Jon Powers for Congress

by Bluecoast Media

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Supporters 45
Raised $
 

Tom Reynolds has got to go.
The incumbent GOP Congressman from Western New York continues to stand as a symbol of the culture of corruption that plagues today’s Republican Party.
Tom Reynolds voted against legislation to repeal tax cuts for oil and gas companies that would help fund renewable energy development, but featured a picture of him at an ethanol plant’s grand opening on his Congressional web page that trumps his “delivering of funds” to alternative energy production. He claims that the most important issue to America is that of national security, yet he voted against implementing the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations. In addition, Reynolds voted against raising the minimum wage, against allowing travel to Cuba, and has continuously voted to fund the Iraq war without progress requirements.
He also voted to restrict health insurance companies from negotiating for better prescription prices from big pharmaceutical companies, who continue to make huge profits. I’m sure we can all appreciate this vote by Mr. Reynolds, which helped ensure that American health care costs will continue to rise (and some companies hiked their rates by 33% in 2007!!!).
Challenging Reynolds for the right to represent New York’s 26th Congressional District is Jon Powers, a former Army Captain who was called “the type of officer a commander only dreams of having in his unit.” by his commanding officer while serving in Iraq. In Iraq, Powers served as an artillery platoon leader in the Army’s 1st Armored Division, and later as the Battalion Commander’s Adjutant in Baghdad and Najaf. After returning home from the war, Powers worked to help those in Iraq whose voices are least heard – Iraqi children, many of whom have known only war their entire young lives. He returned to Baghdad and founded War Kids Relief, a nonprofit organization aimed at assisting the youth of Iraq, providing them the resources and education needed to avoid recruitment by radical and terrorist organizations. War Kids Relief was quickly recognized for its pathbreaking work and was featured on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams “Making a Difference” series and in a Newsweek cover story. What has Tom Reynolds done?
More importantly, just take a look at the most important issues of today, and compare the ideas of Jon Powers and Tom Reynolds. These issues are not the divisive “moral” issues that Republicans have used for more than a decade to stymie civil progress and limit our freedoms. These are problems that genuinely affect and will continue to affect daily life for all of us, that will be left to the next several generations of Americans to deal with. Today, those problems are the massive federal deficit, the softening of America’s power in the global economy, and the rising cost of living across the United States. Also on the cornerstone are the issues that drive those problems, namely the Iraq war, out-of-control wasteful government spending, and corruption in Washington that stems from malignant cronyism and back-slapping politics that are now synonymous with the letters GOP.
On Iraq, the issue is no longer the reasons for going to war, or the morality of it, or who voted for or against it. Today we must deal with effectively managing and working to end the war, which the GOP Congressional delegation and Bush Administration have proved inept (or unwilling) to do. Tom Reynolds has repeatedly stood in the way of efforts to change course in Iraq, and has supported the Bush Administration throughout its mishandling of the war. Jon Powers has seen firsthand the problems we face in Iraq, and has the clarity of mind and determination that inspired him to take action after returning home to America. That alone makes Jon Powers far more qualified than Reynolds could ever be in regards to the Iraq war, and foreign policy in general.
It’s definitely time for change, and we can start by replacing the backward-thinking, outdated conservatism of Thomas Reynolds with the fresh drive and determination of Jon Powers, an Iraq War veteran who has what it takes to help America take a step forward. Let’s see that New York’s 26th district reflects the spirit of real Americans, not the corporate interests and Bush cronies who continue to fund Tom Reynolds’ campaign.