LoBiondo Does Not Represent Us

Rep. LoBiondo has been good at snowing the public and the press about his true record. I cannot recall how many times I see the word “moderate” misused to describe him. And I cannot think of anything farther from the truth when one considers his voting record. A recent AC Press reader got stuck on a throwaway line about the Congressman living in a million dollar house and contends we should focus instead on issues such as health care, social security, and education. I could not agree more. LoBiondo has taken PAC money in the past from Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlan, and Tom DeLay. He voted in lock step with the Bush/DeLay agenda more than 90% of the time. He voted for cuts in education: Head Start, vocational/technical training, and college assistance programs for disadvantaged students. He voted for cuts in child support collection programs. He voted for the new bankruptcy act but against exemptions for catastrophic illness or for our Reserve or National Guard soldiers serving overseas. He voted for cuts to Medicaid. He voted without exception against women’s rights to privacy. He voted to intrude in the Terri Schiavo case. He voted against an amendment to extend the child tax credit to low-income families. He voted against an amendment to eliminate tax breaks for companies that move overseas to avoid paying U.S. income tax. He voted against additional assistance to veterans and individuals whose jobs have been outsourced to other countries. He was lauded at a dinner attended by “labor leaders, politicians, casino representatives and business organizations from throughout southern New Jersey” (Press article, February 14, 2006,) and a couple of days later in his State of the District Speech said that he was seeking to secure federal funds to help expand the Atlantic City casinos. Is that a quintessential pork project or a quid pro quo for his endorsements? And oh yeah, he voted for and continues to support tax cuts for the wealthy. LoBiondo does not work “for the people, all the people, no matter what their affiliation is.” He stays in power because he has the financial support of the Republican Party, because he has managed to keep his record from being scrutinized, and because the Democrats have failed to mount a serious challenge in years. It’s about time they did so that the rest of us can believe we have a Representative in the 2d District who looks out for all of us, even if we are not Republican or wealthy.