When does the madness of Dave Brat stop?
By Michael McClary, The Culpeper Star-Exponent
Last week, at a rally in Mississippi, Donald Trump, savagely mocked sexual assault survivor Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, to the absolute delight of his supporters. Later that same day, we learned about the shenanigans of Trump, his father and his family that may amount to hundreds of millions of dollars of tax fraud, thus exploding the myth of the self-made man.
Closer to home, our Congressman, Dave Brat is just as much a divider as this man he worships. Earlier this year, in an interview on Richmond’s Lee Brothers show, Brat said, “I like bringing everybody together. I went to seminary, and I’m going to run positive, on the issues.”
Really? Have you looked at what he’s been posting on his Facebook pages lately? Have you looked at how his supporters respond to comments from the constituents who disagree with his stance on issues that affect them?
It’s exceedingly ugly. He blatantly lies about his opponent’s stance on issues, and accuses her of directing teenagers to leave a nasty note at his house—something that apparently scared him to death—but her denouncing the act, apologizing and banning the culprits from her campaign wasn’t good enough.
He’s also lied about her mere attendance at the Chesterfield Town Hall as being evidence of her protesting, rabble-rousing and condoning cursing during a prayer—all photoshopped lies.
Polling suggests that the No. 1 issue facing citizens of the 7th District is health care. Where does Dave Brat stand on the primary cause of individual bankruptcy in America? At every opportunity, although claiming otherwise, he has voted to turn his back on supporting Virginians with pre-existing conditions.
He voted for the so-called “American Health Care Act,” which would have allowed insurers to add surcharges to 3.4 million Virginians with pre-existing conditions: Up to $4,270 for asthma, $17,060 for pregnancy, $26,180 for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 for metastatic cancer.
If House Republicans had succeeded in passing the American Health Care Act—the Obamacare repeal bill—49,700 people in Brat’s district would have lost health coverage.
And how about issues affecting veterans? Brat held his first town hall in more than a year, quickly cobbled together after Abigail Spanberger met with more than a hundred people at an open Veterans for Spanberger rally a few days before.
You only got in to Brat’s, maybe, if you RSVP’d in advance. Perhaps 40 people attended—you could tell from the pictures there were many empty seats.
Brat spoke for less than three minutes, then outsourced the proceedings to Rep. Phil Roe of Tennessee for the next hour and a half.
Brat knows nothing about veterans’ issues. The reality is that he joined other Republicans in blocking these bills: Clay-Hunt Suicide Prevention Act, Health Benefits & Retirement Pay Restoration, Wounded Veterans Job Security Act, Veterans Retraining Act, Homeless Veterans Reintegration, Disabled Veterans Home Accessibility Act, Job Corps Act, Torture Veterans & Victims Relief and Veterans Business Center Act.
Yes, Dave Brat did that.
Brat has walled himself off from his constituents. A member of the far-right minority caucus in the House, he is totally ineffective as a representative of the 7th District. He ignores the majority of us.
Watch him in action when he debates Abigail Spanberger in Culpeper on Oct. 15. Watch on Comcast Channel 10 or Fios channel 21. Unless, of course, he proves cowardly and withdraws, as he has done in Richmond.
The madness can end on Nov. 6—but only if you vote.