Earlier this month, I sent the following letter to the Lebanon Daily News in Pennsylvania, which they eventually published. Holden is the current congressman for PA-17. Unfortunately, the letters and article mentioned below are behind a subscription wall, otherwise I'd link to them.

I've been following with great interest the letters exchanged in this space between Jerry Shenk and Rep. Tim Holden. What's particularly fascinating is how Holden defends his liberal record as if it's something to be proud of.

In his most recent letter ("Congressman looks to keep money at home," Feb. 6, 2008), Holden argues that his vote for a tax hike wasn't really a tax hike and that his support for a pork project was entirely appropriate.

These two examples only scratch the surface of his liberal record. Holden has voted for higher taxes numerous times. Most recently, he voted for a tax hike in the latest Energy Bill, and he voted for the Democratic Budget, which requires that the Bush tax cuts expire, resulting in the largest tax hike in U.S. history. He has voted against permanent repeal of the dreaded Death Tax as well.

As for earmarks, he may have some success at saying pork projects for his district are beneficial, but most people don't realize that he has to support billions in wasteful spending elsewhere in order to get his prized earmarks. It's a horribly abusive practice. To cite just a few examples, Holden voted last year to fund earmarks for the National Mule and Packers Museum in California. And he also supported earmarks for "grape genetic research" in New York and the Lobster Institute in Maine. All told, these pork projects, along with thousands of others, totaled over $20 billion. And that was just last year!

This is not true leadership. It's the behavior of a "go along to get along" big spending politician.