Mike's Election Guide (20 page)

Earlier in his tenure at the defense contractor, Myers served as vice president of Sea-Based Missile Defense. Isn’t it ironic that someone whose career has been in sea-based defense is now trying to board the Titanic known as House Republican minority?

It is no surprise that this Lockheed executive/ Republican candidate for Congress called on the Senate to pass the FISA intelligence bill that will give the President more power to spy on Americans and give telecom companies immunity for their role in enabling government spying. He is also calling on the Bush tax cuts for the rich to remain permanent.

Unlike many House Republicans, Myers is NOT in favor of building walls along the border to prevent illegal immigration. He thinks it won’t be effective and instead believes in high-tech solutions such as . . . sensors and cameras purchased from Lockheed Martin! Lockheed submitted a bid to the Department of Homeland Security to build a “virtual border fence” in 2006 and continues to push for the high-tech solutions to these problems. With Chris Myers, Lockheed Martin will have a trusted family member in Congress who can help deliver the bacon.

Attempting to stop Lockheed/Myers is Democratic candidate
John Adler
, a five-term State Senator in New Jersey where he was a key figure behind the state’s Smoke Free Air Act, which banned smoking indoors and in the workplace and received broad bipartisan support. The Sierra Club has endorsed his campaign, and he recently called for an end to all federal subsidies to oil companies.

Adler is New Jersey’s hope to stop the Myers missile from finding a home in Congress.

NEW JERSEY’S 7TH DISTRICT

Linda Stender

Leonard Lance is a longtime State Representative who won a nasty Republican primary against several opponents hoping to hold on to a longtime Republican seat vacated by Rep. Mike Ferguson. The Republican primary contests in New Jersey have been described as “bloodbaths,” as politicians scramble to hold on to their seats against a strong political tide against them. Lance’s top priority is to make sure the Bush administration’s economic policies continue long after Mr. Bush is out of office. He wants to make his tax cuts for the rich permanent and repeal the Estate Tax (or so-called “Death Tax for the Rich”). The Bush economy hasn’t been bad for everyone, and Mr. Lance seems to be one of the few who’s better off than he was eight years ago.

Democratic candidate
Linda Stender
is a New Jersey Assemblywoman who has focused on the environment, global warming, and gas prices during her campaign. She sponsored New Jersey’s “Global Warming Response Act.” This was a major piece of legislation and only the third of its kind in the nation; it requires the state to cut emissions of global warming gases to 1990 levels by the year 2020 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 2006 levels by the year 2050. When Governor Corzine signed the bill into law last year, the ceremony drew national attention and included a speech by Al Gore, who said he’s adding New Jersey’s efforts to his famous global warming slideshow.

Stender previously served as Councilwoman and Mayor of Fanwood, New Jersey, and came within 3,000 votes of winning this House seat in 2006 against the incumbent. She has the support of Emily’s List, Democracy for America, and the Sierra Club.

NEW MEXICO’S 1ST DISTRICT

Martin Heinrich

Like John McCain, Republican Darren White has relied on George W. Bush to help raise money for his campaign to fill Heather Wilson’s open seat, albeit at a closed-door event in order to avoid having voters actually see him associate with the man whom only 29 percent of the American support. Bush arrived in Albuquerque at 11:30 am, shook a few hands, posed for a few pictures with New Mexico’s wealthiest Republicans, raised $300,000, and snuck over to Arizona at 2:30 pm to do the same for the McCain campaign. After the event, White promised that his campaign would be “shaking up Washington with strong, independent leadership.”

White is the Bernalillo County Sheriff and has worked in law enforcement his entire career. He also served as county chairman for the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2004 and plans to continue their tax polices if elected to Congress.

Democratic challenger
Martin Heinrich
is a former Albuquerque City Councilor and was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson as Natural Resources Trustee for the State of New Mexico, where he worked on environmental issues. While on the city council, he helped raise the minimum wage in New Mexico to $7.50. But the issue most critical to him has been the environment. He’s served on the boards of various environmental groups and is executive director of a non-profit group dedicated to environmental education. He has worked to preserve the Ojito Wilderness as well as land in the Rio Grande State Park. New Mexico is “The Land of Enchantment,” and Heinrich wants to make sure future generations of New Mexicans get a chance to be enchanted, too.

NEVADA’S 3RD DISTRICT

Dina Titus

Republican Jon Porter has only been in Congress since 2002 and he’s already gotten accustomed to the ways of Washington. A former staffer to Porter accused him of making fundraising phone calls from his congressional office, which is illegal (but the FBI chose not to investigate). And after visiting Iraq, he claimed that we had to stay longer because if we left, gas prices would go up to $9/gallon. Porter has voted along the Republican Party line 85 percent of the time during this congressional session. This includes votes in favor of war without end, in favor of war spending with no strings attached, and in favor of the FISA to expand the President’s power to spy on Americans. He also voted against raising the federal minimum wage and against allowing the government to negotiate directly with drug makers to lower the cost of drugs in Medicare.

Democratic candidate
Dina Titus
has served in the Nevada Legislature since 1988, including a stint as the Democratic Leader. She’s also taught American and Nevada Politics at UNLV and specializes in education policy. Her long career in the legislature has included major accomplishments such as sponsoring a bill creating Nevada’s Check Up Program to cover uninsured children. She’s also co-sponsored successful legislation allowing Nevadans to purchase cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and legislation to double penalties for those committing crimes against the disabled. Her long career for standing up for the less fortunate led to the 2006 dedication of the Dina Titus Estates, an affordable housing complex for the disabled that now bears her name because of all of her work over the years.

NEW YORK’S 13TH DISTRICT

Mike McMahon

Maybe the Republicans of Staten Island weren’t meant to have this seat. First, their incumbent Vito Fossella had to drop out after being arrested for drunk driving and later admitting to having an extramarital affair and fathering a child out of wedlock. The Republicans scrambled to find a warm body to fill in for Fossella. They settled for Frank Powers, a retired Wall Street executive who has worked as a behind-the-scenes Republican operative. In a sign of how little support Powers had, he didn’t even have his entire family behind him. One of the two candidates vying for the Libertarian Party nomination to face Powers was . . . Fran Powers—Frank Powers’ son. About his relationship with his father, Fran says, “I like my father. I just don’t like that he’s going to vote straight for the Republican ticket and support Republican causes. This seat is too important to be in the Republican Party’s hands.” Sadly, a month after Powers was picked to replace Fossella, he died from a heart attack at the age of 67. Once again, the Republicans are scrambling for a replacement.

Democratic candidate
Mike McMahon
is a City Councilman who has the backing of Rep. Charlie Rangel and other New York Democrats as they try to flip the last Republican district in New York City. On Iraq, McMahon says, “I am opposed to the Iraq War and the time to start bringing home our fighting men and women is now.” In seeking to take over the seat held by scandal-plagued Vito Fossella, McMahon says that he wants to bring “integrity and respect back” to his district. The bar has been set so low by Fossella that it shouldn’t be a problem; when asked if he, like Fossella, had ever driven drunk or had an extra-marital affair, McMahon answered “no” to both. Give this man a cigar! . . . Wait! No! . . . A cigar’s a bad idea . . .

NEW YORK’S 25TH DISTRICT

Dan Maffei

Republican candidate Dale Sweetland served in the Onondaga County Legislature from 1994 to 2007. He’s running for Dan Walsh’s seat in the House after losing a Republican primary for the Onondaga County Executive position. He describes himself as “fiercely pro-business.” He’s also backing the gas-tax holiday scheme John McCain has supported and that won’t do anything to lower gas prices.

Syracuse native and Democrat
Dan Maffei
came within 3,400 votes in his race for this seat in 2006 despite running against better-funded opponent Dan Walsh. He railed against the war in Iraq and, despite lack of name recognition, almost pulled off the upset because of his campaign against the war. Walsh surprised New York Republicans by announcing he won’t run again, and Maffei is now in good position to take this seat for the Democrats. Maffei is pushing for a tax on oil companies’ outrageous profits while his opponent is calling for the gimmick “gas tax holiday” that won’t help anyone.