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QUESTIONABLE STATEMENTS:
"When our auto industries were struggling - Walberg skipped the vote to help them get them back on their feet."
Tim Walberg is running against U. S. Congressman Mark Schauer for the 7th Congressional District, a seat he previously held, which includes Battle Creek, Jackson and Delta Township. Walberg did miss the December 10, 2008, vote on House Resolution 7321, a measure to provide emergency loans to the domestic automakers. It passed 237-170. Every other member of the Michigan delegation supported the resolution. The vote was one of a number he missed after losing his election against Schauer.
Walberg was in the hospital but has given conflicting accounts. Dec. 11, 2008, the Jackson Citizen Patriot reported that Walberg's chief of staff said in an email that the Congressman had shoulder surgery. Dec. 12, 2008, another Jackson Citizen Patriot reporter said Walberg "has declined to say what it was for." Finally, July 26, 2010, the Citizen Patriot reported Walberg said in a debate with Republican rival Brian Rooney that he was hospitalized for prostate surgery. So voters will have to decide for themselves whether he "skipped" the vote or had a legitimate medical emergency.
Walberg said he would have reluctantly voted for the measure. He also signed a letter that was signed by every Michigan member of Congress that urged President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to provide emergency loans to the automakers.
"He opposed middle class tax cuts. But voted for tax breaks for oil companies and hedge funds. "
The middle class tax cut the SEIU refers to is his vote against House Resolution 3996 Nov. 9, 2007, a measure to help millions of middle-class Americans avoid the alternative minimum tax and provide other tax breaks. Walberg -- and every other Republican -- voted against that version not because it cut taxes for the middle class, but because it would have raised taxes on others, primarily private equity and hedge fund managers. It would have also been a tax increase for some small real estate partnerships, according to the Washington Post. Eventually, the tax increases were removed, and Walberg voted for it. It is flat out wrong to say he opposed a middle class tax cut, as the final vote proved.
As for tax breaks for oil companies, Walberg did vote against repealing oil and gas subsidies in House Resolution 6 of 2007, as did most of the Republicans in the Michigan delegation. Democrats touted the measure as one to promote energy independence, increase the use of alternative energy and lower costs to consumers. Republicans said it would increase American reliance on foreign sources of energy and impose burdensome regulations on domestic suppliers.
"And Walberg even says he wants to privatize and ultimately eliminate Social Security."
Walberg does support privatizing Social Security -- in fact he derisively calls it "so-called Social Security" in an interview with the Independent Caucus website, which is affiliated with the Tea Party movement. However, a spokesman told the Detroit News he supports "keeping the promise of Social Security and looking into reforms to empower younger workers to save."
Walberg owes voters a more detailed explanation of his plans -- whether he would require workers younger than a certain age to manage their own retirement savings in place of Social Security. He should also explain who will pay for the benefits of Social Security recipients, since payments to one generation are supported by the contributions of the next.
OVERALL IMPRESSION:
The SEIU ad and a strikingly similar one by AFSCME are part of a concerted effort by unions supporting Democrat Mark Schauer to make the case that Walberg, whom Schauer defeated in 2008, is out of touch with regular working families.
TRUTH SQUAD CALL: Foul.
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Now let's take a look at AFSCME's "Burned by Tim Walberg" TV Ad
