Dump Mike Ferguson (NJ7)

The Houghton Mifflin Dictionary defines a lie as "Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression" and "To convey a false image or impression".

In a July 15 letter regarding H.R. 1299, the Critical Habitat Enhancement Act, Congressman Michael Ferguson again intentionally misled a constituent regarding his voting record.

For example I have voted three times to prohibit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, helping to ensure the safety and quality of life for the wildlife that lives there.

In a July 15 letter to a constituent regarding H.R. 759, the Climate Stewardship Act, Congressman Mike Ferguson gave misleading information regarding his voting record.

I have voted three times – in 2001, 2003 and 2005 – to prohibit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Why is this misleading? He is not giving false information, but he is leaving out that he also voted to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska in 2001, 2003 and 2005.

The votes to prohibit drilling came in amendments to the Bush administration's energy bill, amendments which were doomed to fail in the heavily Republican House of Representatives.

The votes to support drilling came in final votes for the energy bills that included provisions for taking oil from ANWR that was guaranteed to pass the Republican House.

But Congressman Ferguson knows this, and has acknowledged it to the Courier News on October 22, 2002 (not online):

Environment: Ferguson broke with his party on drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, although he voted for an overall energy bill which included drilling.

"At the end of the day, I did feel that we needed an energy bill," he said.

Rep. Ferguson has been eating out on this claim for years, misleading constituents on his environmental record in an effort to appear more of a moderate. We caught him making this same claim on April 25, 2005 just eight days after he voted to approve drilling in ANWR.

We'll leave it up to our readers to decide if Mike Ferguson is deliberately lying to his constituents about his record. We know he is misleading them, but if you think that he is lying please write him and tell him to stop making this claim to constituents.

Send the answer you get to dumpmike@gmail.com or post it in the comments below.

Also, write a letter to the editor to the Courier News at letters@c-n.com, the Home News Tribune at letters@thnt.com, the Star Ledger at eletters@starledger.com, or the New York Times at letters@nytimes.com.

Posted by admin at 07:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Mike Ferguson sent another of his very informative newletters at taxpayers expense the other day. In this one he asks residents for their opinions on pressing issues of the day.

Here's the survey:

With the massive baby boom generation beginning to retire in 2008, Social Security faces significant financial challenges. What would be your first priority to strengthen Social Security?

• Increase payroll taxes on today's workers
• Reduce Social Security benefits for today's seniors
• Reduce Social Security benefits for future seniors
• Increase the retirement age for future seniors
• Allow today's workers to use a portion of their payroll taxes to establish personal retirement accounts
• No changes should be made to Social Security

On U.S. Policy in Iraq:

• American troops should be withdrawn immediately or within the next several months
  
• American troops should be withdrawn only after Iraq is stable, even if that takes several more years

The best way to reduce the national debt is to:

• Reduce spending, even if it means cutting funding for important or popular programs
  
• Raise taxes, even if it means average Americans pay more

Needless to say, the survey is pretty well slanted. Even worse, if you look carefully at the return side of the survey you have to add postage or "Post Office will not deliver without proper postage."

Since you pay for the postage regardless -- your taxes or your stamp -- we're asking everyone to fill out the form and mail it back to Rep. Ferguson in an envelope with an extra piece of paper containing your complete feelings about these issues. If you tossed your copy or never got one, you can download it by clicking the images above.

Posted by admin at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

United States Senators Frank Lautenberg and Jon Corzine were joined by a coalition of pro-choice groups, including several Jewish organizations, in a press conference urging President George W. Bush to appoint a “moderate” jurist to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. [snip]

“The president is going to nominate someone who will go through an extensive process,” said Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-Dist. 7), responding after the news conference. “That nominee deserves a respectful confirmation process and a vote — not posturing on the Right or the Left. The senators should consider his nominee and vote yes or no.”

Debate, speculation, and posturing about Supreme Court nominees hurt the process and the court system, the congressman continued. No issue — whether religious freedom, separation of church and state, or reproductive rights — should be used as a litmus test, he said.

“There certainly should not be a religious litmus test for serving on the court,” Ferguson said. “ Unfortunately some senators have criticized some judicial nominees on the basis of their faith and that’s a dangerous road for our democracy.…”

If Rep. Ferguson has evidence or examples of bigoted Senators who attack judicial nominees for being religious, he should go public with their names and the nominee they smeared. However, if Rep. Ferguson will not or can not support his statement, he should immediately rescind the statement and apologize to New Jersey's Senators and the Senate as a whole.

Playing the religion card with blanket, non-specific accusation of religious bigotry without evidence demeans the political process. Doing so after calling for a "respectful confirmation process" and "not posturing on the Right or the Left" is hypocritical at best and base, cynical politics at worst.

Call on Congressman Ferguson to name the Senators and judicial nominees he is referring to or to take back his accusations. You can reach him at his New Jersey office at (908) 757-7835, at his Washington D.C. office at (202) 225-5361 or via his web site contact form.

We also urge you to write letters to the editor to local papers and to New Jersey Jewish News. You can reach NJ Jewish News at editorial@njjewishnews.com, the Courier News at letters@c-n.com, the Home News Tribune at letters@thnt.com, the Star Ledger at eletters@starledger.com, or the New York Times at letters@nytimes.com.

Posted by admin at 06:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

Star Ledger political reporter Tom Moran published a piece on Congressman Mike Ferguson today in which Moran likened him to a "wind-up doll" for the pharmaceutical industry:

Ferguson grew up in a devout Catholic family in Ridgewood, where he had every advantage thanks to the fortune his father earned as an advertiser working primarily with pharmaceutical firms.

His close ties to that industry continue to this day. Over the last five years, the drug industry has given him nearly $500,000 -- more than it's given any other member of Congress.

It's no wonder. Talk to Ferguson about the drug industry, and he sounds like a wind-up doll designed by industry lobbyists.

Moran does point out that beating Rep. Ferguson in 2006 will be hard, but seems to indicate that it is possible.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, a Democrat in a neighboring district, predicts that seniors will revolt against Ferguson once they realize how paltry the benefits are in the Medicare drug program that kicks in on Jan. 1.

Congress skimped on benefits because the provision banning negotiated discounts made it too expensive to offer more.

"He's been touting this as a panacea," says Pallone. "But people will start to realize they're not getting much benefit, and that will hurt him."

And the "wind-up doll's" reaction to the effort to get him out of Congress?

"It's a lot of blather," he says. "It doesn't have any impact."

Let's keep up the blather and show the Congressman that it will have an impact. Please write the Star Ledger at eletters@starledger.com and tell them that you agree with Tom Moran's view of Congressman Ferguson, and that our opposition to his votes and positions on veterans, stem cell research, campaign finance, and other issues facing the people of New Jersey's 7th Congressional district.

Posted by admin at 07:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In a speech on the floor of the United States Congress, Representative Mike Ferguson announced that he considers embryonic stem cell research "unethical."

Those who conduct human embryonic stem cell research must destroy human life to do so. You cannot conduct embryonic stem cell research without destroying human life, and that is wrong. And it is certainly wrong to fund this unethical embryonic stem cell research using taxpayer money.

That is a view many people hold based on deeply held beliefs. If Congressman Ferguson really, deeply believes that embryonic stem cell research is unethical and a form or murder, however, then he should stop profiting politically from contributions of companies and individuals who perform such research as part of their business.

Here are contributions Congressman Ferguson has recently received from employees and Political Action Committees of companies performing and hoping to profit from embryonic stem cell research:

• Johnson and Johnson -- $39,000
• GlaxoSmithKline - $19,000
• Merck and Company – $18,999
• Pfizer - $16,000
• Novartis -- $8,000
• General Electric -- $3,750
• Becton Dickinson PAC -- $2,000

The grand total that Congressman Ferguson benefits from companies performing stem cell research? $106,749. That's more than twice what he got from Tom DeLay's ARM PAC.

He might also want to stop taking money from these people who are ultimately responsible for their companies' decisions to perform what Mike calls "unethical" research.

• Raymond Gilmartin, Merck CE0 -- $2,000 in 2004 cycle and $2,000 in $2002 cycle
• William Weldon, Johnson and Johnson Chairman and CEO -- $2,000 in 2004 cycle>
• Henry McKinnell, Pfizer Chairman and CEO --- $2000 in 2004 cycle

Congressman Ferguson has a choice if he doesn't want to be labeled a hypocrite: either he gives back the money from companies engaged in what he considers unethical research, or he stops fighting against research which could cure diabetes, eradicate Parkinsons and give people with spinal cord injuries the ability to walk again.

Please call Rep. Ferguson's office at 908-757-7835 and ask his staffers if the Congressman will return the embryonic stem cell researcher's money or if he will begin supporting embryonic stem cell research. You can also write to Rep. Ferguson on his website e-mail form.

Another avenue is to send letters to the editor. Local and regional newspapers are as follows: the Courier News at letters@c-n.com, the Home News Tribune at letters@thnt.com, the Star Ledger at eletters@starledger.com, or the New York Times at letters@nytimes.com.

Posted by admin at 06:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Somerset County Democrats sponsored a picnic at Green Brook Committeewoman Melonie Marano's house today (7/17/2005) with Jon Corzine as the invited guest. It poured rain down on us, but still 150 or so intepid Democrats came out to greet Senator Corzine and have a good time with Democrats from throughout Central Jersey.

More than 25 Blue 7th PAC members attended, sporting their Dump Mike buttons and showing strength in a County the state and national Demcoratic party often leaves to its own devices. This kind of turnout is important at these events to show the party that we care about this district and that resources should be spent here to beat Mike Ferguson.

The Senator talked about his issues, especially property taxes. He called for changes to the way we fund our schools, moving them off the regressive property taxes that are hurting our communities and onto a progressive tax. He also reitered his intent to increase NJ Saver in the short term until a Constitutional Convention can be called to address the tax issues.

You can set up a Corzine Connection barbecue at your own house by signing up at the Corzine Connection web site. Be sure to tell them you are a Blue 7th member and that you are working to support the Corzine campaign.

Posted by admin at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In February of this year, Mike Ferguson was one of only six members of the House invited to participate in conservative Senator Rick Santorum's (R-PA) classes on the Catholic Faith. Both Ferguson and Santorum are Catholics.

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) has organized a course for members of Congress on Catholic doctrine that is being taught from his Senate hideaway in the Capitol. [snip]

In a February letter inviting a select group of members to attend the courses, Santorum wrote, “I believe that this will be a great opportunity to discuss our faith and to create greater unity between the Catholic members of the House and Senate.” [snip]

Asked why only Catholic Republicans were invited, Santorum responded, “It’s a pretty small circle. I have no idea who they invited on the House. I just invited sort of a handful of folks on our side.”

Senator Santorum has recently been in the news for reaffirming what he wrote on the website Catholic Online in 2002 regarding the priest abuse scandal:

Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm.

Through a spokesman, Senator Santorum recently repeated this claim that "cultural liberalism" is to blame for the church sex scandal.

Since Congressman Ferguson is taking religious training with Senator Santorum, it is only appropriate to ask him if he agrees with this take on the scandal. Such questions are not a reflection on his religion or his deep Catholic faith, and should not be taken as a comment on such. However, the residents of the 7th Congressional District deserve to know if our Congressman agrees with Santorum's kind of divisive politics.

Please call Rep. Ferguson's office at 908-757-7835 and ask his staffers if the Congressman stands by Senator Santorum's comments. You can also write to Rep. Ferguson on his website e-mail form.

Another avenue is to send letters to the editor talking about the divisive and insulting comments made by Senator Santorum, and asking if Congressman Ferguson agrees with them after taking religion classes with the Senator. Local and regional newspapers are as follows: the Courier News at letters@c-n.com, the Home News Tribune at letters@thnt.com, the Star Ledger at eletters@starledger.com, or the New York Times at letters@nytimes.com.

Posted by admin at 06:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Senator Jon Corzine will be attending a Backyard Barbecue at Green Brook Commiteewoman Melonie Marano's house on Sunday, July 17, 2005. EVERYONE IS WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND, so please come out for an afternoon of fun, and meet New Jersey's next Governor and a lot of cool progressives from Central New Jersey.

Where: 180 Greenbrook Road
Green Brook, NJ 08812
Map & Directions: http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y51121B6B
When: Sunday, July 17th, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Sponsored By: Somerset County Democratic Organization, Elia Pelios, Chair

Please help out by bringing something to eat or drink. Don't go overboard, but if we all bring a little something we should have a lot of really awesome food. Possible items include: lemonade, water, juice, soda, hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, buns, potato chips, potato salad, green salad, juice, and Cherios (for my daughter Kendy!).

Please RSVP if you can to the Somerset County Democratic HQ at 908-218-0330 or by e-mailing bbq@somersetdems.org . Tell us how many people are coming and what you can bring.

Posted by admin at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This letter was published in the Home News Tribune on July 15, 2005.

Politics opposes scientific progress

This letter is regarding the June 23 story, "Piscataway youths press Senate for diabetes cure."

Federal Election Commission reports indicate six companies that engage or are about to engage in embryonic stem-cell research contributed through their company PACs to Congressman Mike Ferguson and Senator Rick Santorum. These companies include GE, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis and Pfizer.

Despite accepting their contributions, Ferguson and Santorum oppose their research. In the House, Ferguson voted against expanding the types of stem cell research that can be federally funded. The bill passed anyway in the House with bipartisan support. These companies' financial support for Ferguson and Santorum's reelection campaigns not only runs counter to the companies' interest but the public interest as well.

Rick Santorum and Mike Ferguson are deeply involved in the radical right's campaign to suppress scientific knowledge that conflicts with their ideological obsessions, regardless of the human cost of those actions. Ferguson's vote to stop embryonic stem-cell research, the kind of essential research that could save lives, is one example. Both politicians also voted for cuts in Medicaid for millions of people, which will affect their ability to buy essential drugs and medical supplies produced by these companies.

Mike Ferguson's record shows that he is consistently, even proudly, out of step with mainstream voters from the 7th district, and indeed most New Jerseyans.

Karina Wilkinson
HIGHLAND PARK

Posted by admin at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This letter was published in the Courier News on July 11, 2005:

If you have clothes marked "Made in" Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras or Nicaragua or have a job, then the Central American Free Trade Agreement touches your life. The Senate passed the legislation recently, and the House will take it up soon. The agreement is strongly supported by the Bush administration, which has once again suppressed evidence contradicting its own position.

In preparation for an agreement debate in Congress, the U.S. Labor Department commissioned a study of labor practices in Central America. The nonprofit International Labor Rights Fund (www.laborrights.org) won the contract and prepared a 400-page report, submitting it in early 2004.

The fund reported that many Central American countries continue to suppress union organizing, use child labor and commit other serious labor violations; although there are laws against such practices, enforcement is minimal. The Labor Department refused to allow the nonprofit to publish the study for more than a year while Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) worked to get it released through the Freedom of Information Act.

America already has bilateral trade agreements with these countries, with stronger provisions supporting workers' rights than the agreement's provisions. Like NAFTA, the agreement is designed to weaken the power of workers and strengthen corporations, forcing American workers to compete with low-paid laborers in poor countries with weak labor and environmental standards in a "race to the bottom."

We are capable of finding ways to protect and support both American and foreign workers and start a race toward a decent living for people in all countries. The question is not, "How can corporations maximize shareholder profit?" The real questions are, "What do people need, and how can we fairly compensate the people who provide those goods and services (like food, shelter, health care and education) for their time and effort?"

Let's hope Mike Ferguson and New Jersey's other representatives find the courage to stand up to the Bush administration and stand up for workers here at home and in Central America, by voting "no" on CAFTA.

KATHERINE WATT
North Plainfield

Posted by admin at 05:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you are on Medicare or Medicaid and want to keep your personal information private from pharmaceutical marketing companies, you do not have a supporter in Mike Ferguson.

As part of the budget bill HR 3010 that will fund Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and some related agencies, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY 22) proposed the following amendment:

Amendment sought to prohibit funds in the bill from being used to distribute the personal information of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to private companies for marketing Medicare prescription drug plans.

This amendment would secure the personal information of millions of disabled, widowed and elderly Americans – including home addresses, phone numbers and the fact that you are receiving Medicare benefits – who receive prescription drug benefits from being handed out to anyone who starts a company marketing a prescription drug card under the 2002 prescription drug benefit.

Mike Ferguson voted against protecting your private information from business interests who just want to make a buck off you.

Posted by admin at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Congressman Mike Ferguson voted in June 2005 to allow federal tax dollars to be spent lying to Congress. That sounds a little strident, but it is exactly what the vote on an amendment by Rep. Richard Obey of Wisconsin (D-7) on June 30, 2005.

In 2002 when the Medicare prescription drug plan was moving through Congress, DHHS Administrator Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services Thomas Scully intentionally withheld information from Representatives and Senators by hiding the Bush administration's true assessment of the program's cost.

An internal investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services confirms that the top Medicare official threatened to fire the program's chief actuary if he told Congress that drug benefits would probably cost much more than the White House acknowledged.

A report on the investigation, issued Tuesday, says the administrator of Medicare, Thomas A. Scully, issued the threat to Richard S. Foster while lawmakers were considering huge changes in the program last year. As a result, Mr. Foster's cost estimate did not become known until after the legislation was enacted.

But what it did violate was White House Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-11, section 22.2 [PDF] which reads as follows:

After formal transmittal of the budget, an amendment, or a supplemental appropriation request, the following policies apply when testifying before any congressional committee or communicating with Members of Congress:

• Witnesses will give frank and complete answers to all questions.

Rep. Obey thinks that the White House should be "frank and complete" when it answers questions from Congress about Budget issues. He offered Amendment 432 to the budget appropriations bill for the DoT, Treasury, HUD, Judiciary, Washington D.C., and various independent agencies that would make it illegal for any money to be spent in lying to Congress.

An amendment to prohibit the use of funds from being used in contravention of that portion of OMB Circular No. A-11, section 22.2, that states that in testimony before Congressional committees and communication with Members of Congress, witnesses will give frank and complete answers to all questions.

To us here at Dump Mike that seems like a no-brainer: The Bush administration is not allowed to lie to Congress. It failed by just seven votes.

Amazingly, Congressman Ferguson voted against the amendment and to allow the White House to use public tax dollars to lie to Congress.

If you think the White House should have to answer to Congress in a frank and complete manner on budget issues write Mike Ferguson and tell him so.

We also recommend that you write letters to the editor. Send a letter to the editor to the Courier News at letters@c-n.com, the Home News Tribune at letters@thnt.com, the Star Ledger at eletters@starledger.com, or the New York Times at letters@nytimes.com.

Posted by admin at 07:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This letter was published in the Courier News on July 2, 2005.

Ferguson set for vote gymnastics - Letter to the Editor in the Courier News

Now that Boss Delay has given the OK to provide a much-needed additional $1 billion for veterans' health care, I'm sure Congressman Ferguson is getting ready to jump through this hoop.

Will Ferguson describe his flip-flop by telling us he voted against it before he voted for it?

RON GILCH
Martinsville

See more information on Mike Ferguson's votes on veterans issues.

Posted by admin at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)