| February 2007: Letter from Jim |
President George W. Bush's recent State of the Union Address gives us the opportunity to reflect where we are as a nation and our direction. As I was listening to President Bush's State of the Union Address, the reality had set in that in less than two years America will be swearing in a new Preident. More than ever before, Republicans in Congress need to be on the front lines fighting for conservative values that made America great. The voters spoke clearly in 2006. Here in Wisconsin and around the nation, Republicans suffered massive losses that cost us our majorities in Congress and many state houses. We all know what was responsible for the November 7th disaster. The war in Iraq has become inextricably linked to the Republican Party. Our difficulties there played a direct role in the losses of hundreds and hundreds of Republican congressional and state legislative seats nationwide. We need to build a more effective strategy in Iraq - immediately. If we don't, we will face another Republican electoral bloodbath in 2008. But we can't make the mistake of blaming all of our problems on Iraq. I am personally ashamed of my fellow Republicans who allowed themselves to be consumed by their taste for pork-barrell spending. Republican Congressional Leadership displayed indefensibly poor leadership on spending. Because Republicans in Washington bungled this important issue, Americans now trust Democrats more than the GOP to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars for the first time in decades. Republicans lost their way in Washington, D.C. when they started acting like Democrats. Key Republicans in both the U.S. House and Senate compromised on issues like spending and immigration reform. I know that it's not talk that counts, but a record of conservative values and votes. All you have to do is look at my votes in Congress and you will see a consistent, conservative voting record. Despite being in the minority, I do not intend to give up on our conservative principles and I will continue to fight for them every day. As it pertains to the War in Iraq, I am infavor of additional deployments to improve security. This is really the first step towards our withdrawal. While American troops and their families make additional sacrifices, I am calling on the Iraqi government to do more to take congtrol of their security. We must balance the federal budget. I have always fought against the reckless spending like the fraud-laced Hurricane Katrina funding bill, as well as the highway bill which funded the "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. Balancing the budget doesn't mean raising taxes. Unfortunately, as part of their "100 Hours Agenda," Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi passed tax hikes that will force consumers to pay more for their gasoline. They've also rammed through schemes that will dramatically raise costs for small businesses and result in the loss of thousands of entry-level jobs. Balancing the budget means cutting spending. Members of Congress must be required to vote for or against earmarked spending, rather than sneaking pork barrel spending projects into bills without a vote. I will also push for presidential line-item veto power again. It's time for real immigraiton reform. I do not support President Bush's "guest worker" program, which really is an amnesty program. This program rewards people for breaking the law. It's time to secure our borders and hold employers responsible for breaking the law and hiring illegal immigrants. Despite what the liberal media is telling you, the Democrat Party is still an ultra-liberal party that is bent on raising taxes, increasing spending and stopping common-sense reforms. All you have to do is lok who's running for President. Already, Democrat presidential hopefulls like Hillary Clinton are stumbling over each other to be the first to promise a government-run single-player socialized health care behemoth. As Republicans, we must continue to defend our values and rediscover our roots as the party of less government and home-grown conservative principles - and then fight for them. Will you help me preserve the conservative conscience in Congress? Sincerely, F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR. |
The Sensenbrenner Committee
P. O. Box 575
Brookfield, WI 53005
