PRESCOTT, AZ – It's an old cliché that many of our parents taught us: "what you don't know can't hurt you." It also might as well be the motto for the Gosar campaign, which is working hard to keep the voters of Greater Arizona in the dark about what their candidate believes in.
Paul Gosar holds many views that are alarmingly out-of-touch with District One and deeply frightening to our working families and seniors. Ever since he received the nomination, he's been flip-flopping, mud-slinging to distract folks, and flat out lying about his positions to hide where he really stands until after Election Day.
Ann Kirkpatrick believes that what you don't know can hurt you, and will hurt Greater Arizona. That's why we're outlining exactly what Paul is trying to cover up and some questions folks want him to answer before they go to the polls.
Gosar Pledged to Protect Tax Loopholes for Companies Shipping American Jobs Overseas [link]
How He's Hiding It: Claiming his pledge is just about being against new taxes [Press Release, 10/14], insisting he's adamantly opposed to outsourcing, and accusing Ann of supporting outsourcing despite her long record of working to close those same loopholes. [link]
Questions for Paul: Are you denying that your Americans for Tax Reform pledge would bar you from voting to close tax loopholes that encourage big companies to send American jobs to other countries? If you're so opposed to outsourcing, why won't you commit to voting to shut down those tax breaks?
Gosar Questions the Constitutionality of Social Security and Medicare [link]
How He's Hiding It: He's called the claim that he questioned it a lie without further explanation and has attempted to portray himself as a defender of Social Security and Medicare [Press Release, 10/14]
Question for Paul: How can you claim you want to protect Social Security and criticize cuts to Medicare if you think those programs may be unconstitutional? If you believe that Social Security and Medicare are constitutional, why are you calling for them to be "put on the table for constitutional examination"?
Gosar Supports Cutting Social Security Benefits [link] and Veterans' Health Care [link]
How He's Hiding It: Claimed after being criticized for his views that he meant to exempt Social Security and Veterans' benefits from his 10% across-the-board budget cut plan [Arizona Daily Sun, 9/26/10], rolled out a last-minute Social Security plan despite his earlier comments that he did not know enough to discuss Social Security's future [Press Release 10/15; Arizona Daily Sun, 9/19/10], and blatantly flip-flopped on his budget cut plan - he now says he supports cutting non-defense discretionary spending by 10%, with no mention of across-the-board cuts to every program [Prescott Daily Courier, 10/16/10].
Questions for Paul: How can you claim you want to protect Social Security when you're planning on cutting $73 billion in benefits from it in your budget plan? Why have you changed your position on how to cut the budget in the last month, other than to avoid criticism for cutting Social Security and Veterans benefits?
Gosar is Backed By Wall Street Special Interests That Support Outsourcing and Privatizing Social Security [link]
How He's Hiding It: Loudly declaring his opposition to outsourcing [link] and privatization [link]; hoping no one will notice that corporate special interests like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have endorsed him and others like Freedom Works are fundraising for him and Americans for Prosperity and 60 Plus are set to spend more than $1 million to get him elected [link and link for currently disclosed spending]
Questions for Paul: Since you've repeatedly tried to attack Ann Kirkpatrick as having the views of groups that support her despite her record, and you're being supported by groups that champion outsourcing and privatizing Social Security and handing our retirement security to Wall Street, do you think it's legitimate to argue that you hold that same view? Do you think it's appropriate for shadowy outside groups to play such a role in influencing elections in Greater Arizona?
Gosar is "Not a Big Fan" of the Minimum Wage [link]
How He's Hiding It: So far, waiting and hoping that no one notices he's attacking another critical protection for working families.
Questions for Paul: Do you think that in a district with a median income of less than $35,000, it's appropriate for a candidate to attack this basic promise?
Gosar Wants to Take the Right to Elect U.S. Senators Away From the People and Give More Power to Career Politicians and Lobbyists [link]
How He's Hiding It: Campaign claimed that his stance on the 17th Amendment is being lied about without explaining how. [E-mail, 10/13]
Questions for Paul: Why do you think that state legislators, heavily influenced by their party bosses and with lobbyists increasingly calling the shots, would do a better job electing Senators than the people? If you do not oppose the 17th Amendment, how do you explain your frequent criticism of it?
Gosar is Refusing to Take a Stand on How to Approach the War in Afghanistan [link]
How He's Hiding It: By telling folks that he doesn't understand enough to have an opinion and that he will develop one when he gets to Congress [Flagstaff Tea Party, 7/15/10; Holbrook Unity Rally, 8/26/10; Arizona Daily Sun, 9/19/10] or lapsing into full-on incoherence [ABC News, 10/14/10].
Questions for Paul: Do you think it's fair to the parents of our troops in combat in Afghanistan for you to ask for their vote without having any sort of answer on what our approach there should be?
Gosar Thinks This is Our Last Free Election [link]
How He's Hiding It: Paul himself has actually made himself clear on this belief many times - but for such a strong and apparently firmly-held belief, it is suspiciously absent from his campaign website, literature and press releases.
Questions for Paul: What exactly do you mean by this comment - what's going to happen if you're not elected that would stop any more free elections from happening? What are you going to do to make sure it's not our last free election - would the steps you'd take include trying to impeach the President and Vice-President?
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