Posted on 10/10/2015 12:38:33 PM PDT by VinL
Washington corrupts, and Congressman Stephen Fincher is proof...
It would be an understatement to say Fincher has come to terms with boondoggles and special interests.
Fincher, once an opponent of the Export-Import Bank —a federal agency that subsidizes foreign buyers of U.S.-made goods — now is trying to undermine his party's leadership by teaming up with Nancy Pelosi and her party in order to reauthorize Ex-Im Bank....
Fincher has raised a quarter-million for his re-election, according to his most recent campaign finance filing...... More than 99 percent of the money powering Fincher's re-election bid comes from political action committees (almost all of them corporate PACs) and K Street lobbyist types.
Studying this lengthy list of Fincher's PAC donors is revealing.
Fincher introduced his bill to reauthorize Ex-Im on Jan. 28. Two days later his campaign deposited a $2,000 check from General Electric, Ex-Im's second-largest beneficiary and most ruthless defender.
Boeing (which benefits from 40 percent of Ex-Im subsidies) and United Technologies chipped in about a week and a half later. All of Ex-Im's top beneficiaries, exporters and lenders (notably Ex-Im's leading lender JPMorgan), have given to Fincher's re-election.
Other corporate welfare recipients give to Fincher and benefit from his votes. Fincher has voted to protect the federal sugar program, whereby our government keeps out foreign sugar and issues taxpayer-backed loans to guarantee high prices for U.S. sugar growers. This hurts families, U.S.-based foodmakers and the economy, while benefitting a handful of privileged sugar companies.
Tennessee produces no sugarcane or sugar beets, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2012 Ag Census. But Fincher's donors do.
Sugar Cane Growers of Florida PAC, American Crystal Sugar PAC, American Sugar Cane League PAC, Florida Sugar Cane League PAC, Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Co-Op PAC and the U.S. Beet Sugar PAC are all Fincher donors and all beneficiaries of the corporate welfare Fincher supports.
Fincher's top two sources of funds, according to OpenSecrets.org, are the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and Regions Financial. Both of these bodies profit from and lobby to expand the federal crop insurance program. Fincher, of course, voted to expand federal crop insurance by $9 billion over 10 years.
Unlike sugar protectionism, though, crop insurance directly benefits farmers in Fincher's rural district. For instance, Fincher himself pocketed $3.48 million in farm subsidies between 1999 and 2012, according to the Environmental Working Group, making him the second most subsidized farmer in Congress. In 2012 alone, his federal farm subsidy was $70,000.
That same day Fincher voted to cut food stamps. He later explained that vote this way: "The role of citizens, of Christians, of humanity is to take care of each other, but not for Washington to steal from those in the country and give to others in the country."
Fincher's hypocrisy on welfare — favoring it for his corporate donors and opposing it for poor families — sadly isn't unique in the Republican Party. His evolution from outsider to a tool of the lobbyists is also a typical tale in Washington.
It would be unfair to say Fincher was extraordinarily corrupted by Washington. It's more accurate to say Fincher represents what's worst about the Republican Party.
Timothy P. Carney, The Washington Examiner's senior political columnist, can be contacted at tcarney@washingtonexaminer.com. His column appears Tuesday and Thursday nights on washingtonexaminer.com.
Corrupt MFer’s
A Boehner convert, no doubt....
Fincher and Corker from TN. Apparently TN produces the best Politicians Money can buy
Conservative to get into office.
Crony capitalist to stay in office.
Term limits?
The best way to limit terms is to take power away from Washington. Get it back within its constitutional limits.
If politicians cannot feather their nests while in office, they will leave after a few terms.
There is no question that the USA has been and still is FOR SALE !! Everyone seems to know it but the majority of voters who still keep putting those bass turds in office in spite of what they are doing.
Then primay him with a better candidate !
You have a couple of months to prepare, and make his corporate sell-out public !
I get pissed off.... he won’t raise my Social Security check but he sure as hell will give handouts to wealthy corporations that could make it on their own.
The Ex-Im bank petition discharge shows what is wrong with Washington.
It doesn’t work for the American people.
Why can’t these backstabbers be charged with fraud?
Yep! Tea Party has its list. If you need targets, primary the 51 GOpe that signed on with all the Democrats to re-vive the Import-Export bank
Welfare is a disincentive to productivity , innovation , and prosperity.
Funny how successful major corporations want the taxpayer on the hook !
Primary Fincher out of office?
AMEN to that!
Who do we support?
Actually what “major corporations” want is Government to keep all those pesky smaller competitors from competing with them
Do you have a list of the GOPe turncoats ?
We need a sugar consumer PAC that can out spend the sugar producers.
I’d prefer no more corporate welfare, but if Congress is too bought to help themselves, they should strip out the Import part and have an EXPORT BANK only? Exports at least create American jobs. Import subsidies (which is what this financing amounts to) either enrich a handful of donor cronies with unearned profits, or make foreign-made goods cheap enough to find a market by undercutting US production, driving it out of business. Taxing Americans to eliminate American jobs is preposterous.
Sickening.
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It is indeed sickening. Renee Ellmers joined him in teaming up with Nancy Pelosi and her party in order to reauthorize Ex-Im Bank. Ellmers, the phony who falsely claimed to be and posed as a Tea Party conservative to get elected sold out as soon as she arrived in Washington.
She lied about her conservatism just as she is lying now about her extramarital affair with Kevin McCarthy. She is among the most despicable creatures in the House of Representatives.
Don’t forget Lamar Alexander. Fincher is from the 8th District. I haven’t voted for Corker or Alexander in years and now I hope we can find someone to run against Fincher.
Looking for it. There was one posted around here.
I hope you do too!
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