Joe targeted by DCCC

The Detroit News ran an article on 1/31 stating that Joe Knollenberg is targeted by the DCCC as being vulnerable in ‘08. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070131/METRO/701310425/1022/POLITICS

Also, the CQ has an article with the same premise, that Joe is in the target of the Democrats in ‘08, http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/01/michigan_gop_rep_knollenberg_d.html

The Detroit News article also has a quote from Joe’s spokesperson saying that Joe doesn’t support price controls on drugs. I guess Joe thinks that negotiating prices is the same as price controls. Makes me think Joe is just plain stupid. Anyone that buys in bulk knows to try to negotiate the price of what they’re buying. I wonder if Joe has ever negotiated a better price for anything he’s bought in his personal life when he bought a lot of something.

His spokesperson again reiterates that Joe is pro life. Joe may be pro birth, but he is definitely not pro life. If he were, he’d support universal health care and be against the escalation of the war which is killing thousands of American service people and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis.

Knollenberg Doesn’t Think "Healthcare" is an Issue

After writing about how Knollenberg doesn’t even list “Iraq” as an issue on his list of issues on his website, I noticed he doesn’t list “healthcare” as an issue either.

Knollenberg must be out of touch with this District if he doesn’t think “healthcare” is an issue.

Knollenberg: Stay the Course In Iraq

In an effort to discern Knollenberg’s position on Bush’s war in Iraq, I reviewed all of the public statements I could find. I searched the Congressional Record, Knollenberg’s own website, and I also conducted a google search for information from newspapers, magazines, trade journals, etc. What I found confirms what has already been stated on this site. Apparently, the war in Iraq is not an important issue to Joe Knollenberg.

Knollenberg doesn’t even list “Iraq” as an “issue” on his webpage.

He has made only a handful of comments on the issue and has nothing in writing.

Knollenberg Supports Escalation
I only found 2 statements in the Congressional Record:

• THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WAR IN IRAQ — (November 03, 2005)
  

  If you click the link you will see he is basically saying the war is going well.

The only other statement I could find was one he made when he voted to approve the Authorization to use Military Force against Iraq:

• AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002 – (House of Representatives – October 08, 2002)
  
  Again, if you click the link you will see that Knollenberg seems to just be reading reading George Bush’s talking points into the record. There doesn’t appear to be any original thought involved. Unfortunately, like Bush, Knollenberg didn’t do his homework. If he had, he would have known that those “aluminum tubes” were not related to nuclear weapons. This was a line from Bush’s September 12, 2002 presentation to the UN – but that information had already been debunked by Bush’s own experts in both the Department of Energy and the State Department. So Knollenberg was making false statements into the Congressional Record.

We do know that Knollenberg has accepted over $110,000 in campaign donations from defense department contractors. That is less than his friend Duke Cunningham, but then again, Cunningham is now in jail for accepting bribes.

Press Statements
Bush gave his speech on escalating the war in Iraq on January 10th. The next day, the Detroit News ran a brief article quoting a few Congressional Reps from Metro Detroit regarding their position on Bush’s speech. The article, entitled “Bush gets cool reception in Michigan.
Even former staunch supporters of Iraq policies are hesitant to accept president’s plan”, quoted Knollenberg as saying:

Rep. Joe Knollenberg of Bloomfield Hills offered “conditional support,” but
without real progress in Iraq “within 90 days,” he said, “we really have to
evaluate what we’re going to do.”

Radio station WWJ AM has a similar statement attributed to Knollenberg on their webpage:

““His leadership is on the line here and he knows it,” said Rep. Joe
Knollenberg, a Republican from Oakland County’s Bloomfield Township. The
congressman said he would only offer “conditional support” for the plan and
wanted to see significant progress in the next three to four months.”

USAToday has an article regarding the June 16, 2006 vote in which Knollenberg voted to

“reject[s] setting a timetable for pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq, labels the
Iraq war part of the global fight against terrorism and praises American
troops”.

There is no statement or additional information about Knollenberg. It is just a list of who voted Yea and Nay.

Then there is the January 25, 2007 Free Press article which quoted Knollenberg as saying:

My patience with the war is growing thin. We need to see real progress in Iraq soon.

On October 1, 2005, the Oakland Press reported that Knollenberg put out a press release stating:

“Pulling our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan now would be absolutely detrimental to the safety and security of all Americans,” he stated. “We owe it to those serving overseas and their families, as well as the Iraqi and Afghan people, to continue in our fight against terrorist extremists. “We have made good progress in the war on terror, and God willing, the Iraqi people will soon have the ability to defend themselves. “Until that time comes, however, the U.S. must stay the course and not simply stand by while terrorists and dictators exploit innocent people and threaten our security here at home.”

On December 15, 2005, The Oakland Press reported on a group of constituents who went to Knollenberg’s office to discuss bringing home the troops.

Knollenberg thinks that any withdrawal of troops from either Iraq or Afghanistan would be dangerous for the safety of Americans, said his press secretary, Jennifer Hing.
“He feels that by calling for and giving any sort of timetable for withdrawal, we give terrorists the upper hand on the war,” she said. “He agrees with the president when he says the withdrawal of the troops will come when the Iraqis say they are ready.”

The Oakland Press ran an article back on March 25, 2004 where they quoted Knollenberg as saying:

Despite demonstrations to the contrary, most Iraqis don’t want Americans to leave until their country is again “safe,. . .

They article said that Knollenberg indicated he was ‘encouraged by the scenes of progress he witnessed around Iraq’, but then they quote him as saying:

“We rarely got outside military compounds,” he said. “We drove through Baghdad but didn’t get out.”

The Oakland Press Article goes on to state: “Knollenberg reported signs of an improving economy, including growing numbers of cell phones and satellite dishes.” Too bad Congressman Knollenberg didn’t realize that those cell phones he was so pleased about have been used to detonate the bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s) that have been maiming and killing US troops.

Analysis of Knollenberg’s Statements

Knollenberg Says He Supports the Troops But His Votes Show Knollenberg Does NOT Support the Troops

The November 2005 statement implies that he supports the troops. I certainly support the troops. Every American supports the troops. But taking a closer look at his “support” for the troops I found:

• Rep. Knollenberg voted to continue awarding contracts to Halliburton even if the Pentagon’s own audit processes found that more than $100 million of their contractor’s costs in Iraq were unreasonable.
• Rep. Knollenberg opposed expanding access to the military’s TRICARE health insurance program to thousands of Reservist and National Guard members, even though 20 percent of all Reservists do not have health insurance, and 40 percent of Reservists aged 19 to 35 lack health coverage.
• Rep. Knollenberg voted against granting a bonus to grant a $1,500 bonus to every American service member serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, including National Guard and Reserve forces.It seems that Joe talks the talk but he doesn’t walk the walk. Knollenberg says he supports the troops, but he votes against them.

Knollenberg Still Says Stay the Course in Iraq
Knollenberg hasn’t said much about the war in Iraq, but what he has said has been 100% in line with President Bush.

Knollenberg even uses Bush’s line about how important it is to STAY THE COURSE.
Knollenberg hasn’t said or done anything contrary to Bush’s plan.

Conclusion

Knollenberg’s most direct statement has been to “STAY THE COURSE” in Iraq.

He hasn’t said or done anything to counter that position.

KNOLLENBERG still advocates “STAY THE COURSE”.

Knollenberg Can’t Get Other Republican’s to Support His Ideas

Congressman Knollenberg has only sponsored 51 bills since 1999.

Even worse, although the Republican’s were in charge of all the committees between then and this January, Knollenberg wasn’t able to get approval from his fellow Republicans for 39 of those bills — they never even made it out of committee.

 So he has sponsored an average of just over 6 bills per year for the last 8 years.  That is only one bill every other month!

 Then again, of those, he couldn’t even get more than 76% of them out of committee!

 Knollenberg’s legislative record is just abyssmal.

 So, basically, Knollenberg generally refuses to take positions on issues, he fails to show up to vote, and he doesn’t sponsor any major legislation.  Just what HAS he done for us?

Congressman Knollenberg Avoids Taking A Position on the Iraq War

Congressman Joe Knollenberg has avoided taking a position on George Bush’s escalation of the war in Iraq.

The January 25, 2007 Free Press quoted Knollenberg as saying:

My patience with the war is growing thin. We need to see real progress in Iraq soon.

So, does that mean that Knollenberg is supporting the escalation in troops?

Does it mean that Knollenberg is opposed to the escalation?

Isn’t everyone’s patience thin? Doesn’t everyone want to see real progress?

What is Congressman Knollenberg’s position on escalation of the war in Iraq?

More importantly, why won’t he tell us?

Armenia or America? : Part III

Joe Knollenberg has many lobbyists ringing his line like Right-to-Life and the NRA, but one group has Joe on speed dial. Thats right, ANCA. (Who?) Why… the Armenian National Committee of America of course. Hear what Michigan ANCA leader Ralph Kouritijian had to say about Joe, he gushes, “Rep. Knollenberg is a true champion of so many of the important issues of concern to the Armenian American community. This gathering was an opportunity for us to thank the Congressman for his leadership and for all of his tireless work.”

But that’s Armenia. What about what America thinks?

The National Review: “Last week, it was revealed that Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R., Mich.), inserted an earmark into a transportation bill that forced Amtrak to haul additional private freight cars or forgo $8.3 million in additional federal dollars. The freight cars in question belonged to ExpressTrak, a company whose owner is a big Knollenberg donor. “

Political Affairs: “powerful Republican Rep. Joe Knollenberg (Michigan), who led the way in blocking meaningful ethics and lobbying reform in the wake of the Abramoff scandal, accepted trips to Hawaii from lobbyists and campaign contributions from convicted Republican Rep. Bob Ney (Ohio) and resigned former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.”

Ouch. Not the ringing endorsement he gets from Armenia.

But Joe Knollenberg has a vested interest in Armenia. He had no problem answering the questionaire sent by Armenpac (The Armenian-American Political Action Committee). He got 100%, always siding with Armenia’s interests.

Yet here in the 9th Joe doesn’t do so well, first of all he refuses to even answer Project Vote-Smart’s questionaire which helps Americans make informed voting decisions (at least Armenian-Americans have that chance). Pontiac is a majority-minority city, yet what does the NAACP think of Joe Knollenberg? Well he sides with some of his constituents in Pontiac, 22% of the time. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America give Joe a mere C.

So again, which is it Armenia or America?

Bush Proposes Another Attack on the Middle Class

One of the key topics in President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address is a proposal to TAX your health care insurance benefit — assuming that you are one of the lucky ones who has health insurance.

One of the last benefits left — health insurance — is now hanging by a thread as it is and if Bush gets his way, employers won’t provide it at all.

Not only does Bush want to increase your income taxes by taxing you for your employer paid health insurance, but he wants to eliminate the tax incentive that companies get to provide that health insurance to their employees.

This does not address the root cause of the problem. This will not increase the number of people who have health insurance. (Although the White House asserts that an extra 5 million will be able to afford health insurance under their plan — they neglect to account for the millions that will lose their health insurance because employers will stop providing it.)

This is another attack by George Bush on the Middle Class.

Will Joe Knollenberg stand up against George Bush on this Health Care Scam?!?

Bush Proposes Another Attack on the Middle Class

One of the key topics in President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address is a proposal to TAX your health care insurance benefit — assuming that you are one of the lucky ones who has health insurance.

One of the last benefits left — health insurance — is now hanging by a thread as it is and if Bush gets his way, employers won’t provide it at all.

Not only does Bush want to increase your income taxes by taxing you for your employer paid health insurance, but he wants to eliminate the tax incentive that companies get to provide that health insurance to their employees.

This does not address the root cause of the problem.  This will not increase the number of people who have health insurance.  (Although the White House asserts that an extra 5 million will be able to afford health insurance under their plan — they neglect to account for the millions that will lose their health insurance because employers will stop providing it.)

This is another attack by George Bush on the Middle Class.

Will Joe Knollenberg stand up against George Bush on this Health Care Scam?!?

Bush’s Health Insurance SCAM

Bush’s Health Insurance Plan is not a Plan at All.  It is a SCAM. 

Bush’s Health Care Plan Will TAX Middle Class Health Insurance Plans.

President Bush is expected to focus his State of the Union Speech tomorrow on domestic issues in an attempt to raise his approval ratings.The President knows that Iraq is a disaster and that the American people no longer believe anything he says about the fiasco he created over there. Everytime he gives a speech on Iraq, his approval ratings drop even further.So, in a last ditch attempt to save his Presidency, he is expected to announce a new health care plan for the Country and a new energy policy. We will focus on his “health care plan” today and tackle his “energy policy” in another post.The Bush Health Care Plan Is Really Just a TAX on Middle Class Health Insurance

Unfortunately, Bush’s “Health Care Plan” is really just a TAX INCREASE on the middle-class wrapped up in pretty words and topped with a bow.Here is what Bush’s plan would do — for those of you fortunate enough to get your health insurance from your employer, Bush’s plan will eliminate the tax benefits to your employer for offering the benefit AND will impose a TAX on YOU because they will consider the benefit part of your income (so you would pay income tax on your healthcare benefits).So, rather than make health insurance more affordable for everyone, he is going to make it more expensive and less likely that anyone will be able to get it from their employer.The result would be that those with good health care would be TAXED on their health care benefits. So the middleclass worker who gets their health insurance from their employer would see their income taxes increase.

Also, the other result is that the employers would lose a tax break for offering the insurance as a benefit and thus many employers would stop offering healthcare insurance for their workers.

So those middle-class workers that get their health insurance from their employer would likely see that benefit eliminated in the very near future.

For those that don’t have health insurance, Bush’s plan would give families a tax deduction between $7,500 and $15,000 for them to buy health insurance and pay co-pays, etc. Of course if you can’t afford to buy health insurance today, Bush’s plan will not make it any more affordable to you. Getting a tax deduction — particularly for those that don’t itemize their deductions anyway — would not make insurance more affordable. Bush’s plan would merely reduce the number of middle class families that would get health insurance through their employers. Those who did continue to receive the benefit would be subject to an increase in their income taxes.

The Bush Healthcare Plan is no healthcare plan. It is merely another example of the war on the middle-class. The wealthy are taking advantage of the average working family. Multi-millionaire CEO’s wouldn’t even notice the difference in costs. But the average working family would find healthcare more and more expensive and less and less accessible.Regarding Bush’s Plan, Senator Kennedy has said,

But Kennedy said he was concerned that the tax changes could undermine
employer-provided coverage while failing to do enough to help the uninsured.

Congressman Charles Rangel, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said

This is a dangerous policy that ultimately shifts cost and risk from employers to employees and could result in a higher number of uninsured.

What is Congressman Knollenberg’s position on Bush’s Healthcare Plan?

Since he votes with Bush over 90% of the time, it is a safe bet that Knollenberg supports the President’s Plan to increase taxes on the middleclass and to eliminate their healthcare insurance benefits.

Armenia or America? Part II

Thanks to Blogger David W. for this post:

We all know of Joe Knollenberg’s love of Armenia. But how much does he love America? The country that did after all elect him to his $165,200/yr gig. Well look and see.

Congressman Knollenberg stepped before his peers to discuss the need to help our men and women in uniform on January 11th of this year. He said, “Madam Speaker, today I am introducing an important piece of legislation that speaks to our commitment to our Nation’s veterans…My legislation would simply make the COLA for veterans with disability benefits automatic each year. Furthermore, this important legislation also has no budgetary impact. In fact, both Congress and the President assume the increase in their budgets. Madam Speaker, Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries receive an automatic COLA and our disabled veterans deserve the same. Thank you.”

ZzzzzzzzzZzZZzzzzzzzzZzzzzzzz…

Sorry about that. Congressman Knollenberg seemed to go through the motions but where was the passion? That lightning in a bottle had when it was Armenia not America on the table? On December 6th, Congressman Knollenberg had that passion, he let everyone know his thoughts loud and clear and Armenia was listening…

“Mr. Speaker, I encourage Turkey to honor their commitments and implement important economic, regional, and political advancements in order to gain membership in the European Union (EU)… It is a well-known fact the regional policies of Turkey cause strain in the South Caucasus region and unfairly harms the welfare of their neighbor country, Armenia. The European Union has
repeatedly called for the cessation of the Turkish Blockade of Armenia as well as normalization of relations between the countries. However, these two pre-conditions to entering the EU have been blatantly ignored by Turkey. The blockade, now in its thirteenth year, is the only blockade of a fellow Council of Europe state. This is simply unacceptable, and I implore the EU to stand firm in their recommendations to Turkey in order to ensure these iniquitous economic practices are eliminated. Mr. Speaker, Armenia is a friend of the United States; and too many countries throughout the world. Yet, Turkey refuses to see the benefits Armenia brings to the South Caucasus region. This refusal has led to fierce tension within the region, as well as unfair economic outcomes that only harm Armenia. Before Turkey can become a member of the European Union, they must first acknowledge their mistakes, foster cooperation in the South Caucasus region, and respect their neighbor, Armenia…Turkey, with a history of bullying their neighbor, does not deserve membership until they change their ways.”

Sounds a lot more impassioned than helping out our troops now doesn’t it?

It seems Congressman Knollenberg feels a duty to Armenia following his being honored by their President. Why doesn’t he feel this duty to us here in Michigan? Joe it is me, not the poor shlub in Yerevan (Armenia’s capital and largest city!) who has “Knollenberg” on their ballot.

Since he is so responsive to Armenia since his receiving the “Order of Mkhitar Gosh” maybe we Michiganders need to honor him with some Order of something? An order of fries and a Coney and maybe he’ll care about us??