Tester Frustrates Burns in Whitefish
Burns lies about own record on deficit, says “don’t worry� about port security
In the first televised debate of the 2006 election cycle, Montana Senate President Jon Tester of Big Sandy showed Montanans that he is ready to bring real change and leadership to the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Conrad Burns.
The debate showcased a stark contrast between Burns, the Washington insider, and Tester, a third-generation Montana farmer. Burns claimed to have supported the so-called “Pay as You Go� policy with regard to spending. But in fact, Burns has voted against the policy six times. Tester has always supported Pay as You Go and led the effort to balance Montana’s budget while President of the Montana Senate.
Burns has voted against restoring pay-as-you-go spending limits at least six times. Under Pay as You Go rules, Congress would have to offset new spending that would increase the budget deficit or get the approval of 60 Senators to increase entitlement spending without offsets. [Vote #38, 3/14/06; Vote #340, 11/17/05; Vote #283, 11/3/05; Vote #53, 3/16/05; Vote #38, 3/10/04; Vote #200, 5/23/03]
Responding to an immigration question, Burns told Tester, “don’t worry about the ports; they’re not coming in through the ports.�
Burns has now voted six times against increasing funding to keep America’s ports secure. The proposals that Burns rejected included essential funding to develop equipment to detect hidden nuclear weapons and to improve Coast Guard operations. [Vote #47, 3/15/06; Vote #166, 9/8/04; Vote #300, 7/24/03; Vote #291, 7/22/03; Vote #120, 4/3/03; Vote #115, 4/2/03; Associated Press, 9/10/04]
“There’s a reason Sen. Burns has been ducking debates with Jon Tester,� said Matt McKenna, a Tester spokesman. “Burns is in over his head debating a real Montana farmer who has represents Montana families and not Washington lobbyists.�
Burns made much of his opposition to amnesty for illegal aliens despite voting just last week in favor of amnesty for Iraqi terrorists that have killed American soldiers. Burns was one of just 19 U.S. Senators who opposed telling the new Iraqi government not to grant amnesty to those who had killed, wounded or harmed American soldiers.
Burns was often mistaken about even his own record, falsely claiming that he has never supported a tax increase. Earlier this month, Burns voted to raise taxes on Montana families and students saving for college.
Posted on Sunday, June 25th, 2006 at 11:11 am.
