted for the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act.
- On June 24, 2005, Gilchrest voted to continue taxpayer subsidies for Viagra
- Gilchrest is a cosponsor of legislation concerning District of Columbia voting rights
- In 2006, Gilchrest voted against the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act.
- On September 26, 2006, Gilchrest voted against the Private Property Rights Implementation Act of 2006 which would allow property owners access to federal court for their Fifth Amendment takings claims.
- In March, 2007, Gilchrest was one of two Republicans to vote for a bill that required President George W. Bush to bring combat troops home from Iraq by September 1, 2008.
- In April of 2007, Gilchrest was one of four Republicans (including Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina, Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri and Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee) to vote for a similar bill that required President George W. Bush to begin troop withdrawal from Iraq on October 1, 2007. This bill also provides the goal of bringing all troops home from Iraq by March of 2008.
- Also in June of 2007, Gilchrest voted against a series of amendments offered by Representative Jeff Flake to strip earmarks from the Fiscal Year 2008 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.
As anyone can see, Wayne Gilchrest is anything but Conservative and his voting record runs contrary to the Conservative district he represents. President Bush received more than 60% of the votes from this district in the last election but Wayne does not seem to get it. He seems to think that the people work for him and not the other way around. As I have stated in the past, they work for us and it is time to let them know. We can let Gilchrest know by firing him from this job.
Unfortunately, Michael Steele and Newt Gingrich are supporting Gilchrest. This shows me that they are more concerned with keeping the status quo than putting Conservatives in office and that attitude might explain why the GOP lost control of both chambers in the last election. Andy Harris is the most Conservative of the people running. He is a physician, not a lawyer, and he is in the Naval Reserve and has been deployed. E.J. Pipken, a Maryland State Senator is a late entry in the race.
Pipken, who ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate decided to get into the Congressional race after seeing how well Harris was doing. Pipken likes to tout himself as a Conservative and though he would be better than Gilchrest, he is not more Conservative than Harris. Pipken donated $2000 to the gubernatorial campaign of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a Democrat who lost to Republican Robert Ehrlich.
Gilchrest and Pipken are not the people we need in DC. Andy Harris is the only choice for the Conservatives for the 1st Congressional District in Maryland. I also want to take this opportunity to squash a lie that is being reported in a TV ad being run by one of the opponents. The ad says that Andy Harris voted to give in state tuition rates to illegals. Harris voted for the first reading of the bill knowing that an amendment would be added to include the military and exclude illegals. The amendment excluding illegals failed and Harris voted against the final bill. It is a lie to say he voted to give illegals in state tuition when he voted against the final version of the bill.
I vowed that I would persuade everyone I know to vote against Gilchrest and if he wins the primary I will vote for the Democrat opposing him. I made it clear to him that I would actively work to defeat him and I am ensuring that everyone I know in his District knows of his record and encouraging them to vote for Andy Harris.
Wayne Gilchrest must go. He is a RINO and he sides with the liberals in Congress. Our party has too many RINOs as it is so I am doing my part to rid us of this one.
Other sources:
Red Maryland
Save the GOP
Project Vote Smart (Complete voting record)
Tags: e j pipken, elect andy harris, Maryland, RINO, Wayne Gilchrest
I am with you on that one. I plan on voting all incumbents out of office, no matter what office. In my eyes they just going to get more corrupt and philosophically inconsistent the longer they stay in office no matter who they are.
good luck with this BD, We have enough RINO’s in the party and if they act like this guy they should be shown the door.
BD,
I think you guys up there need some super help. I’m just glad I didn’t buy a house there way back when. I know MD is always been strange but now it will right up there on the top. I can remember when I thought Montgomery county was strange now it has spread out.
Montgomery County went from strange to bizarre…
Dog, God’s blessing on you in this endeavor. I am personally so sick of politicians that think being in office make’s them a monarch over their districts and what their constitency wants doesn’t matter. Indiana has an excellent Congressman in Mike Pence. He keeps in touch with the constituency, if I write him or email him, even if we are on different sides of the issue, he “thanks me for the contact and opportunity to serve” and explains plainly and respectfully why he voted the way he did. The sad thing is, I have only come to appreciate him during this term of office, so I have never voted for him before. I can assure you, THAT will never happen again. I intend to use the link to voting records you have up as well. No more blindly voting for anyone. I am so sick of pork barrell spending, earmarks, lobbiests and special interests being served… most of the politicians have turned Capitol Hill into a crap shoot used for personal gain… if the people benefit, fine, but if they don’t, that’s OK as long as the political icons come out good. Gilchrest sounds like one of them. Go git em Dog!!!!
I think the nature of the House of Reps is to have what you call RINOs and for the Dems to have Conservatives, or DINOs if you will…
I know that the representatives and the senators from AR were not west coast liberals or anything. Still, that’s okay with me, I’m a big tent kinda guy. I made fun of Joe Lieberman but in retrospect I think losing him from the party ranks did more harm than good.
It makes me laugh to see you guys talk about RINOs like they’re just destroying your party. I think the non-RINOs have done a pretty good job of that on their own…
Granted the party isn’t “destroyed” destroyed, but historical losses in the House and Senate followed by a very real possibility of a Dem Pres in office in 2009 doesn’t look too good for the next few cycles. Then again, the GOP could bounce right back. The Dems did…
Well, the Dems did not bounce “right” back. It took some time. The Republicans are not the only party to have lost its way. Interestingly, the Democrats had control for 40 years and nothing really changed even after trillions of dollars spent on welfare, etc.
I have no problem with a liberal or a conservative in a party if that is what the people in the represented area want. I would expect a very liberal person to be voted in, in San Francisco. Most of the people there are very liberal. I expect a pretty conservative person to be voted in, in Colorado Springs, most folks there are conservative.
However, when a person is elected based upon a record and then does the opposite, they need to go. If the lib in San Fran votes for all the conservative agenda and ticks off the people then he needs to go. Gilchrest is in a very conservative district and the people there expect him to vote according to what they want not what he wants.
Therefore, he must go.
I don’t think the conservatives in the party have messed it up any more or less than the liberals have the Democratic party. Look how pathetic the last Congress was while being led by really poor leaders. Little got done and anything that was signed into law was attached to a defense bill.
You really think a Democrat will be in the White House? Your party keeps saying it took charge because of the war. Your party’s failure to fulfill its promise to end it could turn control right back over….
I said I think there’s a very real chance for a Dem in 2009, much better than in 2004. Nothing is for sure of course in politics…
I see your point in general, but the tern RINO makes me laugh still. From what I’ve read Maryland 1 leans Republican but isn’t a stronghold or anything, so maybe you expect too much from the guy…
Maryland is an extremely liberal state with a 2 or 3 to 1 advantage for Dems. However, get away from the three major areas and it is RED. The 1st is at least 65-35 Republican and in this state that is strong. The 1st also encompasses the Eastern Shore which is heavily Republican. Gilchrest has really ticked off a bunch of people in his district because he votes opposite of what they want.
BD,
I was going to say the people down on the shore and up state in the mountains are so far removed from in side the belt way or close to it. Most of this stuff never registers with them. By that time it’s over and done with. Looks to me like Gilchrest is practicing for the move to in side the belt way.
I get good response time from my congressman but the 2 senators hardly ever get the topic right if they do answer. One of them instead of answering sends his latest news letter? Gilchrest looks like he is potty training there and when he gets to pull ups he will be off to fame and much fortune.