Congressman Walsh Lied to Rochester (With Audio!)
Ok, I know everyone has heard way too much about my broken wrist, but here’s a good anecdote…
So, during my first class back to Tae Kwon Do after a 5 month foot injury, I slipped and broke my wrist. As is often the case with stubborn men, I waited till the morning to see if I was still in agony before going to the emergency room. As my luck would have it, I was still quite broken.
So on a Wednesday, August Ninth as I was driving to visit the doctor and get a stylish black cast wrapped around on my hand. I flipped NPR on and who did I hear on 1370 Connection, but the man with no plan himself, Congressman Jim Walsh.
So with my right hand elevated, my left hand on the wheel and a cell phone wedged between my ear and shoulder, I called up to ask a simple question… Why did you vote for the minimum wage hike before you voted against it? You see, Jim Walsh recently voted yes on the House Appropriations committee to send a vote on a minimum wage hike to the floor, but when it arrived he voted against it!
I was determined to get my question in. I just wanted a simple explanation, but instead I got a direct lie (Audio here)! Walsh actually told me he’s “never voted against the minimum wage,†even though he had just done so a month and a half earlier. When confronted with the fact that he also voted to give himself and the rest of congress a pay raise to $168,500, Congressman Walsh told me that was an “automatic.†Excuse me, but you’re not only on the House Appropriations committee which determines said raises, I believe this was a vote on the house floor, and you voted for it! What part of voting yes on a bill makes it automatic?
It’s unbelievable that somebody like Congressman Walsh feels he can lie without repercussions. I’d encourage everyone to call or write Congressman Walsh to find out not only why he’s opposed to giving working American’s a raise from a meager $5.15 per hour (yes I say $5.25 in the clip, but hey… my hand was throbbing and twice it’s usual size at this point).
Congressman Walsh… All I wanted to know why you felt you had to flip flop on this pivotal issue, but instead you claimed I didn’t know what I was talking and proceeded to lie to YOUR constituents. For shame…
-J
I like him asking “what is five twenty five?”
I find these kinds of things confusing. Proposed increases to the minimum wage get attached to different bills. So you could vote against the bill even though you support a minimum wage increase. We know, for example, Republicans have attached minimum wage increases to some very bad legislation recently. It’s hard for even relatively informed citicizens to keep it all straight.
With that said, if that’s why he voted against the bill I’d like to hear him say that, instead of acting as if he didn’t know what you were talking about. I suppose it is possible that he didn’t even know what he voted against.
Nice job, J! I wish the regular media were asking questions like that to our elected officals.
I will bump this tomorrow and cross post it to daily kos.
Walsh also said he was opposed to a minimum wage increase on the National Political Awareness Test conducted by Project Vote Smart (www.vote-smart.org). Of course, this was from 2004 so either Walsh has recently become distressed over the plight of the working man or he knows he can’t get away with such an unpopular position anymore.
[...] Well I figured it was time for me to weigh in today.ÂÂ I’m sure everybody has already seen my post from a month ago where Congressman Walsh lied to me on the radio.ÂÂ Well I just found out the NY State Democratic Committee put out a Press Release regarding this conversation, and Majority Action cut a Television commercial featuring clips from our little chat. [...]
[...] One of the things I’m curious about is what Kuhl, Reynolds, and Walsh would say about torture. My prediction: Walsh: I never voted for torture, the torture kicks in automatically. [...]
[...] Heeeeee’s baaaaaaack! That’s right folks, Jim Walsh has finally broken his silence and struck back at Rochester Turning, Majority Action and any other group who hold him accountable for his voting record on the minimum wage. After lying to me on the Radio about his record way back in early August, its Walsh’s turn to respond… and in a big way! [...]
[...] Was this conversation used out of Context? Clearly not… Congressman Walsh told me that he has “Never voted against the Minimum Wage†and that his pay raise is not voted on, it’s “automatic.†[...]
[...] Unbelievable… The Syracuse Sub-Standard (syracuse.com) is having a blog discussion of the Maffei debate from last night… I figured I’d weigh in let that audience know about my radio chat where Walsh lied about his voting record.ÂÂ Here is exactly what I wrote: [...]
[...] 5: Walsh has come out and attacked Zogby as being pro-Democrat… I think we can guess how this poll reads… just like the recent Majority Watch poll This is pretty pathetic… Let’s get this poll out and move on to more substantive issues, like Walsh lying about his Minimum Wage Voting Record! [...]
[...] Today, the lame duck Republican Congress is attempting to punch one more “automatic” pay raise through. Jim, Randy, Tom… We’ll be watching you… [...]
[...] Of course, the Whiney One (R-Syracuse) insists that he never raised his own pay. [...]
[...] Update: btp here. Looks like Walsh learned his lesson and voted for the minimum wage this time.ÂÂ At least he won’t have to lie about it on the air this time. [...]