Burton Responds, Ducks Responsibility

Dan Burton’s campaign staff have apparently taken issue with my post from yesterday, even if they mis-attributed the post to Thomas. (They also refused to link to my post, but hey – they’re Republicans.)

Congressman Burton has spoken to this issue several times, not to mention opposing at least two of President Bush’s largest spending programs (Medicare Part D and the No Child Left Behind Act).

First, I’d like to point out that Congressman Burton opposed the Medicare Part D act primarily because his pet provision, re-importation of drugs from Canada, was stripped from the bill. None of Burton’s statements to the press from this time period talk about deficits or the national debt, although I did find one statement worrying that the prescription component could increase taxes.

Second, I’d like to know which one of the unfunded mandates of NCLB caused the debt flutters for Congressman Burton. A quick Lexis search showed no contemporaneous statements by Rep. Burton regarding the NCLB act – although he did vote against it – and the statements on his official website don’t go back that far.

But even if we pretend that Burton did choose to vote against these bills because of his concern for the debt, it doesn’t explain his votes to increase the debt limit of the US, or his utter lack of dire predictions about the debt at the time.

His campaign blog entry closes with this:

Either way, its clear that if Republicans spent too much between 2001-2005, when they and Bush were in control, President Obama has set new records- making the Republicans look like “coupon-cutting grocery shoppers.”

Avoiding responsibility & blaming your opponent for being worse – sounds more like a Washington insider than a real representative of Hoosiers.