Mike Pompeo, one of the junior far right Republican Congressmen who shut down the government he was supposed to be serving, has a long and extensive history of self-serving, Orwellian press releases expressing contempt and disdain for our president while predicting the failure of anything he promotes. He has been using the term "train wreck" to describe Obamacare for months if not years, predicting with each passing day or event that it has now been shown to be a "failure", a word he uses often and with great relish. It is quite sad to read these releases because although he lives in the same country the rest of us do, he sees it through a very dark prism, one that distorts reality.
In Pompeo's world. a 25% reduction in unemployment is pathetic and clear proof that Pompeo's years of trashing the president are somehow vindicated.
To Pompeo, we live in a country with a higher body count than Nazi Germany, in which 50 million of our citizens were "murdered" an event perhaps that you missed but that he announced on the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Pompeo believes that giving terrorist suspects a trial and obeying the Geneva Conventions or conventions against torture that we not only signed but in many cases wrote is some kind of reckless privilege by a soft, Democratic president who needs to be replaced by someone who understands that we are losing, not winning, the war against terrorism.
Pompeo feels that the Environmental Protection Agency does no good whatsoever and is wrecking the economy (even if to the rest of us it is actually growing, albeit slower than any would like). Dressing down a public servant seems his idea of fun, demanding that she prove if a set of regulations that have not fully gone into effect are working (and if not, disbanding those regulations immediately). He was so proud of his angry interruptions of the EPA representative he actually presented a word-for-word transcript of the exchange.
So to Pompeo, America's best days are behind us. Led by a black president who is apologetic, weak, and indecisive, our economy is shrinking rather than growing, wrecked by dastardly plots such as healthcare reform (which we cannot afford, so should abandon altogether) and the prevention of the Keystone XL pipeline. All would be good if we could simply double or triple down in Afghanistan, commit to staying there forever no matter how many Americans and Afghans die in the process, and if we had a president with an R after his name.
Pompeo saves his greatest venom for healthcare reform itself which he has consistently mocked, ridiculed, condemned as a failure or blamed for various economic woes, years before it was even rolled out. Tellingly, he does not offer constructive criticism to improve it, nor does he offer a plan of his own, so the only conclusion one can draw is that the for profit status quo in which tens of millions of Americans are without access to healthcare and tens of thousands die for want of healthcare is preferable than trying to fix the problem. Perhaps he does not even see this as a problem. Did I mention that he considers himself a Christian and "pro-life"? You will just have to take his word for it, I guess.
Well, here are the press releases. In most cases, I just clipped the titles because they are so provocatively wrong. In some cases, I clipped the actual release. I do hope that come 2014, voters can do whatever it takes to prevent people such as Pompeo from returning to a government that they clearly hate.
I have much more faith in America than Mr. Pompeo but I do not know if our country can continue to go through shut down after threatened debt ceiling crisis after nonsensical attempts to appeal laws he and a small minority hate.
Pompeo Press Releases
Pompeo Votes To Delay Obamacare, Keep Government Open 9/28/13
[This was his vote to SHUT GOVERNMENT DOWN!]
Pompeo Votes To Cut Spending, Stop Obamacare, and Avert Shutdown 9/20/13
[The vote on the Affordable Care Act was years ago - Pompeo was not in Congress!]
Pompeo Responds to EPA's New Expensive Job-killing Coal Plant Regulation 9/19/13
[No, you can't possibly regulate coal plants if it might cost money or lead to some reallocation of jobs.]
Pompeo: Secretary Kerry is Wrong on Victory over Terrorists 8/2/13
[Are we losing?]
Pompeo: Afghanistan Is Crucial For Intelligence-Gathering
Congressman Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, responded to news that President Obama is considering a total pullout from Afghanistan after 2014:
“Our intelligence gathering operations rely on a strong presence in Afghanistan in order to remain effective. Drawing down our forces in the region would mean forfeiting the resources we need to keep Americans safe from terrorist attacks in the future. I hope the President does not make the mistake of jeopardizing our national security by taking the pressure off of al Qaeda and the Taliban and allowing them to grow stronger each day.”
Pompeo is a former Army cavalry officer and a graduate of West Point.
Statement by Congressman Pompeo on Delaying Obamacare's Employer Mandate 7/3/13
Congressman Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, issued the following statement about the Obama administration's decision to delay Obamacare's employer mandate by a year:
"The Administration assured the American people that Obamacare was going to solve the problems plaguing our health care system--despite warnings even from politicians who supported the law. Those who've expressed worries about a train wreck have been proven right.
"Delaying the employer mandate is just delaying the harm this terrible law will bring to consumers, businesses, and health care professionals. The right answer is to repeal the law, not delay it. Let's just scrap it."
[And replace it with...]
Pompeo had written a pointed letter to Sen. Max Baucus pointing out his hypocrisy for calling Obamacare a "train wreck" and calling for his help in repealing the law.
Statement By Congressman Pompeo on SCOTUS Ruling [on Same Sex Marriage] 6/27/13
Congressman Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision on the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8:
“The court’s attack on marriage—as defined as between one man and one woman—is both sad and counter to the most profound tradition of our great nation.
[Pompeo is an open homophobe.]
“As an attorney and a conservative, I am confounded by the Supreme Court’s bizarre set of decisions that found DOMA unconstitutional and didn’t rule on the merits of Prop 8. The Supreme Court has taken the position of refusing the right of Congress to legislate federal law based on the will of the people. This is a travesty.
[Of course, so is shutting down the federal government, overriding that whole will of the people thing (the House has the votes today (10/3/13) to approve the Senate CR) but my representative is unable to vote the will of the people he represents because of people like Pompeo, who represents 672,000 people, 0.2% of the United States population)]
“I remain dedicated to strengthening the institution of traditional marriage.”
Pompeo Statement on Roe v. Wade’s 40th Anniversary 1/22/13
WASHINGTON – Congressman Mike Pompeo, R-KS04, issued the following statement on the 40th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
“Forty years have passed since the Supreme Court blinked in the face of injustice and made abortion legal at any stage of pregnancy for any reason. Forty years have passed, in which over 50 million human beings have been killed in the womb.
[If Pompeo really believes this, then he thinks the United States today is worse than Nazi Germany under Hitler or Russia under Stalin in terms of body count. If he really believes that his government is so murderous, no wonder he has such contempt for it.]
“I am proud that the pro-life movement remains as strong as ever. My own district was the scene of the Summer of Mercy in 1991, when peaceful protesters brought attention to our great cause. Our calls for action at their softest have often been our loudest.
“But while we have increasingly convinced Americans to embrace the pro-life message, either through state governments or even personal choices, our work is far from over. We have yet to secure for the unborn the principle that all men are created equal and that all of them have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We may not succeed within this lifetime, but any good and noble cause takes time – whether it takes four years or another 40.”
Pompeo Responds to Obama’s [sic] Climate Change Speech 6/25/12
Congressman Mike Pompeo, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, offered a statement responding to the President’s speech on climate change:
“America’s middle class doesn’t need the president to give grand speeches to a select group of environmental activists in Washington, D.C. What they need is affordable, abundant energy and the jobs that the Keystone XL oil pipeline would create.
[If Pompeo thinks energy is expensive in the United States, he should visit Europe. If he thinks jobs are in short supply (and that only a pipeline stands between us and prosperity), he should visit the Labor Department website more often.]
“Americans need a fair energy policy that doesn’t allow the president and those that share his political agenda to stop growth by hiking energy costs for American families, shutting down power plants and giving an unfair advantage to politically connected ‘green energy’ companies.
“I want a more prosperous America, one that can take care of its environment and utilize its abundant resources. I only wish the president would agree.”
[No, you have so many demands on the president, I have lost count. This is a small lie, but a significant one. Pompeo, like many extreme right wing politicians, loves to posture as a reasonable person who will stop being so hostile once his latest demand is met. Don't believe him.]
Congressman Pompeo Responds to CAIR Attacks
Congressman Mike Pompeo’s call for Islamic religious leaders to redouble their efforts to disavow terrorism met with outrage from reactionary groups including the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Rather than agree that the moderate Islamic community must continue to speak out against radical elements, these groups mischaracterized and attacked the Congressman’s statements.
“CAIR and groups like it have yet to effectively use their massive public relations infrastructure to advance the moderate Islamic message of peace over extremism,” Pompeo said. “While it is laudable to issue English-language press releases in response to a couple of high-profile terrorist attacks, this is simply not enough. Instead, these groups must lead the charge on eliminating the radical elements in your faith. Statements of sympathy and regret following terrorist attacks are no substitute for a conversation within Islam that confronts extremism.”
Speaking Tuesday on the House Floor, Pompeo decried the paucity of imams who have spoken out against radical Islam (video available here). While praising the efforts of those relative few, Pompeo called on Muslims leaders across the world to add their voices in support of greater moderation in Islam.
“I’m not backing down in my call for Islamic partners to do more to combat Islamic extremism. Actions speak louder than words: If religious leaders are serious about wanting to end this violence, they need to help address the cause of it, and that is by calling out fanatics.”
Pompeo Responds to McCain/Feinstein Effort to Close Guantanamo Bay 6/8/13
“The President continues to falsely claim that Islamic terrorism is on ‘a path to defeat.’
[Once again, Pompeo believes that despite trillions spent, we are losing the war on terrorism. He may be right, but since he earlier castigated the president for transmitting weakness to our enemies, is he not hear doing the same thing?]
The terrorists may have temporarily altered tactics and targets—such as attacking our consulate in Benghazi—but America has suffered more terrorist attacks in the past year than in the 4 years prior to September 11, 2001.
[Breathtaking! "prior to" - but not including - "September 11, 2001" when President Bush allowed the greatest intelligence failure in United States history to claim almost 3,000 lives in a single day. But we won't count that day. No, let's focus on the black president who actually reads his Presidential Daily Briefs.]
To so cavalierly dismiss this threat, as the President did last week, does a disservice to the safety of the American people."
Pompeo writes to Senator Baucus about Obamacare “Train Wreck” 4/18/13
[Train wreck again.]
POMPEO RESPONDS TO DISMAL JOBS REPORT 4/5/13
[Note: When Pompeo was running for office, the unemployment rate was 10%; it was recently 25% lower - 7.5% - in this report and has since fallen to 7.3% (August, 2013)]
“This jobs report represents another milestone in our long departure from the highway to prosperity. Our economy added only 88,000 new jobs. Nearly 500,000 people have dropped out of the labor force. Our labor force participation rate is the lowest it’s been in 34 years. Those familiar with the economic powerhouse America has been for much of its history would have trouble recognizing it today. From constantly attacking American manufacturers like Wichita’s aircraft makers, to delaying the Keystone XL pipeline, and on to implementing the taxes hidden inside Obamacare, the Obama administration and the do-nothing Democrat Senate are all too happy to take detour after detour, pushing solutions that only benefit special interests. It’s time we do something for the American people and get this economy out of the ditch.”
Congressman Responds to Today’s Misguided White House Attacks
Washington, Feb 26 2013
Today, White House Spokesman Jay Carney asked during a press briefing what Congressman Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, would say to defense workers facing furlough because of the President’s sequester plan. The following is his statement:
“Mr. Carney doesn’t understand that not every public official is willing to play games with lives of hard-working Americans for political gain like his boss, President Obama. I said that the sequester is a home run not because it is good politics, but because it begins to put America back on the right fiscal track.
“I would welcome the opportunity to tell the 90,000 furloughed workers, the ones President Obama is choosing to let go of, that they need to know several things:
“First, the sequester does not have to mean furloughs. The President is choosing to make this minor reduction in spending painful—by furloughing people—in order to pursue his twin goals of raising taxes and increasing the size of the federal government. The President wasted $1 trillion dollars of stimulus money that did nothing to grow our economy and create jobs. Now, he is needlessly using a decrease in federal spending amounting to less than a few percent to harm even more American workers and their families.
“Second, there are fewer Americans working in America today than when the President took office. [A bold-faced lie. 132 million Americans were in the labor force in the third quarter of 2009; almost 136 million are today (June, 2013).] I find it bizarre that Mr. Carney would ask me about talking to furloughed workers. I’ve been talking to and representing thousands of furloughed and laid-off workers in Kansas who have lost their livelihood because of this President’s failed economic policies and his consistent attacks on the general aviation industry. Before President Obama’s reckless deficits, general aviation was a robust manufacturing jewel providing high-paying jobs in the Air Capital of the World. Today, he continues to cause it pain.
“Third, Mr. Carney says that this isn’t a home run for average Americans. He is wrong. While there will surely be dislocations, the President’s $6 trillion in new federal debt have been a strikeout for our country. Most Americans understand the need to stop year-on-year trillion dollar deficits. For them, we should have done even more to reduce the size of our federal government. The sequester is a solid first step. Growing American prosperity will require us to hit a grand slam on reducing spending, taxation, and regulation. I look forward to being part of making that happen.
“Finally, the President proposed, signed, and threatened to veto changes to, the sequester. It was his plan. Not once, but twice, Congressional Republicans have provided alternatives. We have seen nothing from Carney’s boss. If it is really that bad, why has he not sent a different set of cuts? The President’s actions—claiming to be upset about the sequester and traveling to Virginia to confuse workers there—are at best disingenuous and at worst just plain mean.”
