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August 2, 2011· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

Buck McKeon Gets My Vote (Again) in 2012

By Timothy Myers SR. — Tim Myers

In October, 2008 I personally informed Congressman Buck McKeon, whose opponent in 2006 I had actively supported, that he had earned my vote for as long as he wished to stay in Congress.

This was after the Congressman voted not once, but twice, in favor of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”), something that went against his core principles and beliefs, because in his judgment, after listening to various sources, it was necessary for the good of the country.  Anti-TARP sentiment became one of the rallying points for many TEA Party folks, and certainly cost Senator Bennett from Utah his chance to run for re-election in 2010.  While reasonable people can debate the wisdom of the specifics of the TARP plan, as someone who works in financial services believe me when I say one did not want to chance what would have happened with a worldwide failure of the banking system.

The Congressman again took a difficult vote on August 1, joining with the non-TEA party Republicans and about half the Democratic representatives to raise the federal debt ceiling and forestall an historic default, which one did not want to see the consequences of either.

And that is why the Congressman has earned my vote again.  He will base his ultimate decisions during crunch time on what is good for the country, even if it may cause a substantial number of his constituents to give him grief.

Comments (32)

  1. kkorenthalAugust 2, 2011 at 7:55 am
    Goodness Tim. I understand that your liberal ideology has blinded you against the idea that it is the private sector that creates economic activity. But have the last 2 years of Obama and 4 years of Democrat Congressional rule not shown you that extracting large amounts of wealth from one sector and transferring it to another is a recipe for economic failure? Regardless of my distaste for the debt ceiling deal, we must agree Tim that TARP, Stimulus, and the GM bailouts failed to produce economic activity and jobs. If you cannot agree to this point, you have no business commenting on policy at all.
  2. Timothy Myers SR.August 2, 2011 at 10:19 am
    Kevin: I know you are a good hearted and earnest person, but I am 51 years old (today), have 20 years of education including two advanced degrees, 18 years of experience as a CPA and 9 years experience in business financial management, 11 years teaching accounting at the University level, and I read the Economist cover to cover every week, so yes, I have “business” commenting on policy, and a lot of very accomplished and educated people actually care what I think.
  3. ToddAugust 2, 2011 at 4:11 pm
    Nice rebuttal. Win. Tim, I’m curious as to your thoughts on what some economists are saying about the US not spending enough? I have heard many state that in order to have the complete turnaround we’d all like (and I so desperately need!) is to bring the government spending back to the levels it was during the WPA and New Deal, and have that spending be on infrastructure and public works projects the distribute money into the hands of blue collar workers, the ones affected most in this recent recession. I’ll take your comments off air.
  4. Timothy Myers SR.August 3, 2011 at 10:08 am
    The arguments are nuanced and complex, and what troubles me most is that elected officials and activists tend to align themselves around political dogma and anecdotes, and make it their mission to avoid reading anything (like the Economist or George Will) that posits complex views and arguments that conflict with their simplistic “theology.” The best analogy is the suburban parents who attend youth sports events and start screaming out instructions and criticism from the sidelines even though they only have extremely vague ideas concerning tactics, strategy or even the rules. (My personal favorite is the moribundly obese father exhorting their six year old to “RUN!” in the fourth period of a soccer game on a triple digit day.)
  5. IHeartSCVAugust 3, 2011 at 11:00 am
    How do the moribundly obese get along with the morbidly obese?
  6. Damage Inc.August 3, 2011 at 8:46 am
    You heard it on scvtalk first, kkorenthal admits tax cuts don’t work… http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jan/28/barack-obama/tax-cut-95-percent-stimulus-made-it-so/
  7. rnddudeAugust 2, 2011 at 8:03 am
    Tim, your piece is well written and I agree that having leaders that put country above politics is a good thing. As to KK’s response….it smacks of the old saw “My s*** is red hot, your s*** ain’t doodly-squat.” Tim has no business commenting on policy at all? And you, KK, all seeing and all knowing, do? You sound like Glenn Beck.
  8. kkorenthalAugust 2, 2011 at 8:22 am
    I only present what the economy is telling us rnddude. You are certainly welcome, as Tim is doing to ignore everything your eyes are telling you, but don’t tell me that I am engaging in the same sort of “debate” that you are Tim are. You and Tim are ignoring the results of stimulus because it is the only way you can protect your precious ideology. Here are the top headlines from Reuters today: Wall Street falls as debt, economy worries weigh Debt fight nears end; downgrade threat remains Consumer spending falters, but inflation eases Italy under fire in widening euro debt crisis Pfizer global drug sales fall, spark concern Toyota cautious after quake drags first-quarter to loss
  9. harryhoudiniAugust 2, 2011 at 9:22 am
    Because, if anything, media headlines tell the whole story.
  10. Damage Inc.August 3, 2011 at 8:48 am
    What’s the matter kevin not getting enough arguments over at rightonscv? Kinda boring having a bunch of people agree with you and tell how good of a repeater you are?
  11. LindaAugust 3, 2011 at 10:50 am
    Classy, Nate.
  12. Damage Inc.August 4, 2011 at 12:35 pm
    Looks like someone has come down with a case of the Bertas…
  13. NFICAugust 2, 2011 at 8:31 am
    Wall Street likes certainty. One thing this debt ceiling battle has not done is create certainty. The battle was instigated by the Tea Party Republicans. We will have even less certianty with the way a “compromise” was agreed upon. The stimulus was not as effective as it should have been because it relied on too many tax decreases to individuals which resulted in savings or paying down debt, and not enough government spending on hard good items (public works projects). Remember, for the packages to pass, the Republicans had to have their tax cuts… For Kevin to say the GM and TARP bailouts did not save jobs is naive. I think since his run against Ed Colley, he’s taken to going to too many Tea Parties. Likewise, his support of the revised libraries versus the County run operation when LSI has barely had a chance to operate is purely political posturing.
  14. rnddudeAugust 2, 2011 at 9:39 am
    Actually, Keven said that “TARP, Stimulus, and the GM bailouts failed to produce economic activity and jobs.” I guess the fact that it SAVED massive amounts of jobs is of little consequence, in his view. By the way, I certainly am not “ignoring everything my eyes are telling me”, actually my eyes don’t talk, they see, and then my brain creates conclusions based on that and other inputs. What do you think the economic climate would be right now if TARP, Stimulus, and the GM loan (not a bailout, btw) had not happened? Seriously, in your view, what would your present day scenario be like without those?
  15. kkorenthalAugust 2, 2011 at 10:14 am
    Please show me the metrics for determining that jobs were “saved” as a result of stimulus. No U.S. President has ever used “jobs saved” as a measurement of success for their policies precisely because it is not measurable. The Obama Administration is the first to do this. No serious economist has signed onto the idea that “jobs saved” can be measured and therefore, it cannot be made part of the story of stimulus. GM would have ended up a better organization if it had gone through a restructure bankruptcy like every other U.S> corporation that fails must. The bailout saved THE UNIONS but in the end, GM will continue to be uncompetitive therefore requiring the unions to either make every other car manufacturer uncompetitive too, or GM folds. SO banks that are too big too fail, should be bailed out? How Progressive of you rnddude! Progressives like BIG BANKING. Just like they like BIG GOVERNMENT, BIG LABOR and BIG GOVERNMENT. Who are Democrats for? BIG!!!!!!!!
  16. Damage Inc.August 3, 2011 at 8:52 am
    Hey kkorenthal how where those banks say citicorp able to get “too big too fail?” I will give you a minute because i am sure you have no clue… give you a hint -> Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act
  17. castaicdadAugust 2, 2011 at 11:05 am
    Wow, kkorenthal sounds like a realist to me. Logic is a good thing, guys.
  18. rnddudeAugust 2, 2011 at 12:32 pm
    Umm, GM did a Chapter 11 filing, effective Monday, June 8, 2009. Agreed, the Fed did guarantee a big wad of loan guarantees to them, in exchange for a 60% share of stock. As GM pays back the loans, the Fed will shed the stock and in theory recoup all of the taxpayers money. There were no other serious investors stepping up to buy up a liquidated GM, and if it went totally down there wod have been hundreds of thousands of out of work GM direct employees that would have been drawing unenployment, not to mention the even larger amount of people in the supply chain, ultimately paid for by us. Either way we, the taxpayers would have had to pay. With GM seemingly getting back on track, at least we have a chance of getting our money back.
  19. kkorenthalAugust 2, 2011 at 1:03 pm
    rnddude: Everything you just wrote is a complete and total fabrication totally unsupported by either the facts (where available) or anecdotal evidence (as in your suggestion that the GM bailout was more effective that a chapter 11 bankruptcy).
  20. ToddAugust 2, 2011 at 4:24 pm
    This made me laugh. Must we forget Kevin that GM is now profitable, once again??? (The Chrysler deal is a loss, but clearly without the US stepping in, Chapter 11 wasn’t an option even for them, the company would have been liquidated… even Chinese investors didn’t want to touch it.)
  21. rnddudeAugust 2, 2011 at 1:12 pm
    Sigh…OK, as you seem to lazy to do research, here is a link, not a figment of my imagination…. http://www.ask.com/wiki/General_Motors_Chapter_11_reorganization
  22. Mr PerezAugust 2, 2011 at 1:28 pm
    For lesson in shared sacrifice, send Congress to boot camp (CNN) — Like most veterans, the men and women who have worn our nation’s uniform to defend this country, I am furious with and disappointed in the state of indecision that plagued Washington these past few weeks. Whether or not to raise the debt ceiling so our country can continue to pay our bills and maintain our global credit rating didn’t seem like such a difficult decision. As a retired, disabled soldier who spent 37 years in the Army, I can only see this debacle — the weeks of haggling to get to an eleventh-hour deal — as the definition of “mission failure.” At this point, even the last-minute deal that is on its way to President Obama’s desk will not repair the damage our elected leadership’s amateur-hour, worthless grandstanding has caused. And it’s not just our image as a world leader that has been harmed. It’s our nation itself. Our nation won the Revolutionary War because we shared a common purpose: freedom. General Washington’s ragtag army, 20% of whom were slaves, were poorly armed and trained, freezing and hungry, yet they defeated the most powerful military in the world. Those men and their families were willing to sacrifice, to risk their lives and everything they had, to achieve our nation’s freedom. Now the country that generations of Americans have worked and fought for, that 1.3 million soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors died fighting for, is at risk. Why? Because our national elected leaders don’t share a common purpose. They have failed to live up to their oaths of office, to protect and defend the Constitution and the United States of America. Instead they strike partisan poses they hope will be remembered during their next campaigns. This isn’t leadership, it’s playacting. And we should all be disgusted. The very notion that our federal government may not be able to pay its global debt is embarrassing, but it is shameful that our government has been willing to play games with the livelihoods of our active-duty soldiers, our veterans, and our most vulnerable citizens. Our nation’s government must remember its purpose: to keep this nation free. Many disabled veterans, the ones who are praying the check comes in the mail after all, can’t work as result of injuries sustained on duty. They were willing to die to keep America free, and they sacrifice to this day. How many of the grandstanding clowns in Washington took a bullet in the name of freedom? Are they willing to sacrifice as much as the average National Guardsman does? It’s time to get draconian. But not with the helpless elderly who need their Social Security payments, not with the powerless Army private supporting a family. I mean it’s time to load our elected officials on troop planes and send them to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Put them in tents with no air conditioning, have Army drill sergeants teach them teamwork and physical sacrifice. When they recognize their responsibility to the people of America, they can return to D.C., their upscale restaurants, and military plane trips, as though they were royalty. And if they can’t? Better that they should fail to learn what an 18-year-old Army private understands than continue to fail America. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Russel L. Honore.
  23. PetzAugust 2, 2011 at 6:51 pm
    Tim does not even have the grace to thank the Tea Party for their part in changing the dynamic of the debt limit debate that he seems to like so much. His support for Buck just gives me the 89th reason to believe that the GOPers have been snookered on this deal. Lucy has grabbed the football from Charlie Brown for the uuumpteenth time.
  24. SplashGuardAugust 3, 2011 at 9:52 am
    Manically obsessed with facts and reason, I ask that you provide a link to back up you statement,”the GOPRers have been snookered on this deal.” Opinions based on straw-men masquerading as facts do not count. You claim to have a list of 89 reasons. “I bumped my head on a teabag hanging from my hat, while looking in the mirror and fantasizing about sitting on Santa Clarita’s City Council with IN GOD WE TRUST behind me,” does not count. Cross that one off the list.
  25. InkGigoloAugust 2, 2011 at 7:45 pm
    “Serious economist.” Serious psychic. If you see a difference in the two terms above, well, I can’t take you seriously.
  26. PetzAugust 4, 2011 at 2:54 pm
    The question really isn’t whether TJMSR would vote for Howard “Buck” McKeon, the question is whether he would repeat the mistake of voting for Barack Hussein Obama ?
  27. Timothy Myers SR.August 4, 2011 at 3:04 pm
    Petz: You will see me about the second week of October 2012 standing in front of your house marking a mail-in ballot for Barack Obama and then running down the street to the post office laughing maniacally!
  28. Timothy Myers SR.August 4, 2011 at 3:05 pm
    Oh! Almost forgot. I will also have the mail in ballots for the four dogs and ten goldfish that the nice ACORN people registered in 2008!
  29. SplashGuardAugust 4, 2011 at 4:05 pm
    And what was that mistake? Voting for a black man with a foreign almost Arab sounding name (easy to demonize), who could be used to bring together a “party”, to intimidate normally reasonable Republican Party members into stopping anything proposed by the man, and grinding the government and the economy to a halt, in the hope of taking control of the country? Based on what? Eighty-nine imaginary reasons? How about just a few “reasons” with some sort of factual basis, not just more Beckisms? ((Beckism, Beckinize or Beckinate, a full Glenn Beck (requires a blackboard with circle arguments and arrows), Beckatory, Beckassinate (a verb—to demonize in an ostensible way but without fact or substance, or noun—a poison), Beckgurgitate, more Beck than I can swallow, DeepBeck(an imaginary information source), deepBecked (to slanderize based on an imaginary information source), Beckmaster, Beckmastery, can’t out Beck a Beck, BeckMastersNation. Beckmastubinate, (to place a BeckClip on YouTube and watch over and over again until your hand, mouse, or arm gets tired)nowhere to Beck, Beckfeckledly yours)) . Or is it just easier, to ask a question and try to change the subject? I am just Beckoning an answer. Pretty pleeze with a Beck on top?
  30. PetzAugust 4, 2011 at 3:19 pm
    You better not be stealing my Palin/Bachmann sign on the way to the post office.
  31. Timothy Myers SR.August 4, 2011 at 3:21 pm
    At that point I would be stealing your 30th Palin/Bachmann sign.
  32. Mr PerezAugust 4, 2011 at 5:38 pm
    I didn’t realize they made signs for people who failed in the primaries. Better get a Romney/Whoever sign to be relevant

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