Dump Mike Ferguson (NJ7)

Last Friday was the last day of Mike Ferguson's third term in Congress, and he decided to end it with a bang.

Following on his work on the Terry Schiavo issue where he tried to play doctor, Ferguson now wants to pass Federal legislation telling doctors what to tell their patients. Again demonstrating his radical anti-abortion credentials, Ferguson wants to make every doctor counsel women seeking an abortion during the second trimester that the fetus feels pain. It did not pass.

Next, contradicting his campaign claims that he is an environmentalist and opposes offshore drilling, Ferguson voted for a bill that will expand offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted by admin at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So the election is over, and Mike Ferguson won with 49.5 percent of the vote. On this site and others we pointed out that the folks Mike Ferguson was connected to were pretty sleezy, including the mistess-abusing Rep. Don Sherwood who contributed to Ferguson's campaigns.

Another one of Ferguson's buddies is Jack Abramoff ally Grover Norquist, who gave Ferguson an award as you can see in the picture below. Here's what Ferguson's friend Norquist had to learn from the recent elections:

“Bob Sherwood’s seat [in Pennsylvania] would have been overwhelmingly ours, if his mistress hadn’t whined about being throttled,” said Mr Norquist. Any lessons from the campaign? “Yes. The lesson should be, don’t throttle mistresses.”

Not that you shouldn't have a mistress, mind you. Norquist just suggests that when you cheat on your wife don't choke the girl you cheat with. And Mike seems real happy to hang out with him.

Posted by admin at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday we had some fun showing what a pathetic bus tour Mike Ferguson (R-NJ7) is having as he tries to rally support for his campaign. With fewer than a half dozen people showing up to his events, we had a good time posting pictures here and on other sites. The following pictures are not as much fun, as it shows the lack of thought in Ferguson's campaign towards kids.

When their rallies started fizzling yesterday, apparently the Ferguson campaign started sending people to scheduled locations ahead of the bus so that there would be no more bad pictures. At the Scotchwood Diner in Scotch Plains, NJ, a crowd of adults and children showed up to wave Ferguson for Congress signs at the passing cars on Route 22.. The diner is right next to Linda Stender's office, and they got the following pictures of kids on the edge of the six lane highway and one even in the road.

The owner of the diner actually had to come out and tell them to move back to a safe position, because the parents and other adults didn't have the sense to do it themselves. Interestingly, Ferguson's bus just drove by and didn't stop at the Scotchwood at all. Here are the pics:

You can see a few adults and a lot of kids here in the sidewalk just past the on-ramp to Route 22 from an overpass. The kids are the closest to the highway, while the adults are hanging back a little.

Continue reading "Ferguson Skips Diner, Supporter's Kids In the Road" »

Posted by admin at 08:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On October 9, 2006 we discovered that Mike Ferguson has not only taken from corrupt politicians, but also from one whose morality is seriously questionable. Rep. Don Sherwood (R-PA) who cheated on his wife, and then settled a $5 million lawsuit that he had beaten and choked his mistress repeatedly, and gave Ferguson $2,000 for his campaign coffers.

Today we learn that Ferguson has taken $7,000 from Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY) whose wife called the police on him after he choked her.

[NY State Trooper Scott W.] Gunsel wrote in a blotter entry that he found the couple separated and calm when he arrived at the home that night. Under common police practice, the document lists Gaia Sweeney as a "victim'' and Sweeney as a "suspect.''

"Complainant stated that she and husband got into verbal argument that turned a little physical by her being grabbed by the neck and pushed around the house,'' Gunsel wrote in the narrative portion of the blotter entry, according to the document. "Suspect had scratches on face. Both parties refused medical attention. Complainant removed to friend's house for the evening ... refused any type of prosicution (sic) arrest.''

If Ferguson is unwilling to keep money from child molesters like Mark Foley and corrupt lobbyists like Jack Abramoff, why is he willing to keep money from men who beat women?

That sounds harsh, but it is -- according to court and police records -- absolutely true. Reps. Sweeney and Sherwood beat their mistress and wife respectively, and Mike Ferguson is keeping their money for his campaign.

This is the same man who runs ads with his wife and children, talks about them all the time at campaign events, and portrays himself as a protector of "family values."

This is also the same man who told Tricia Riccio that her son Carl would never walk again soon after repeatedly voting against the medical research that could heal his broken spinal cord.

This is also the same man who refused to talk with 14 year old juvenile diabetes patient Lyndsey Rosenthal because she wanted to discuss embryonic stem cell research, which many scientists believe could cure her disease.

This is also the same man who told a group of mothers whose children had become suicide and self-abusive due to bad reactions to prescriptions that he refused to sponsor a bill to protect other children from the same fate -- because the bill was sponsored by a Democrat.

Mike Ferguson is not the family values candidate. He is willing to take campaign money from abusers of women, and unwilling to provide the support needed to cure sick and injured children.

Wrong choices, wrong Congressman.

Posted by admin at 06:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the last two weeks we've found out that Mike Ferguson told Carl Riccio's mother that her son would never walk again, and this week we learned that his staff refused to let 14 year old juvenile diabetes sufferer Lyndsey Rosethal talk to him [listen to her radio ad] about stem cell research.

Now we find that he is refusing to endorse a bill that would ensure drug safety and prevent adverse drug reactions in children solely because the bill was sponsored by Democrats. This is not hyperbole, and the witnesses to this have written the letter below.

“Congressman Mike Ferguson believes every child deserves the best quality health care.” This is what his campaign advertising claims. It might be true if it included the modifier, “in an election year.”

We are N.J. residents whose children’s lives have been threatened by adverse reactions to prescription drugs. We have been meeting with the congressman about drug safety for the last three years. It was only after a huge public outcry that the FDA has finally addressed the potential deadly adverse effects of antidepressants. This has resulted in a black box warning for these drugs as well as a required medication guide to be distributed to parents with each prescription. This guide is meant to fully inform parents of the risks of this category of drugs and their off-label, non-FDA approved use in children and teens. However, we have discovered that these medication guides are not being given to parents as the FDA directed.

We have met with Congressman Ferguson on numerous occasions regarding this matter. We have expressed our hope that he might intervene, as our elected representative, to ensure that this common sense and life-saving regulation is enforced. We have also asked him to sign on to existing bills that ensure and enhance drug safety. While he assured us that he cared about children’s safety, he informed us that he would not sign on to any bill that had been sponsored by a Democratic member of Congress. Apparently, partisan politics is more important than the well-being of the children of New Jersey.

He said this not only in our presence, but in the presence of our children who almost lost their lives.

Despite this setback, we have continued to speak with his staff on this issue; however, over the past year the congressman refused to meet with us personally. We have traveled to Washington multiple times to fight for the children of New Jersey with no response from the congressman. Amazingly, three months before the election we were invited to meet with his senior staff to discuss this issue. This meeting resulted in a letter from the congressman to the FDA demanding answers on this subject on August 31, 2006.

This is a full year after it was brought to his attention, two weeks prior to the Institute of Medicine’s scathing report on the inadequacies of the FDA, and just weeks before Election Day. This is simply too convenient to be coincidental!

To date the Congressman, the Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, has neither signed on nor initiated any legislation for drug safety.

Laurie Yorke
Lisa Van Syckel
Michelle Van Syckel
Ryan Yorke
Nicole Cumber-Teen victim
Dawn Jeronowitz

Mike Ferguson says he is pro-life, pro-family and supports moral values but his actions in refusing to help these parents of sick and injured children tell a completely different story.

Wrong choices. Wrong Congressman.

Contribute to Linda Stender today for a new House and a new future.

Posted by admin at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week a letter to the editor ran from a 14 year old girl named Lindsey Rosenthal from Belle Mead. Lindsey has juvenile diabetes, and tried to talk with Mike Ferguson about supporting embryonic stem cell research to find a cure. Ferguson's staff would not let her, saying that "we cannot even discuss this issue with him because it is against 'pro life.'"

That's right. He refused to talk with a 14 year old girl about finding a cure for her lifelong disease. Well, Lindsey recorded a radio ad for Linda Stender, and you can listen to it right now.

After you listen, remember that Ferguson is the same man who told Tricia Riccio that her paralyzed son would never walk again and refused to discuss embryonic stem cell research with her as well. This race is about a lot of things, but one of the biggest is that Mike Ferguson wants to prevent Lindsey Rosenthal and Carl Riccio from receiving cures to their ailments because of a theory. When we vote him out, we bring these two young people hope and maybe a cure.

And after you get sufficiently steamed about this, be sure to donate as much as you can to Linda Stender so she can run this ad on the radio as many times as possible between now and election day. She needs your help today, tomorrow and next week.

If you don't have the money to give -- and many of us don't -- please call Linda's office at 908-322-1996 and sign up to volunteer for an afternoon. They're paying $125 if you work the weekend before election day and on election day itself, and there's plenty work for volunteers before that!

And be sure to contribute if you can. $5 means a lot when a thousand people give it. We've got 1450 people on our mailing list, and all of you at Dump Mike. Just a little from everyone is that many more times the ad from Lindsey can run.

Posted by admin at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The following letter was published in the October 23, 2006 Courier News.

Ilicit actions mar Ferguson's past

I wonder whether people know or remember that Mike Ferguson's parents illegally bought him his seat in Congress. Ignoring the $1,000 limit, they donated $525,000 to his 2000 election, resulting in the highest fine ever levied on a sitting congressman by the Federal Election Committee. Ferguson paid the $210,000 fine in 2003. I wonder whether he paid it with his $165,000 salary.

Why didn't Congress investigate and censure him? Because he was protected by Tom DeLay, disgraced former majority leader, who resigned over the Jack Abramoff influence peddling and money laundering scandals.

Ferguson and DeLay were joined at the hip -- Ferguson received more campaign contributions from DeLay than anyone else: $185,000 directly and indirectly from DeLay and his close associates, including DeLay's indicted co-defendant in the money laundering case.

In return, Ferguson's PAC, with the witty name MIKE PAC, donated $27,000 to Texas congressional candidates linked to DeLay. Why is our congressman contributing to Texas candidates? Because that's how one hand washes the other with hard cash. There has never been a more inbred and corrupt culture in Washington than there is right now, and it must end.

Do people also know that Mr. Ferguson first ran for Congress in 1998 in Monmouth County against Frank Pallone, and when soundly defeated, Ferguson went district shopping with his mom and dad? That's how we ended up with him in the Seventh District.

Mr. Ferguson declares that all life is sacred yet has voted to delay smog rules, grant the oil and gas industry exemptions from the Clean Water Act and slash the EPA's enforcement budget. Why is life in the womb sacred but the health of people in the environment up for bid to the highest campaign donor?

Enough with corruption; enough with hypocrisy. I am voting for Linda Stender for Congress.

ERIC ZWERLING
Readington

Posted by admin at 07:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following letter was published in the October 18, 2006 Cranford Chronicle:

Ferguson called an 'obedient lapdog'

To The Chronicle:

On Oct. 4, the National Jewish Democratic Council (njdc.org) announced its "Backwards 18," its list of the 18 worst members of the U.S. House and Senate who are running for re-election this year.

Representative Mike Ferguson was chosen for this exclusive list. According to NJDC, Ferguson "is a voice for the extreme right. Despite representing a moderate district, he has voted against every single issue involving the separation of Church and State on which NJDC has spoken out ... and supports a constitutional amendment to overturn Roe vs. Wade. He opposes stem-cell research and supports permitting religious organizations to employ discriminatory practices when making hiring decisions."

Does Ferguson's philosophy of forcing his conservative Christian philosophy upon all Americans through legislation accurately reflect the desires of his congressional district? Does America want a theocracy led by holier-than-thou Republican ayatollahs? Do you want to re-elect an obedient Bush/Cheney lapdog and "rubber stamp"? Have you seen enough incompetent and corrupt Republican leadership since 2001?

For more information about Ferguson, visit the Web sites dumpmike.com, whymikewhy.com, and bluejersey.com.

JOHN CANTILLI
Cranford

Posted by admin at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following letter was published in the October 14, 2006 Home News Tribune.

Congressman says he's for life; what about mine?

I am 14 years old and, like most kids my age, I have dreams. Most kids dream of being an astronaut, actor or sports star. I dream of a cure for juvenile diabetes, a disease I have had since I was 6 years old. For the last eight years of my life, I have spoken out about juvenile diabetes, how it has robbed me of my carefree childhood. I have raised both awareness and funds. I have petitioned politicians to support medical research for a cure. One of the best avenues for a cure is embryonic stem-cell research. I personally have met with Rep. Michael Ferguson, R-7th Dist., three times over the past four years, and his aides told our family that we cannot even discuss this issue with him because it is against "pro life."

Am I not a life?

These embryos that scientists want to use get thrown away if they are not used for research. How is that pro life, Congressman Ferguson? When I recently met with Linda Stender, his Democratic Party opponent in this fall's election, she told me that she would help me achieve my dream, that my dream could actually become a reality. Stender has the ability to change my dreams, and the dreams of everyone who has a disease; you just have to give her a chance.

Vote for Stender. Vote for life.

Lindsey Rosenthal
BELLE MEAD

Posted by admin at 08:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following letter was published in the Courier News on Friday the 13th in October, 2006:

Lawmakers blind to stem cells

It is astonishing to learn that New Jersey Congressmen LoBiondo, Saxton, Smith, Ferguson and Garrett recently voted to kill a measure to provide federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. Study of these stem cells has great potential for discovering the basics of cellular function and holds significant promise for control of chronic diseases.

The proposal was carefully constructed to address moral and ethical concerns by specifically limiting research to excess embryos that are scheduled to be discarded, and only with the written confirmation and informed consent of the donors. These embryos are left over from in vitro fertilization -- a process that fertilizes a number of eggs to produce embryos for implantation and then destroys the extras. Therefore, not one embryo used for stem-cell research would otherwise have become a child.

It is most difficult to justify a logic that assigns a higher moral priority to precluding utilization of about-to-be-discarded, five-day-old frozen blastulas over the ethical and moral imperative to humanely attempt to relieve significant medical suffering among our living population.

There is hardly a single New Jersey family that has not experienced the suffering from diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, cancer and diabetes by a member or dear friend. These chronic, degenerative and often fatal diseases could someday be treated or prevented as a result of embryonic stem-cell research.

When voters go to the polls Nov. 7, they should carefully consider the merit of returning these congressmen to Washington.

ARTHUR L. YEAGER
Edison

Posted by admin at 07:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week we learned that Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-NJ7) had taken $3,000 in campaign cash from Rep. Mark Foley, a Congressman who used his power and authority to engage in cybersex with underage teenage boys.

Of course, just taking money from one sexual deviant doesn't mean anything. I mean, Foley gave money to a lot of different people.

What if it is two?

Last November Rep. Don Sherwood settled a $5.5 million lawsuit filed against him by the woman he was cheating on his wife with. Sherwood's mistress claimed the following:

The suit alleges that on June 24, 2004, "without any reason or justification, Defendant Sherwood repeatedly struck the Plaintiff's face, neck, chest and back with a closed fist, and began violently choking her." The suit adds that on numerous occasions prior to and subsequent to June 24, Ore was "violently physically assailed."

The lawsuit continues, "Following each unprovoked and vicious attack, Defendant Sherwood reaffirmed his romantic intentions and promised the Plaintiff that he would not assault her in the future, and pleaded for her to remain in the relationship."

Ferguson donated to charity $2,000 of the $3,000 he received from Foley.

But to date Ferguson has kept the $2000 he has received from Sherwood's Doing Our Nation's Service PAC.

Ferguson won't keep money from a guy who preys on teenage boys, but as long as there is no publicity he is more than happy to keep money from a guy who cheats on his wife and beats his mistress.

The fact is that Mike Ferguson is willing to take money from anyone no matter how corrupt their politics or personal behavior. All four members of Congress leaving office in disgrace – Republicans Duke Cunningham (convicted), Tom DeLay (indicted), Bob Ney (convicted) and Mark Foley (admitted) – have given a combined $65,000 plus to Ferguson over the years, and so far only $3,000 of it has been donated to charity or returned.

Ferguson should be giving the money he received from corrupt politicians because it is the right thing to do, not because of the publicity. But it is the publicity Ferguson cares about.

Wrong choices, wrong Congressman.

Posted by admin at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have maintained over time that Mike Ferguson is not such a bad guy or father, but an incompetent and weak Congressman who makes wrong choices for his district and our country. The guy is, I've said, a lightweight who has been propelled forward by rich parents, powerful forces from the religous right, and corrupt DC Republicans like Tom DeLay, Bob Ney and Jack Abramoff.

But sometimes you have to wonder if he is a lightweight or just meanspirited like the rest of the DC Republican leadership. Check out this from Tom Moran's column in the Star Ledger:

If you were to design a weapon against Republican Congressman Mike Ferguson, you could not do much better than Tricia Riccio. ...

She is an articulate soccer mom whose son, Carl, broke his neck during a high school wrestling match in 2003.

Since then, she has become a crusader for embryonic stem cell research, on the reasonable grounds that it presents the only chance her son will ever lift himself out of his wheelchair and walk. ...

But Riccio had something more. She made it personal. She made Ferguson sound cruel.

In a meeting in his office last year, she said, Ferguson flat-out told her that her son's case was hopeless.

"He said, 'Mrs. Riccio, your son is not going to walk in his lifetime.'"

Not only is this an unbelievably cruel thing to say, and unbelievable stupid considering Ferguson has absolutely no training in medicine, but it is also unbelievable obtuse. Ferguson voted to block funding for embryonic stem cell research, the very teatment that could allow Mrs. Riccio's son to walk again!

If that treatment doesn't arrive in time for her son to benefit, it will be Congressmen like Mike Ferguson's fault. Yet he has the gall to stand there and tell a grieving mother that her son will never walk again without taking any responsibility for that reality.

Worse still, Ferguson constantly hides his opposition to embryonic stem cell research by claiming that adult stem cell research is just as beneficial. But his statement to Mrs. Ricci proves that he doesn't believe that! He clearly told her that there is no medicine -- including the adult stem cell research he pushes and an alternative -- that will help her son even though real scientists with real training and real research say that embryonic stem cell research can help.

It's shocking that Ferguson is allowed to pretend to have family values and care about children. He doesn't have either.

Wrong choices, wrong Congressman. And just downright mean.

Posted by admin at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned his seat in Congress over some e-mails he'd written to former pages and other young men, abusing his power and position in an effort to curry favor with the boys.

This is the fourth Republican member of Congress to give up their Congressional seat in the past year.

• Randy "Duke Cunningham (R-CA) resigned after taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from military contractors in return for government contracts;
• Tom DeLay (R-TX) resigned his seat under a cloud from the Jack Abramoff scandal and an indictment for campaign finance crimes;
• Bob Ney (R-OH) abandoned his reelection campaign and gave up his House leadership position and will leave Congress in January;
• And now Mark Foley (R-FL).

The connection to Mike Ferguson? Every single one of these disgraced, corrupt members of Congress have donated campaign cash to Mike Ferguson's campaign. Cunningham gave Ferguson $1,000 which Ferguson later donated to charity. Tom DeLay gave Ferguson $54,403 and directed hundreds of thousands more. Bob Ney gave Ferguson $7,500.

And Mark Foley, the latest Republican to resign for abusing the power of his office, contributed $2000 to Ferguson's campaign.

No matter what Republican corruption happens in Washington DC, Mike Ferguson is always in the middle with his hand out taking the corrupt Congressman's cash.

Wrong choices, wrong Congressman.

Posted by admin at 09:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Congressman Mike Ferguson repeatedly stands up and defends the Bush Administration's No Child Left Behind and other educational policies, standing on his history as an "educator" to demonstrate his patriotic and pure love of children.

But when the Bush administration is proven to fail in educating children, all you hear from Ferguson are the crickets in the background. Chirp, chirp, chirp.

For instance, you will hear nothing from his campaign or constituent office about this:

A scorching internal review of the Bush administration’s reading program says the Education Department ignored the law and ethical standards to steer money how it wanted.

The government audit is unsparing in its review of how Reading First, a billion-dollar program each year, that it says has been beset by conflicts of interest and willful mismanagement. It suggests the department broke the law by trying to dictate which curriculum schools must use.

It also depicts a program in which review panels were stacked with people who shared the director’s views and in which only favored publishers of reading curricula could get money.

That's not a liberal blog attacking the administration, or a Democratic Congressman. That is the administration's own assessment of the program -- that is is run illegally, incompetently and corruptly.

That's our money -- our tax money -- being wasted on campaign supporters, and Mike Ferguson won't say a word.

Those are our children being shortchanged on their educations, and Mike Ferguson won't say a word.

These are the true colors of Mike Ferguson, a pure Bush-supporter who stands up for his leader and not for his constituents.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Posted by admin at 05:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For all the talk of Mike Ferguson being beholden to Tom DeLay's crowd, Jack Abramoff, President Bush and the lobbyists who fill his campaign accounts, we often miss the fact that his votes usually benefit himself as the son of rich parents who have already given him a million dollars and will give him more as inheritance.

The recent House vote on the minimum wage is a perfect example. Ferguson had the opportunity to do good for the working poor of our nation, and instead tried to do well for himself.

The original idea was fairly simple: raise the national minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years. This means a person working 40 hours a week with no vacations or days off would get a raise from $10,775 to $15,175 (approximately).

It's not a lot, but an extra $4,500 or so is nothing to sneeze at for someone making $50,000. For someone making $10K it's a huge increase. It would also be the first increase in the national minimum wage since 1997.

Just for reference, 2006 federal poverty guidelines put the poverty level for a single person at $14,700. Even with the increase (and assuming the poverty level doesn’t rise) this increase would mean a person working full time with no breaks would make less than $500 more than poverty in 2009.

Mike Ferguson voted against this bill, refusing to bring it to the floor for an up or down vote.

Why? Because the Republican leadership wanted to tack on an Estate Tax Cut to the bill, which would give the children of rich parents a massive tax break when they inherit the family wealth. Ferguson voted for that bill, tying a minimum wage hike allowing the working poor to exceed poverty by less than $500 so he could get a tax break on the family wealth.

Remember, this is a guy who has voted repeatedly to accept raises himself. He made $141,300 in 2001 when he first took office, and in 2007 will make $168,500. That's a pay increase of $27,2300 -- more than twice what a full-time minimum wage worker makes today.

Even worse, New Jersey raised its minimum wage to $7.15 as of this October so by blocking a national minimum wage increase he is allowing employers in surrounding states to pay lower wages, taking jobs out of New Jersey at a time when employment is hard to get.

He accepted his own raises, but refused to give the working poor a raise unless he also got a massive tax break on his inheritance.

Wrong choices, wrong Congressman. Mike Ferguson.

Posted by admin at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Linda Stender's latest campaign piece [see it in PDF, or in PNG after the jump] hit mailboxes today, again slamming Mike Ferguson (R-NJ7) for opposing promising new avenues of medical research.

This is the first time they have used the new theme, "Why Mike? Why?" in a literature piece, and it comes on the same day they launched a website by the same name. It looks like this is going to be the new theme for the campaign.

It works on a couple of levels. The first is plaintive, asking, "Why do you vote/behave/think like that, Mike? Why?" The second is, "Why should I vote for Mike if he doesn't represent my values? Why?"

The positive hit for Stender:

Linda Stender supports stem cell research to give our families hope. As a member of the state Legislature, Linda has been a leader in funding research efforts in New Jersey.

As a member of Congress, Linda will support stem cell research to unlock cures for illnesses that harm our loved ones.

Tuesday, November 7th Vote Stender for Congress

The negative on Ferguson:

But Congressman Mike Ferguson VOTES AGAINST HOPE

Ferguson opposes embryonic stem cell research that could unlock cures for cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes.

Ferguson marches lock-step wit President Bush and other ideologues that put their narrow views before science -- and before hope.

Why Mike? Why?
For more information, visit www.whymikewhy.com

This is probably her best lit piece I've seen, and the Why Mike? Why? theme might work if it is used properly.

Continue reading "Stender Mailer: Mike Ferguson Opposes Embryonic Stem Cell Research" »

Posted by admin at 08:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Linda Stender is hitting back at Mike Ferguson with mailings, a radio ad and -- from what I hear -- a television ad up on cable. I haven't seen it, but if you have put it in the comments. These three posts are the current pieces going out in the mail.

The third is about Ferguson's radical opposition to embryonic stem cell research and women’s right to choose. You can click on either image to get to a pdf of the piece and mail it to your friends.

Front


Back

Posted by admin at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following letter was published in the July 23, 2006 Home News Tribune:

Change the vote on stem-cell research

With a stockpile of hundreds of thousands of stored, surplus, frozen, few-days-old human embryos that are no longer needed for in vitro fertilization and are heading to be discarded as medical waste, one must sincerely question the values of President George W. Bush and all those who are opposing the use of some of these rudimentary cells to conduct stem-cell investigation instead of their disposal.

Because cells from early embryos have the capacity to become every human structure, understanding how they work promises to yield the greatest information about how tissues form, develop and function when diseased.

What sort of twisted morality assigns a higher ethical value to soon-to-be-destroyed embryos that will never become a person over the most promising research pathways to both understanding and relieving the vast human suffering from diseases?

Since 2001, by presidential edict and now with Bush's veto, federal funding for this important research has been severely restricted. Five years of vital time already has been lost. To prevent further delay, Congress must now muster a two-thirds vote to override. About 50 representatives and four senators must change their no votes to yes to reject the veto.

New Jersey families who have experienced Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, MS and paralysis from spinal-cord injury should immediately call Reps. Ferguson, Garrett, LoBiondo, Saxton and Smith to urge them to change their minds and vote to override President Bush's ill-advised veto.

Arthur L. Yeager
EDISON

Posted by admin at 07:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On February 10, 2004 Congressman Mike Ferguson signed on as a cosponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) which would deny same sex couples the right to marry anywhere in the United States, regardless of what the voters and citizens of that state wanted.

On July 18, 2006 Congressman Mike Ferguson voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment yet strangely his name is no longer attached to the bill as a cosponsor.

Why would he take his name of the bill if he still supports the bill? Is Mike Ferguson going soft on the issue of same sex marriage?

Or was he backing a popular President George Bush in 2004 by cosponsoring the bill, and now trying to run away from an unpopular George Bush in 2006?

Posted by admin at 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

NETWORK, a Catholic organization dedicated to social justice, gives out an annual report card on all House and Senate members. They gave Congressman Mike Ferguson a zero (0) for the 2005-2006 cycle.

That's right, a Catholic organization started by 47 nuns gave Michael Ferguson a 0 for his concern for the poor, minorities, immigrants and the people of Iraq.

Here's a picture of these nice folks:

Here's their description:

Through lobbying and legislative advocacy, we strive to close the gap between rich and poor and to dismantle policies rooted in racism, greed and violence.

NETWORK’s membership, which includes both individuals and organizations, represents more than 100,000 people. This vast constituency is committed and active. When our national office puts out the word that Congress needs to hear from our members on critical legislation, our members respond by calling, writing, emailing or visiting their Senators and Representatives, and by mobilizing others to take action as well.

Since our founding in 1971 by 47 Catholic sisters, NETWORK has been faithfully answering the Gospel call to act for justice.

Posted by admin at 06:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Though he is no longer a sponsor of the bill, Mike Ferguson voted today to pass a Constitutional Amendment banning gays from being legally married.

When he first ran for Congress, Ferguson had the endorsement of the left of center Human Rights Campaign and the right of center Log Cabin Republicans because he presented himself as a moderate on gay rights issues. He has since lost the support of both organizations because of his lurch to the radical right.

It is the same with his environmental record. In 2000 and 2002 Ferguson pretended to be a moderate and received the support of organizations such as the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club. He has since jumped onto the right wing Republican bandwagon and lost the support of every single environmental group that backed him in the past.

Ferguson introduced himself to the public as a moderate Republican and has tried to maintain that facade. The truth is not in his flyers and website, but in his votes. And in his votes he is 100 percent in line with the right wing Republicans currently running DC and our country into the poor house.

UPDATE: After the jump

Continue reading "Mike Ferguson Moves To The Right Again" »

Posted by admin at 07:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The following letter was published in the Courier News on July 5, 2006:

Mike Ferguson's recent campaign ad praising himself for the removal of mercury in Hillsborough is yet another election year ploy by the Republican congressman.

The facts concerning the mercury removal are this: Nevada has yet to approve the transfer, and the Defense Department has no firm scheduled removal date. The chances of the removal ever happening are dubious at best. Yet Ferguson tries to deceive the voting public once again. Ferguson has voted with Bush on every failed policy out of this failed administration.

We don't need another rubber-stamp Bush sycophant in Congress.

JAN FLEEDLE
Hillsborough

Posted by admin at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Blue 7th PAC member was wandering around Mike Ferguson's website looking for information when she noticed something very interesting. On page after page there were pictures of Mike Ferguson meeting with the people, with seniors, kids, soldiers, veterans, and other everyday folks.

And every single one of them was white. Not just the one-on-one pics, but all the people in the crowd photos and the classroom photos. There is not one single minority on the whole website.

We decided to check this out, and so we downloaded every single photograph from the website and checked them out. We enlarged them, looked at little arms sticking into a picture and legs walking out of them. We're pretty sure there are only white people on Mike Ferguson's campaign web site. It's at http://www.fergusonforcongress.com if you want to take a look.

According to the Census, the current 7th district had 15.414 Asian households, 11,405 Hispanic households, and 8,684 African American Households in 2000. Where are they in Mike's world?

Below the jump are all the pictures from the Ferguson for Congress web site. You can click on any one of them to see the picture taken off the Ferguson for Congress site without any alteration or photoshopping.

Continue reading "Mike Ferguson's Whites Only Website" »

Posted by admin at 03:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

The following letter was published in the Cranford Chronicle on Thursday, June 29, 2006

No support for the middle class

To The Chronicle:

Another Congressional scorecard has been issued, and U.S. Representative Mike Ferguson has received another failing grade. This new scorecard was released by the Drum Major Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit progressive think tank based in New York. The title of DMI's report is Congress at the Midterm: Their 2005 Middle-Class Record.

Representatives were graded on their votes on eight House bills, which addressed issues such as estate tax repeal, bankruptcy and consumer protection, energy policy, small business health insurance, and cuts in domestic programs. Mike Ferguson scored zero percent and was awarded a grade of "F".

Overall, Republican representatives from New Jersey scored 0-50 percent, and Democrats scored 75-100 percent. With his votes, Ferguson was part of a Congress that, in the report's words, "disdained the concerns of middle-class Americans and opted instead to favor the already wealthy and powerful in vote after vote... (and) championed the wish lists of oil companies, the insurance industry, and credit card issuers over the concerns of middle-class consumers and small businesses."

Let's take a brief look at just one of the eight House votes, the repeal of the estate tax. This tax affects less than 1 percent of the wealthiest American families. Elimination of this tax would cost the United States nearly $1 trillion in lost revenue in the first ten years after repeal. Mike Ferguson voted to eliminate the estate tax. Which domestic programs will he be willing to destroy in order to pay for this trillion-dollar loss? Medicare? Medicaid? College loans? In 2005, Ferguson voted to cut $39 billion from these programs as part of the ironically named "Deficit Reduction Act" -- never mind that the huge federal deficit is largely a result of President Bush's irresponsible and lopsided tax cuts, which were supported by Mike "Rubber Stamp" Ferguson.

According to a recent analysis of national census data by the Brookings Institute, the middle class is shrinking. Between 1970 and 2000, middle-income metropolitan neighborhoods declined from 58 percent to 41 percent, and middle-class suburban neighborhoods decreased from 64 percent to 44 percent. Middle-class families in metro areas fell from 28 percent to less than 22 percent. These shifts have been accompanied by an increase in lower-income families.

Mike Ferguson just wants more of the same. Since 2001, Ferguson's House votes show that he cares most about millionaires and big corporations, and has little regard for middle-class families. How many failing grades must Ferguson receive before we fire him and send him home?

JOHN CANTILLI
Cranford

Posted by admin at 05:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Free Will, we have a letter from Congressman Mike Ferguson putting him on the record regarding same sex marriage. What he doesn't not is that not only did he vote for the amendment to bar gays from marrying each other and raising families, but he is a co-sponsor of the bill.

June 7, 2006

XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX
North Plainfield, NJ

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution. I appreciate hearing from you and having the benefit of your views.

As you know, the House on September 30, 2004, voted on a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The House vote, 222-186, fell short of the two-thirds majority required to approve an amendment to the Constitution. I voted for the amendment in the House.

I believe the institution of marriage between a man and a woman is a sacred bond that has been protected for centuries by law, custom and religious belief. It is the foundation of our society and our culture, and marriage between a man and a woman should be protected in law, especially from activist judges who are now attempting to re-define marriage.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your opinions, and please visit my website at www.house.gov/Ferguson for information on other issues important to New Jersey's 7th Congressional District.

Sincerely,
Mike Ferguson
Member of Congress

Please do not respond to this email; this account cannot receive email. To contact Congressman Ferguson, please use the email function on the website www.house.gov/ferguson.

Posted by admin at 06:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It's 2006, and every member of Congress wants to get lots of press. Getting into Time Magazine is a doozy, and campaigns drool over the opportunity to have their guy sent into millions of homes.

Well, unless it's reminding people of the time your candidate was hanging out in a Georgtown bar and was accused of harassing a coed.

Shared bathrooms, bacheloresque cooking mishaps — it's a fitting lifestyle for a group whose official perks include, according to Wikipedia, "low-cost haircuts" and a gym membership. Also, their signature is worth as much as a stamp. (Which, come to the think of it, was the hallmark of another penny-ante House scandal of the '90s.) And as for that Congressional pin that can get you around Hill metal detectors, well, that and $2,800 can buy you a really nice dinner. It's not even much of a chick magnet; in 2003, New Jersey Representative Mike Ferguson made the Washington Post with his late-night attempt to impress a Georgetown student:

"Mezoe said the incident began around 1 a.m. as she strolled past Ferguson, who was leaning against the bar on the second floor. She said Ferguson, a Georgetown alum, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward him, introducing himself as a member of Congress. He pulled out his congressional ID card, she said, and pointed to his pin. "That's special," she said sarcastically. "Yes, it is special," he replied earnestly, she said."

So no wonder they cheat.

The whole story from the Washington Post is here, and in the extended entry.

More on this story from Dump Mike here and here.

Continue reading "Mike Ferguson Makes Time Magazine" »

Posted by admin at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congresmman Mike Ferguson opposes abortion, but he also opposes policies and legislation that would reduce the number of abortions in the United States and abroad.

There is a bill in front of the Subcommittee on Health, where Ferguson is co-chair, that would increase funding and availability of contraceptives and family planning education for poor women. This, in turn, would reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and result in a dramatically lower number of abortions. The Bush administration estimates that there are 3 million unwanted pregnancies a year, with 50 percent ending in abortions.

Now new evidence from the Bush administration demonstrates that the number of unwanted pregnancies among poor women is skyrocketing under Republican "pro-life" policies, resulting in even more abortions.

Poor women in America are increasingly likely to have unwanted pregnancies, whereas relatively affluent women are succeeding more and more in getting pregnant only when they want to, according to a study analyzing federal statistics.

As a result of the growing disparity, women living in poverty are now almost four times more likely to become pregnant unintentionally than women of greater means, the study found.

Based on nationwide data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics and other sources, the researchers found that from 1994 through 2001, the rate of unplanned pregnancies increased by almost 30 percent for women below the federal poverty line -- now defined as $16,000 annually for a family of three. For women in families comfortably above poverty, the rate of unplanned pregnancies fell by 20 percent during the same period.

The abortion rate also rose among poor women while declining among the more affluent.

The Republican took over the House and Senate in 1994, and the White House in 2001. During that time they have radically reduced access to family planning and contraception, choosing to focus only on abstinence education to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Abstinence education has a place, since teenagers are often not ready for the emotional or other costs of sex and pregnancies, but only when it is coupled with realistic prevention messages, as well.

Congressman Ferguson is one of the most absolutist opponents of contraception, family planning and abortion. He is so radical that his own colleagues call him "Mr. Embryo", and that radical position is hurting poor women. Unwanted pregnancies create financial burdens, empotional stress, hurt families, and end in abortion as often as they result in children.

Posted by admin at 05:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Earlier this year Mike Ferguson voted for a law that would make all undocumented immigrants felons and criminalize anyone offering assistance to undocumented immigrants. That includes churches and lay community groups offering food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless and comfort to the afflicted. The bill was so draconian that the Catholic leader of Los Angelos, Cardinal Mahoney, instructed all priests to violate the law if it passed.

Ferguson has yet to defend his vote, and his staff has refused to answer questions about his rationale. Yesterday scores of immigrants and supporters of immigration reform rallied at his office, and according to eyewitnesses the staff refused to come out an meet with the ralliers. But staff was happy to return the call of a Courier News reporter:

More than 100 people demonstrated for immigrant rights outside Plainfield City Hall, about 70 people protested at Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson's office in Warren, according to workers there, and a small group showed up at Rep.Rodney Frelinghuysen's Morristown office.

This repeats a pattern for the Ferguson office: they dodge or refuse to answer questions from constituents, yet they will talk to the newspapers at any time.

Continue reading "Immigration Rally At Ferguson's Office" »

Posted by admin at 06:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DumpMike published a piece last month about how Rep. Mike Ferguson's staffers are not very good at constituent support, and prefer to toe the party line rather than give real answers to questions. The Turnpike Feminist decided to relay her own story about a meeting with staff, and it turns out we were wrong about their preference for not giving real answers. (formatting added)

We were talking about the budget cuts, the millions of dollars lost to New Jerseyeans including tuition help and medicare and food stamps. The chief of staff made it clear to me that keeping the tax cuts for the rich from the year before was �a priority�.

I said, �More of a priority than the poorer folk of New Jersey?� He looked at me, obviously irritated that the girl in the crazy red hair was asking him to prioritize.

�The congressman thinks that boosting the economy is a priority,� he said. But I wasnt going to let him get away with that.

�I�m asking you to prioritize this for me,� I said. �Does the congressman feel that keeping last years tax cuts is more of a priority than food stamps, medicaid, tuition, and social programs for New Jerseyeans?� I pushed.

�Well,� he said. �Yes.�

If this is really Rep. Ferguson's position, that would be pretty big news. If it's not his position, then how can 7th district residents trust anything that Ferguson's staff tells them?

So let's find out. Please contact the Congressman and ask if he really believes that making President Bush's tax cuts permanent is more important that providing food stamps, medical, tuition and other social programs for the residents of the 7th district. We expect to get no answer, as the Ferguson staff prefers not to answer the tough questions, but if you do get one please use the comments at Dump Mike to tell us what the response was.

You can contact Mike Ferguson's office at:

Warren, NJ: (908) 757-7835 (v) or (908) 757-7841 (f) or e-mail
Washington, DC: (202) 225-5361 (v) or (202) 225-9460 (f) or e-mail
Campaign Office: (732) 560-4700 (v) or (732) 560-4790 (f) or e-mail.

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

Congressman Mike Ferguson's opposition to contraception and family planning services is a lesser known cousin to his fervent opposition to abortion. It is all tied up in the Right to Life community he is beholden to. His positions on contraception, abortion, embryonic stem cell research and other issues are so far out of the mainstream that his colleagues in the House jokingly call him "Mr. Embryo." He opposes such common sense programs such as requiring hospitals to inform rape victims that emergency contraception is available.

Recently a constituent received a letter from Ferguson that further illustrates his radical position, and his willingness to ignore facts and research to support it. The entire letter is printed after this post, with the recipient's name and address redacted, but here is the relevant part:

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) on June 16, 2005, offered an amendment to H.R. 2862, the annual appropriations bill that finances the State, Justice and Commerce departments, which would lift restrictions on U.S. taxpayer assistance to UNFPA. [United Nations� Population Fund]

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced July 17, 2004, that UNFPA helped China manage programs that involved forced abortions. Powell said at the time that the administration would continue to help women and children around the world through other programs. The United States is the largest donor of bilateral assistance to help improve the health of women and children and provided more than $1.8 billion in 2004 through a U.S. Agency for International Development fund

Rep. Maloney�s amendment failed 192-233, and I voted against the amendment in the House. I believe it is wrong for U.S. taxpayers to subsidize a program that aids in coerced abortions and forced sterilizations in China.

It's true that the administration claims that the UNFPA is involved in China's programs, but it's also true that they have no evidence to back up the claim.

Continue reading "Ferguson: Out of the Mainstream on Contraception" »

Posted by admin at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Courier News editorial takes Mike Ferguson to task for toting water for the Bush adminsitration in the budget vote last week, taking the same position Dump Mike did last week.

In New Jersey, there are more than 124,000 student borrowers who will graduate from college with a sheepskin diploma and an average of $17,000 in student debt. With tuition prices continuing their upward spiral at both public and private universities, it should come as no surprise that more students are going into debt, taking out more loans and struggling to pay them back.

So what did Congress do about this student debt crisis? Instead of helping to pull students out of increasing debt loads, it threw them a shovel. Last week, Congress voted to pass the federal budget reconciliation act, which includes more than $39 billion in funding cuts. More than $12 billion -- roughly 30 percent of the cuts -- will come directly from student loan programs. The cuts are staggering; they are easily the largest cuts in student aid in history.

The mainly party-line vote was decided by a razor-thin margin of 216 to 214 -- one vote would have made the difference. Thirteen moderate Republican congressmen, including Rep. Chris Smith, voted against the bill, citing the vast level of funding cuts. Four of those "no" votes were from Republicans who reversed their votes from last December. Rep. Mike Ferguson, who had expressed concern with parts of the bill and held one of the decisive votes, voted for the budget and the largest student aid cuts in history.

This debt has many consequences. It stops thousands of qualified students every year from attending college in the first place. It causes students to work more and study less while in school -- nearly half of full-time students work 25 hours or more every week. Right now, even with campus jobs, family contributions and federal aid, students still come up short with more than $3,900 in what is euphemistically called "unmet need." For low-income students, it's worse -- more than $4,900 of "unmet need."

Posted by admin at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Blue 7th PAC is calling on Congressman Mike Ferguson to immediately condemn recent hateful statements by leading conservative and former Republican Presidential candidate Rev. Pat Robertson.

Speaking on the "700 Club" on Thursday, January 5, Robertson suggested that the massive, life-threatening stroke and cerebral hemorrhage Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered last week was punishment by God for dividing Israel, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Robertson went on to say the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was also God's will for the same action.

"Leadership means standing up for what is right, even when it is difficult to do so," said Nathan Rudy, chair of Blue 7th PAC. "By not standing up to Reverend Robertson's misguided and ignorant statements about Prime Minister Sharon's health and Israeli politics, Ferguson shows himself once again he lacks the leadership we need in Congress."

Continue reading "Blue 7th PAC calls on Congressman Ferguson to Condemn Robertson's Anti-Sharon and Anti-Rabin Statements" »

Posted by admin at 05:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'll admit that this headline is misleading, though it is absolutely correct. In a vote on September 22, Congressman Mike Ferguson voted to allow federal Head Start money to be used by religious organizations that discriminate on the basis of religion. Here's the text the House passed and Rep. Ferguson voted for:

654 NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS.

(a)(1) The Secretary shall not provide financial assistance for any program, project, or activity under this subchapter unless the grant or contract with respect thereto specifically provides that no person with responsibilities in the operation thereof will discriminate with respect to any such program, project, or activity because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, political affiliation, or beliefs.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a recipient of financial assistance under this subchapter that is a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society, with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its activities. Such recipients shall comply with the other requirements contained in this subsection.

This couldn't be much clearer: schools based in religious organizations or churches that receive Head Start funds would be allowed to deny employment to people of other religions or even sects of their religion. In fact, they could fire existing teachers who are not of their religion, no matter how good or loved these teachers are by the students.

Since the vast majority of the House is Christian of some sort, it's pretty clear this is intended to allow Christian churches to hire only Christian teachers if they want, and fire non-Christians.

What this misses is that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States, and that mosques that run Head Start programs would be allowed to fire any Christians working in the program, and to deny employment to them. They'd also be allowed to fire Jews, Deists, Mormons, etc. Anyone they want.

It misses that Judaism is the second largest religion in the United States, and temples or other Jewish religious organizations that run Head Start programs could fire or not hire Christians, Deists, Mormons, Muslims, etc.

Same is true for Buddhists, Hindus, Scientologists, Wicca, Animists, Pagans, etc. All religions would be allowed to discriminate against each other and use federal tax dollars to do it.

Not only is this un-American in nature, but it is also imprudent. Head Start programs don't pay their teachers much to start with, and certainly not a living wage. That means the people who take these jobs are often dedicated and committed to helping poor children get a leg up out of poverty.

But there are not a lot of people like this, and there are not lines around the corner looking for one of these jobs when they open up. By adding a religious test to the hiring process, you severely shrink the pool of qualified applicants and reduce the quality of Head Start programs that are often the difference between a successful life and a failed life.

The Senate has not voted on extending the Head Start program yet, and is likely to leave out this provision allowing employment discrimination. This will result in a committee of House and Senate members determining the final version of the bill. It is still possible that the provision would be stripped out of Head Start with the proper pressure.

Contact Congressman Ferguson to tell him that you don't want your tax dollars paying for discriminatory hiring practices, and to support a resolution calling on the reconciliation committee to strip the offending language from the bill.

You can write or call his office at 908-757-7835.

You can do the same in newspapers by writing to the Courier News at letters@c-n.com, the Home News Tribune at letters@thnt.com, the Star Ledger at

Posted by admin at 07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of the first things that President Bush did after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast was suspend a 75 year old law called the Davis-Bacon Act* that requires federal contractors working on public buildings and works to pay the local prevailing wages and benefits. This ensures that federal dollars are not being used to undercut local labor and hurt the local economy.

Government contractors will be able to pay low wages to their employees -- even shipping them in from outside the region -- with the potential for huge cost savings. The Denver Post reports that the savings for the contractors do not necessarily have to pass back to taxpayers:

Bush's proclamation suspending Davis-Bacon made no effort to ensure that that the savings that contractors will reap be passed on to the taxpayers.

Josh Marshall of TalkingPoints Memo writes that this is a very unusual move:

As far as we can tell ... the Davis-Bacon Act has only been suspended in response to a natural disaster once since it was enacted in 1931. That was by the president's father in 1992 in response to Hurricane Andrew -- and that mainly because he needed to appeal to right-wingers in the lead-up to the election.

So here we have a proclamation that overturns 75 years of labor law for only the second time, allows contractors to lower their costs yet guarantees no savings for the American taxpayers.

Congressman Mike Ferguson was called by a constituent to see where he stands on this effort to cut wages for people who are trying to get by after the worst natural disaster in years.

I just called the DC office of Congressman Mike Ferguson (R - NJ7), my rep (unfortunately) and asked "does the congressman support the suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 as it relates to the reconstruction in New Orleans" and was told "this is an area of deep concern for the congressman - he's working now to make sure that the suspension is only temporary."

"How temporary?" I asked.

"Well, that's the million dollar question, and we're working really hard on that right now."

My take is that he supports the suspension and this is the PR response. Of COURSE it's temporary - as soon as the reconstruction of New Orleans is complete the suspension will be lifted.

This was on Friday. If they are "working really hard" on the question they should have had some movement on how long they think that people working to rebuild New Orleans and the surrounding areas should be paid sub-standard wages with our tax dollars.

So please call Congressman Ferguson's office at 908-757-7835 or write him on his website and ask for a definitive position on the suspension of Davis-Bacon.

Then send the Congressman's staffers' responses to dumpmike@gmail.com or mail copies to Blue 7th PAC, 184 Sandford Avenue, North Plainfield, NJ 07060.

Posted by admin at 06:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In 2003, both the House and Senate passed legislation to extend the child tax credit from $600 to $1000 for low income families. This was a tax cut that went to people who needed it, and would spend it quickly to put the money to work in the economy.

The Senate version allowed for this tax credit to take effect immediately, but the House version delayed its implementation. Because the two versions differed, a conference committee between the Senate and House was called.

Democrats in the House wanted to ensure that the tax credit took effect immediately, and that no additional tax breaks for higher income people beyond those that had already passed earlier in the year. They proposed a resolution that would instruct the House members of the conference committee to support these two goals.

On 14 separate occasions, the Democrats put up this effort to help poor families with children, and 12 consecutive times from July 25 to November 6, 2003 Mike Ferguson voted NO.

The other two times? Mike missed the vote.

Roll Call 396 -- July 18, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson was Absent
Roll Call 398 -- July 23, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson was Absent
Roll Call 446 -- July 25, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 447 -- July 25, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 449 -- July 25, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 477 -- September 5, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 493 -- September 10, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 501 -- September 10, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 509 -- September 23, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 525 -- September 30, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 529 -- October 1, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 541 -- October 15, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 572 -- October 28, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No
Roll Call 614 -- November 6, 2003 -- Mike Ferguson voted No

Posted by admin at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)