The Truth about Pete Hoekstra:
Pete Hoekstra has spent his entire career fighting for well-connected special interests.
Pete Hoekstra doesn't fight for middle class families that work hard and play by the rules - what's important to him is that his clients at his D.C. lobbying firm. Hoekstra worked to further rig the rules for Washington special interests and insiders as a member of the House of Representatives, and it’s what he will do again if sent to the Senate in 2012. See below for the truth about Pete Hoekstra and his outrageous record:
HOEKSTRA WANTS TO LET LANSING POLITICIANS APPOINT U.S. SENATORS:
Hoekstra wants to change the U.S. Constitution and take the power to elect U.S. senators away from voters. Hoekstra would rather take us back to a time when politicians in Lansing got decide who represents us in Washington. Even Hoekstra's GOP primary challenger said Hoekstra's plan would result in deals being "made behind closed doors and the establishment candidate would have a coronation."Read More...
HOEKSTRA WANTS TO OUTLAW BIRTH CONTROL AND BAN ABORTION EVEN IN THE CASE OF RAPE AND INCEST:
Hoekstra co-sponsored legislation that would make it illegal for women to use birth control pills. The bills, which he pushed seven times during his time in Congress, would ban abortion in all circumstances, even in the case of rape and incest. Hoekstra also supports a bill that would allow employers and insurance companies to discriminate against women by denying them essential health care services like mammograms, maternity care, and birth control. Read More...
HOEKSTRA THINKS EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK PROTECTIONS ARE A "NUISANCE":
Not only does Hoekstra oppose equal pay for equal work laws that help guarantee women are paid the same amount as men for do the same job, he even says that the protections for women are a "nuisance" and "shouldn't be law." If Hoekstra were elected to the Senate, he'd fight to to end these critical protections and make it harder for Michigan's middle class families to make ends meet. Read More...
HOEKSTRA PROTECTS BIG OIL WHILE GAS PRICES RISE:
Hoekstra supports drilling in the Great Lakes, even though a disaster like BP or Enbridge would destroy the Lakes and the thousands of Michigan jobs that depend on them. And Hoekstra wants to give the same big oil companies $40 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies even though we are running record deficits and the oil companies are making record profits. Read More...
HOEKSTRA FIGHTS TO VOUCHERIZE MEDICARE:
Hoekstra supports a plan that would turn Medicare into a voucher program and force seniors to pay $6,400 more out of pocket every year. Hoekstra would use that money to give even more tax breaks to millionaires and corporate special interests. By mandating that seniors buy insurance directly from insurance companies, Hoekstra would take away the guaranteed benefits seniors earned over a lifetime of hard work. Read More...
HOEKSTRA FIGHTS FOR TAX BREAKS FOR MILLIONAIRES & BILLIONAIRES, WANTS TO RAISE TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS:
Part of the reason Hoekstra wants to voucherize Medicare and privitize Social Security is because he needs the savings to pay for huge tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. Hoekstra supports a plan that would cut taxes for millionaires by nearly $500,000 dollars while raising taxes on middle class families by $4,000 a year and increasing the national debt by $360 billion a year. And he supported extending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires. Read More...
HOEKSTRA THINKS AMERICA IS TO BLAME FOR CHINA'S UNFAIR AND ILLEGAL TRADE PRACTICES:
Instead of fighting against China's unfair and illegal trade practice, Hoekstra is making excuses for the Chinese government, saying, quote, "The problem is American public policy…. The problem is not anything the Chinese are doing at all." And Hoekstra even voted 3 times to give tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas to countries like China. Read More...
HOEKSTRA GOES FROM CONGRESS TO A WASHINGTON LOBBYING FIRM:
After holding a seat in Congress for 18 years, Pete Hoekstra immediately went to work at a Washington D.C. lobbying firm, pulling in more than $500,000 per year advocating for powerful special interests. In Congress, he fought to protect giveaways to oil companies, drug companies, and insurance companies at the expense of middle class families. Read More...