A recent letter published in the Examiner was critical of Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ). The congressman has served our district and our country honorably for 33 years.
Among other things, he has become known as a steadfast and vocal supporter of veterans causes and has been a leading proponent of spreading core American values – fighting against human trafficking and modern day slavery, for the freedom and the respect of human rights around the world.
I personally disagree with Congressman Smith on many issues, but I have never doubted his sincerity in fighting for our district and New Jersey in Washington, D.C.
Having met the congressman several times at events, including one where he visited and took questions from students and faculty at Allentown High School when I was a student there 12 years ago, I respect and admire his every-man openness and dedication to honest public service.
I can also report constructive and positive experiences in contacting his offices in the district and his legislative office over the past few years.
The congressman was wise not to attend an event that he and his staff had no hand in planning. The fact is that this event was organized in an attempt to create a spectacle in which a distinguished public servant would be accosted by hundreds of angry people, many of whom may stand to effectively lose thousands of dollars in public assistance each year if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.
Challenges we collectively face as a nation are unprecedented and call for a meaningful and substantive discussion on the facts and the choices we face. Real solutions sometimes involve bitter medicine, winners, and losers. These types of events are emotional and raucous. They detract from our ability to engage in meaningful and respectful civic discourse.
Despite my heartfelt respect for the congressman and his years of honorable service, I have observed with increasing concern that his policy positions are often at odds with his constituents and the interests of his district.
His approach and views on gay rights are downright bigoted. This is a gruesome scar on his otherwise exemplary record on human rights in addition to being out of touch with the district and the country more broadly.
His opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership directly contributed to its demise. We will all be poorer than we otherwise would be in the future as a result. What kind of future does he want for the unborn whose lives he so vigorously defends?
He has repeatedly supported union thugs and their power over workers and corrupt stranglehold on state government. Workers deserve the ability to choose whether or not they want to join a union and pay dues, without threats and intimidation. A small portion of the population should not have the power to hold the rest of us hostage and successfully make demands for pensions and benefits that we will never be able to afford.
The unshakable power public employee unions have in our state contributes to a negative feedback loop wherein we are slowly and surely sinking into the fiscal abyss. Congressman Smith has been an accessory to the looting of our state and the future of our children by public employee unions.
I have been willing to accept significant policy disagreements with Congressman Smith in the past few elections, but my patience is wearing thin. I believe many others in the district feel the same way.
At this time I hope he will have the courage and resolve to stand up for his constituents and fight for a better future for our country and healthcare system by supporting the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and a follow-on series of legislative actions that address the core structural issues plaguing the healthcare industry to drive real improvements in healthcare affordability and accessibility for all Americans.
If he fails to support the critical repeal and replace legislation, I will do something I have never done: I will vote in a primary election and I will vote against our incumbent congressman. If he is not challenged in the primary, I will consider running myself. This is not a flippant statement. Posterity is stake.
Bob English should recognize that his voice is not the only one unsuccessfully making demands on the congressman’s ear.
Chris Buckingham
Millstone Township
