Is Your Representative Representing YOU?

When the Amash amendment to defund unconstitutional activity in the NSA came up in the House of Representatives, I was disappointed to learn that my representative, Luke Messer, voted against it.  I took this as a direct vote against the Constitution, and so, a direct violation of his Oath of Office.  And I informed him as such.  But that got me thinking: If he would willfully violate his Oath in this circumstance, where else might I find unsavory activity?  So I did some digging.


The websites I used for my research were The U.S. House of Representatives Roll Call Votes and Luke Messer on the Issues (can search a different candidate), among others.  Here is what I found:

• 2011-2012 campaign funds: http://www.fec.gov/disclosurehs/HSCandList.do - a total of $745,068 personally contributed, or nearly 75% of his total campaign fund.  This alone demonstrates that Mr. Messer is not just another rank-and-file citizen, and further demonstrates the fact that our government is no longer "Of the People."
• 3/6/2013: Messer voted "Yea" on H.R. 933, which included a provision that has come to be known as the "Monsanto Protection Act."  This act has shielded the GMO-giant Monsanto from any legal action that would prevent them from producing and distributing their genetically modified foods, even if it is found that these "foods" cause harm to humans.
• 4/12/2013: On unanimous consent (Including Messer): S.716 (introduced by harry Reid) was passed.  This legislation removed the barriers to insider trading in Congress, which places all elected representatives above the law in terms of making a profit from the stock market.  They can now freely trade on insider information, and as such, their stock portfolios tend to outperform any in the private sector.
• 7/25/2013: Vote results for Amash Amendment to defund NSA wholesale violation of 4th Amendment: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll412.xml.  Messer voted against this amendment.  This demonstrates a clear lack of reverence for his Oath of Office, in which he swore to protect, defend, and preserve the Constitution of the United States of America.  Meanwhile, Mr. Messer says he supports protecting the Constitution (http://www.ontheissues.org/IN/Luke_Messer_Government_Reform.htm).  Which is it, sir?  You cannot have it both ways, and your actions thus far have spoken louder than your words.
• Once again ignoring our Fourth Amendment rights, Luke voted YES on CISPA (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll117.xml)
• Mr. Messer opposes same-sex marriage as well as pro-choice policies.  As for me, I would not personally choose to get married to a man, nor would I push a woman to get an abortion in the case of an unwanted pregnancy.  In the pregnancy case, I would suggest she give the child up for adoption.  However, it’s none of my business how someone else chooses to live their life – it is not fair of me to deprive another of their right to live as they choose.  For this reason, I am both pro-choice (before the first trimester is over) and pro-same sex marriage.
• As a positive note, Mr. Messer supports gun owners (http://www.ontheissues.org/IN/Luke_Messer_Gun_Control.htm).  While it is great that he supports at least some parts of the Constitution, his Oath does not permit him to choose not to abide by the Fourth Amendment.  His Oath omitted the words “The parts of the Constitution which I deem relevant.”
• He has no declared stance on Social Security, which is an issue of National importance.  As for me: I know SS is completely bankrupt, and it’s because our leaders borrowed every single penny from the Trust Fund that was supposed to last until 2036.  The program is broken and is further bankrupting our country.  This must be addressed, and a neutral stance on the issue is not productive.
• What about his opinion on free trade?  On this, he is also undeclared.  Free trade has led to the mass exportation of jobs from the U.S. overseas, which has been one of the leading causes of the decline of our country.  We must eliminate Free Trade Agreements and once again institute tariffs on imports; this would both incentivize the USA to produce more than it consumes as well as provide an additional revenue stream to fund government.
• Messer is neutral on maintaining US sovereignty from the United Nations.  This is directly contradictory to Messer’s stance on guns when you consider the U.N. small arms treaty.  While he was with the unanimous vote against funding for this treaty, he needs to take an official stance on U.S. sovereignty from the U.N.
• Messer seems to support expansion of the Military Industrial Complex.  He supports this expansion under the name of “giving the military what they need to keep America safe.”  The US military spending dwarfs all other countries’ spending combined.  To keep the U.S. safe, we would only need to bring all our troops home and deploy them to defend our own borders.  We need to get out of undeclared illegal wars in countries where we have no business.
• Messer has not publicly taken a stance on staying out of Iran.  He needs to do this: Remaining complicit in the U.S. involvement in Syria will allow us to be led into World War 3.  Mr. Messer – where do you stand?
• On green energy: While it’s true we should continue to use coal and domestic oil, it is folly not to at least look into alternative energies.  On the surface, Luke seems to completely oppose looking into green energy.
• 8/2/2013: It is agreed that Congress will have 75% of the cost of their Obamacare covered by the federal government.  In other words, We the Taxpayers (including businesses) get to cover the increased cost for Congress in addition to the 72% increased cost to ourselves.  This does not seem like equal application of the law, and I am curious to get Mr. Messer's feelings on the matter.

This is what I found about my representative.  He looks great on the surface, but underneath it, I do not feel he has my best interests at heart, nor can he really connect with his constituents on a personal or financial level.  As such, until he changes his stances or publicly declares stances on the above issues, I would not vote for him.

So what can you find out about your representative?