Chris Smith page @ RemoveRINOs - conservative republicans and independents replacing RINOs with Constitutional conservatives

Chris Smith

Voted AGAINST the right of workers to a secret ballot when voting on whether to unionize (ACU-6).

Voted TO OVERRIDE Bush’s 2007 veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) expansion (ACU-6). This program was created in 1997 only to provide insurance to children from uninsured families who were narrowly above poverty. But 10 years later, the Dems moved to expand the program--and, as always, the devil was in the
details. By joining forces with the Dems, he chose to do the following:

Re-define "children" to mean "21-year-old adults."

Re-define "just above poverty" to mean "$80,000 income."

Let some taxpayers pay for other taxpayers' insurance (even if the former make less than the latter and purchase their own insurance).

Give incentives for states to “recruit” new enrollees and thus make this big program even bigger. (Carney-1).

Voted FOR a 2009 bill to double SCHIP spending (ACU-17).   This insurance entitlement provides free coverage for enrollees whose incomes can be as high as triple the poverty level—and the vote was viewed as an important step
toward the kind of nationalized health care that was passed in March 2010. Also notable, the CBO estimated that
nearly 80% of the children who were given free insurance under SCHIP already had private policies (Carter - NRO). To pay for the swelling program, KKirk’s vote included a tax hike.

Voted AGAINST speeding up construction on the border fence (ACU-6).

Voted FOR allowing the EEOC to sue employers who require English be spoken in the workplace (1of 7 in the GOP)

Voted AGAINST easing McCain/Feingold restrictions on political speech in the weeks before an election

Voted FOR Cash for Clunkers (ACU-17).

Voted FOR Pelosi's "light-bulb ban" that, as the ACU explains, regulates "lights and appliances (including a ban on the incandescent light bulb), creating new programs for alternative energy sources, imposing more regulations
on energy companies and mandating vastly increased use of ‘renewable’ energy” (ACU 6).

Voted FOR Barney Frank’s Housing Trust Fund of 2007 (ACU-5), which Speaker Pelosi boasted as “the largest expansion in federal housing programs in decades” (Pelosi 1) and which the Bush administration opposed as “a duplicate program” that “would create an undue and counterproductive reliance on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” (Woolley & Gerhard)

Voted FOR the 2007 Energy Policy that, according to the ACU, mandated reliance on biofuels while not allowing oil supplies to increase. The policy also stiffened regulations and raised taxes $2 billion (ACU-6).

Voted FOR applying McCain / Feingold to grassroots organizations (ACU-4) NOTE: Undoubtedly, in this instance, the dems were the good guys. This was GOP-sponsored and nearly ALL republicans voted for it. However, we at Remove the Rinos believe there is no excuse for voting against the 1st Amendment no matter how many republicans do so and no matter how reprehensible George Soros’ 527s are. And if John McCain were to jump off a bridge…..??

Voted AGAINST a 2006 conservative budget alternative that would have extended Bush’s tax cuts while trimming more than 300 billion dollars of discretionary spending, done away with close to 150 programs, and increased funds for the military and for veterans. It also would have opened ANWR for drilling (ACU-4) .

Voted AGAINST banning taxpayer dollars from going to the U.N. to renovate, or build anew, their headquarters in the United States (ACU 4).

Voted AGAINST an amendment that would keep government funds from being used to enforce trigger-lock regulations (ACU-4). Critics argue these regulations have little value in promoting gun safety and are primarily punitive in design, adding cost and red tape to gun ownership. Still worse, these trigger locks would hamper, if not
outright nullify, a gun-owner's ability to use the weapon in self-defense. This suggests another Machiavellian gun-
control strategy: if you can't make a gun illegal, do the next best thing - make it useless.

Voted AGAINST an amendment to cut discretionary spending by 2% while protecting the Bush tax cuts (ACU 2).

Voted FOR raising CAFE standards (ACU-2) For a look at the link between higher CAFE standards and increased traffic fatalities, as well as the folly of the economic justifications for higher standards, see what Dennis Kneale has to say: "New CAFE" (CNBC-1)

Voted AGAINST drilling in ANWR in 2005 (ACU 2).

Voted AGAINST drilling in ANWR in 2006 (ACU-4) .

Voted FOR spending an additional $100 million on Public Broadcasting (ACU

Voted AGAINST reforming the Endangered Species Act (ACU 2). to reimburse property owners for losses suffered from not being able to develop their land. It also clarified species designations, better protecting the species in need of protection and better targeting the properties in need of oversight (Marano and Lieberman).

Voted FOR raising minimum wage after the Dems rejected tax cuts that would have protected entry-level workers and small businesses (ACU-6) . For insights into the harmful effects the measure, in its House form, would have meant to workers and small businesses, National Review Online consulted with four leading economists. All four economists agreed that only politicians stood to gain from the measure : "At Minimum…Should Republicans fight back against a minimum-wage increase?"

Voted AGAINST the Online Freedom of Speech bill, which would have prevented e-mail and blogs from being regulated by the Federal Election Commission (ACU-2). In essence, this bill's defeat leaves open the possibility that
McCain/Feingold could reach its way dramatically into the Internet (Hayward).

Voted AGAINST the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act that, according to the ACU, "allowed oil and natural gas leasing and pre-leasing activities for Outer Continental Shelf areas, terminated subsidies for broadband telecommunications
services in rural areas, and provided for energy production on small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."

Voted FOR a 700% increase in funding for the HOPE VI Public Housing Program, even as $2 billion remained in the coffers, unspent. This was a program that Bush had marked for elimination (ACU-8).

Voted AGAINST the 2008 Republican budget resolution that, according to the ACU, "would have made the Bush tax
cuts permanent, capped discretionary spending at $973 billion, reduced mandatory spending by $12 billion over five years, and imposed a moratorium on pork barrel 'earmarks'” (ACU-8).

Voted AGAINST a 2008 motion that would have encouraged drilling in ANWR, the Outer-continental Shelf, and other
territories in the West (ACU-8).

Voted FOR permanently raising taxes on businesses while temporarily extending tax credits on “green” initiatives. This was presented to the American people as "tax relief" (a deed that the ACU appropriately describes as "legislative sleight-of-hand") (ACU-8).

Voted FOR the Democrat's Mortgage Bailout (Round One). Introduced in May 08, this bill set the tone for the bailout fever that would soon infect Washington. Under threat of Bush veto, Smith voted in favor of the bill, which sought to further distort the marketplace by increasing the Federal Housing Authority's influence, guaranteeing hundreds of
billions of dollars in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. Simultaneously, it provided a multi-billion dollar trust fund
available to parties of questionable relevance and repute, such as ACORN

Voted FOR the AMT "Relief" Bill, which raised taxes on U.S. energy producers. At a time of record-high energy prices when some legislators were calling for a tax holiday at the gas pump, Smith was voting to raise taxes on the energy sector (ACU-8).

Voted AGAINST off-shore drilling in 06 (ACU-4).

Voted FOR penalizing energy producers. As part of an ongoing assault on the energy sector at a time when we most needed to encourage exploration and drilling, Smith voted with the democrats on a bill that, as the ACU explains, would have placed "new requirements and penalties on holders of federal oil and gas leases" (ACU-8).

Voted FOR the Paycheck Equality Bill, which--at its best--duplicated anti-discrimination laws already in effect, and--at its worst--moved the burden of proof in discrimination cases from the employee to the employer (a clear violation of the innocent-until-proven-guilty principle) and opened the door to oppressive intrusion into the labor market .

Voted AGAINST lifting the ban on oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. Introduced in September 08, this measure would have given states the power to choose whether to allow production off their own coasts (ACU-8).

Voted AGAINST allowing D.C. residents to own firearms (ACU-8).

Voted FOR the economic stimulus bill of September 2008 (ACU-8).

Voted FOR bailing out the auto industry (ACU-8).Four months later, our president was firing CEOs. Either Smith favors nationalizing industry, or he's too short-sighted to deserve our trust. Either way, he's bad for the G.O.P.