Jeff Crank for Congress Newsletter
Effective. Conservative. Common Sense.
June 27, 2008
Crank Catches Lamborn In A Fib: He Did Support Tax Increases
Employing some "shoe leather" research tactics, Jeff Crank's campaign team has caught Doug Lamborn in a pretty significant fib.
While Lamborn likes to say he has never supported "a single tax increase," Crank's team has discovered that 26 years ago, while running for a seat in the Kansas legislature, Lamborn supported a severance tax and alcohol, cigarette and motor vehicle taxes.
And he wasn't against additional new taxes, either. "We're going to need to take a look at slightly increasing existing taxes as well as cultivating newer, less established taxes," Lamborn told a Kansas newspaper at the time.
Crank campaign consultant Patrick Davis also noted that as recently as two years ago, Lamborn said that "I've never supported a single tax increase, and won't do so in Congress" or some variation on that theme.
Lamborn has now altered his statement to say that "it remains true that I have never voted for, or supported, a tax increase in my 13 1/2 years in public office."
"It goes to his (Lamborn's) character and honesty," added Davis. "Doug Lamborn's so-called fiscal conservative credentials are based on a lie."
Lamborn Requests Earmarks for Contributors; Crank Tells Him: 'Give the Money Back'
After first saying he would limit earmarks to those involving national defense and then saying he wasn't sure what earmarks were, Congressman Doug Lamborn has now asked the House Armed Services Committee to approve more than $32 million in federal contracts for five companies that have given his campaign almost $10,000 in the last two years.
Jeff Crank has now asked Lamborn to return the donations to the companies which are linked to Lamborn's spending request for Fiscal Year 2009,
"Doug Lamborn has mastered the art of the shakedown quickly," said Crank. "He puts the 'pro' into quid pro quo."
Crank has already announced that if elected, he will oppose earmarks, the "pork barrel" spending requests tacked on to budget bills. He is the only one of the three candidates running for Colorado's Fifth Congressional District seat to sign a pledge against Congressional earmarks.
Crank Vows Better Leadership For Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site
Jeff Crank, Republican Congressional candidate, has lambasted incumbent Doug Lamborn for his lack of leadership in utilizing his position on the House Armed Services Committee concerning the Pinon Canyon expansion issue.
"Doug Lamborn has failed our district on this issue," noted Crank. "He was given an appointment to a powerful committee for our district and squandered it."
Crank added that fellow members of Lamborn's own Colorado congressional delegation are "rolling him by seeking approval of a measure delaying the Pinon Canyon action for another year." Representative John Salazar, D-Colo., recently told the Pueblo Chieftan that "I'm not expecting a fight over the one-year ban in the full committee.
"They aren't expecting a fight because they know Lamborn won't give them one," said Crank. "This just shows the lack of leadership for our district."
Lieutenant General Ed Soriano, USA, Ret., the former commanding general for Fort Carson, remarked, "The expansion at Pinon Canyon is vitally important to our military. Jeff Crank has worked hard on this issue for years. We need strong leadership in Congress to bring this effort to a successful conclusion, and Jeff will provide it."
Also, Crank is the only candidate in the Fifth Congressional District race on record as saying he would take the possibility of eminent domain to obtain property off the negotiating table.
"We can negotiate an outcome with both economic and agricultural benefits for all concerned," he said. "All we need is someone is Washington with the courage and foresight to do it."
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