If things have changed since 2004, they've only become worse

LEIGH POMEROY

In June of 2004, after Joe Mayer, the Democratic Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in the 1st Congressional District of Minnesota, was forced to drop from the race because of health reasons, a number of us scrambled to find a replacement. But understandably, no one was particularly interested in facing a ten-year incumbent who had won the district in 2002 by over 60% of the vote, especially with only four months left to go till election day.

Because I felt passionately that our country was on the wrong track, and because our current congressman, Gil Gutknecht, was riding shotgun for the engineer, I volunteered.

With less than $100,000 raised over the period of the four months but with lots of local volunteer support, I was able to prevent Rep. Gutknecht from reaching the 60% mark, garnering almost 36% of the vote in a three-way race.

What strikes me now is that the issues in 2006 have changed little from those of 2004. What's different is that things have gotten worse. We're still mired in Iraq, with deaths reaching 2,500 and casualties 18,000. Interest rates are rising. The national debt has grown from a little over $7 trillion to more than $8.4 trillion, a rise of 20%. And gas in Minnesota has jumped from $1.89/gallon to $2.89/gallon, a rise of over 50%.

If Rep. Gutknecht had opposed the President on any of his major issues, I might feel somewhat vindicated. But he has not, and this district, along with the rest of the country, has suffered.

Below is a table showing what I wrote in September of 2004 and where we stand today:

What Bush said:	What I wrote in 2004:	Where we stand in 2006:
Saddam had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq.	There were no WMDs. Gil Gutknecht has consistently supported the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld war effort even though nearly 1,000 Americans have been killed and over 6,000 injured.	Still no WMDs found. The President finally admits that intelligence may have been "faulty". Rep. Gutknecht still supports the President's policies on the war. But as of July 1, 2006, over 2,500 Americans have been killed and 18,000 wounded in Iraq.
Saddam and Iraq were connected to al Qaeda.	There was no Iraqi-al Qaeda connection. There was, however, a Saudi-al Qaeda connection. Gil Gutknecht has consistently supported the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld war effort even though over 10,000 innocent Iraqis, including up to 5,000 children, have been killed — three times the number of deaths from 9/11 — and at least twice that number have been injured.	All the so-called "evidence" that the President used to connect Saddam and al Qaeda has been disproved. Rep. Gutknecht still backs the President, despite the Administration's failures. By some estimates, over 100,000 innocent civilians have died as a result of the U.S. incursion into Iraq.
The war in Iraq would pay for itself through Iraqi oil revenues.	So far, the war in Iraq has cost each man, woman, and child in the U.S. over $460 each or about $290 million for our Congressional District alone. Gil Gutknecht has voted against domestic programs that would benefit the people of southern Minnesota while supporting the President's wasteful war effort.	It is now believed that the Iraq war will cost American citizens and taxpayers in excess of $1trillion. That comes to over $3,300 for every man, woman, and child in the U.S., and over $675 million for our Congressional District alone. Rep. Gutknecht continues to vote against domestic programs that would benefit the people of southern Minnesota while giving a blank check to the President's war.
Claims that most of the "Bush tax cuts" would go to the middle class.	Fully one-third of the Bush tax cuts ($197 billion) go to only 1% of U.S. taxpayers. That's an average of $78,460 per person in tax breaks for those in the top 1%. Source: Congressional Budget Office. "Since 2001, President Bush's tax cuts have shifted federal tax payments from the richest Americans to a wide swath of middle-class families." — msnbc.com. Gil Gutknecht has consistently supported the President in giving budget-busting tax breaks to the super-rich, contrary to his pledge that he would never vote for an unbalanced budget when he signed Newt Gingrich's Contract with America.	The President's policy still favors giving tax breaks to the super-rich at the expense of the national debt. Rep. Gutknecht has voted consistently to extend these tax breaks, which benefit only a handful of citizens in Minnesota 1st Congressional District. He continues to ignore the Contract with America that he signed by further indebting his constituents. Since 2000, the national debt has grown from $5.7 trillion to over $8.4 trillion, an increase of nearly 50%, due primarily to the President's policies. Rep. Gutknecht has supported these policies over 90% of the time.
Claims he supports small farmers.	71% of crop subsidies go to only 10% of American agricultural producers. Gil Gutknecht has voted against subsidy caps and country-of-origin labeling, both of which would benefit Minnesota's small farmers.	Ten percent of American agricultural producers still receive nearly three-quarters of agricultural subsidies. Most of the farms in southern Minnesota are small family farms and do not qualify for the maximum subsidies.
Claims he is the environmental President.	Bush has compiled the worst environmental record in the history of our nation, earning him the first ever “F” on the League of Conservation Voters’ (LCV) 2003 Presidential Report Card. Gil Gutknecht received a 5% rating from the same group. Even Norm Coleman was higher at 21%. Despite overwhelming evidence that global warming exists — even a Defense Department study claims that global warming is a major threat to U.S. national security — the Bush administration refuses to act on carbon dioxide emissions, one of global warming's principal causes. Gil Gutknecht says that he is "still studying this issue."	The good news is that in 2005, Rep. Gutknecht had increased his environmental rating to 28%, according to the League of Conservation Voters. The bad news is that it's still 28% — not even 50% — in a congressional district where citizens value their natural resources and environment. Paroting the President, Mr. Gutknecht has finally admitted that global warming exists, although he still doubts the overwhelming evidence that humans are the primary culprit. From 2002 through 2005, Rep. Gutknecht voted against taking action against global warming on 31 of 33 bills that came up the in House. Instead, he supported tax breaks for Big Oil.

In 2004 I received no newspaper endorsements. Rep. Gutknecht received them all. I was disappointed but not surprised. After all, I was an afterthought, a no-name. As a newcomer, I hadn't proved myself in the field of politics. Furthermore, many newspapers were endorsing an otherwise straight Democratic slate. The editors had to give at least one race to the Republicans.

Looking back on the consequences of the Bush administration and the Republican Congress, I can't help but wonder if those editors have ever reconsidered their decision. Whether they have or not is irrelevant. But what is relevant is that in 2006 they realize that the Republican hegemony in the government is not healthy for the country, and that it's time to replace the old with the new.

Let's also hope that the voters of Minnesota's 1st Congressional District feel the same way.