Not only No, But HELL NO! Will House GOP put a RINO as Chairman Of Energy & Commerce?

Who Is Fred Upton?
by Brian Johnson
November 22, 2010



Fred Upton

 November 2nd was a watershed event for Conservatives and was a signal to the GOP that Democrat-Lite is not acceptable for Republicans who campaign as conservatives and then govern as left-leaning moderates.  Americans voted to change the the status quo in Washington.  Simply having the majority numbers doesn't do that.  Putting those members into committee assignments in which they will be most effective in promoting conservative ideals is just as, if not more important, than raw numbers.

So the move by Republicans to put Fred Upton as Chairman of the Ennergy and Commerce Committee is, at best, disturbing.  The jurisdiction of this committee is as follows:

• National energy policy generally.
• Health and health facilities (except health care supported by payroll deductions).
• Interstate and foreign commerce generally.
• Consumer affairs and consumer protection.
• Exploration, production, storage, supply, marketing, pricing, and regulation of energy resources, including all fossil fuels, solar energy, and other unconventional or renewable energy resources.
• Interstate energy compacts.
• Conservation of energy resources.
• Energy information generally.
• The generation and marketing of power (except by federally chartered or Federal regional power marketing authorities); reliability and interstate transmission of, and ratemaking for, all power; and siting of generation facilities (except the installation of interconnections between Government waterpower projects).
• General management of the Department of Energy and management and all functions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
• Biomedical research and development.
• Public health and quarantine.
• Regulation of the domestic nuclear energy industry, including regulation of research and development reactors and nuclear regulatory research.
• Regulation of interstate and foreign communications.
• Travel and tourism.

Naming Fred Upton to the Chairmanship of this Committee will be disastrous.  This committee has broad powers to set the agenda for U.S. Energy Policy, and Fred Upton has bought into the no-growth, flat earth, environmentalist mantra of  "go green" hook, line and sinker. To be fair to Mr. Upton, I think it is only fair that I judge him based on his voting record, and not on conjecture.  From Red State:

•Upton was one of only 38 House Republicans to support the Democrats’ Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 that removed millions of acres of federal lands from oil and gas leasing, thus driving up energy costs for consumers.

•Upton was one of only 20 Republicans to vote against an amendment that would have reduced the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 funding to 2008 levels.

•Upton teamed up with Democrat Jane Harman to pass an invasive energy bill which mandates that only politically-favored “environmentally-friendly” light bulbs be used. That’s right, this guy thinks the Constitution gives him the power to tell you which light bulb you can use.
 
2009
Fred Upton voted against striking stimulus spending. Voted to expand government run health care. He was one of 16 Republicans who voted for Nancy Pelosi’s bloated 2009 spending bill.  He was one of 35 Republicans who voted against limiting Davis Bacon rules, driving up the cost of government projects.  Hevoted against the Republican Study Committee budget alternative.  Hevoted for the infamous “Cash for Clunkers” bill, and he voted for Harry Reid’s boondoggle bill to create a “Travel Promotion Office”.

2008
He voted for $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout. Twice.  Fred Upton was one of 32 Republicans who voted for the auto bailout. He voted for a government health care mandate. Fred Upton voted for an income tax surcharge.  Fred Upton was one of just 10 Republicans who voted for new taxes.

This is just the tip of the iceberg with this RINO.  His Wikipedia profile says that he is "fiscally conservative", but I have a suspicion that this was written by his own staff, or the folks over at the Daily Kos.

Putting someone with the "credientials" of Fred Upton as the Chairman of a committee as influential as the Energy and Commerce Committee is a huge mistake.  The GOP would do well to step back from this one and seriously consider someone else for this important chairmanship. Maybe someone like Devin Nunes, a solid, principled conservative who campaigns conservative AND governs conservative.

Related articles

• First Big Test for House Republicans (dakotavoice.com)
• Upton takes right-wing beatdown for incandescent bulb ban (grist.org)
• Just Say No to Fred Upton (redstate.com)