Dear Congressman Etheridge

Yesterday I sent the following letter to the office of my opponent, Congressman Bob Etheridge:

Dear Congressman Etheridge,

Last week, you mailed (and emailed) letters and newsletters from your Congressional office to voters across the district. In every way these mailings resembled typical campaign ads, except they were paid for by taxpayers and not by your campaign.

In the text of one pamphlet you mailed you told voters you are “reducing the deficit and restoring budget discipline” in Washington.:  How much did this mailing (and your emailings) cost taxpayers? How many people received the mailings and emails? How can you explain writing taxpayers that you are “reducing the deficit” when you are wasting thousands of dollars of their money on political mailings to help you get reelected?

Congressman, you have over a million dollars in your campaign account, much of it donated by unions and Wall Street special interests. Why didn’t you have your campaign pay for your political ads — instead of sticking the taxpayers with the bill?

Sincerely,

Renee Ellmers

I have not yet received a response to my question about how much it cost taxpayers for Bob Etheridge to mail claims that he is “restoring budget discipline” to his constituents. :  But in addition to the cost of the mailing (and emailing) last week, there are some real problems with the content.:  Last week I addressed some of the specific claims in the Etheridge mailing, and today address his more general claim that,:  “The issues that matter most to North Carolinians are Bob Etheridge’s priorities.”

According to a poll of Second District voters done in June by Survey USA , 55% to 38% voting in our district disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president.

Bob Etheridge has voted with Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama 97% of the time in Washington.:  He has voted for every major item of the Obama agenda.

He voted for ObamaCare — and voters in the district disapprove 53% to 34%.

He voted for the Wall Street bailout — and voters disapprove 61% to 16%.

He also voted for Obama’s so called “stimulus” bill and trillion dollar deficit. The result::  North Carolina’s employment figures are some of the bleakest in the country:

– February 2010: North Carolina unemployment hit a record high 11.2%.

– Only nine states had unemployment problems that were worse than those in North Carolina.

Bob Etheridge’s solution to our economic problems is to spend taxpayer funds to tell voters he’s fighting for us in Washington.

But what he’s really doing in Washington is raising taxes and raising spending and raking in contributions from Wall Street special interests.

[Cross posted at ReneeforCongress.com]

Renee Ellmers is the Republican candidate running to unseat incumbent Bob Etheridge in North Carolina’s Second Congressional District. She is a nurse, a businesswoman, and a mom. You can find more information about her campaign at Renee for Congress.com.


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