— Spin does not work in the age of information if one is willing to take the time to research the deceit. John Adams once said “Facts are stubborn things.

Rep. Sanford Bishop’s voting record is not as uniform with Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s as it is with their party. As Speaker of the House, she enjoys luxury of not representing her constituents. The Speaker voted 34 times this year. Of all those votes, Bishop voted against her four times. Bishop's record shows (according to opencongress.org) he votes along party lines 98 percent of the time, directly in lock step with Pelosi's agenda.

Bishop has always said that he is a strong Christian, but his voting record contrasts that. He supported the interests of the Christian Coalition and the National Right to Life Committee 20 percent of the time in 2007-2008 while supporting the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 100 percent in 2007.

Bishop voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2011, which included the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal he did vote against. Bishop voted for something after he voted against it. Its jaw-dropping to think that a politician can say one thing so emphatically and walk away from it just a few short days later.

In 2008, the National Rifle Association gave Bishop a grade of A+. However, the new ratings for 2010 will be available in October. The 2010 Gun Owners of America gave Bishop a grade of F .

A self-proclaimed “Blue Dog Conservative,” Bishop supported the interests of conservatives 8 percent of the time in 2009. In July of the same year, Bishop submitted a request to the Appropriations Committee, a $70 million earmark for one airplane added to the 2010 Defense bill. How Blue Dog conservative is that? Bishop has also voted for spending that has been deemed “emergency” to circumvent the “Paygo” Legislation. Bishop may have signed the “Blue Dog Letter,” but saying you are a conservative and being a conservative are two different things.

Bishop has never been a leader in the House. Bishop has sponsored 50 bills since Jan 5, 1993. Forty-four haven't made it out of committee and just five  were successfully enacted. According to govtrack.us “Bishop is a follower according to our statistical analysis of bills in this legislative session.” Bishop has been in the House for more than 18 years but to this day is not a ranking member nor chairman of any committee.

  Thomas Jefferson once wrote "A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned — this is the sum of good government.” The 111th Congress has, under the leadership of Pelosi and stewardship of Bishop, has dramatically deviated from these guidelines.

The people of the Second Congressional District deserve representation in Washington, not Washington represented in the district.



Lee Larko

Pavo