Usually Taxin Tonko refuses to hold any Town Halls. He had all of one about Obamacare where he made a total fool out of himself. His handlers know how bad he looks in front of a live audience. One of the worst Congressman along with Charlie Rangel.
Tonko performs like Democratic puppet at town hall meeting
I was one of the unfortunate folks from Niskayuna who attended [Rep.] Paul Tonko’s town hall meeting June 30. It was a great waste of time. I was hoping we would have a dialog with the congressman on the important issues of the day — such as how we are going to reduce the spending frenzy and $14 trillion of debt. Instead, we got nearly an hour of the typical Democratic talking points. For example, Tonko stated that closing the “corporate jet loophole” should be an important part of any spending cut to reduce the debt. Here he is, of course, parroting the president’s talking point. The actual facts are it would add a meager $3 billion to the treasury over a decade, and generate a mere 0.075 percent of the $4 trillion in defi cit-reduction that Obama claims to be seeking. It might actually increase the defi cit by hurting a key industry. The additional irony of this claim is that a couple of days ago, Obama was at an Alco factory in Iowa that makes the parts for the airline industry. Thus, the unintended consequences would be less work for the airline industry. More irony: Obama included this tax break as part of his own stimulus package designed to save or create jobs in the aircraft manufacturing industry. I asked Tonko, since he was not supportive of the Ryan plan to reform Medicare, what the Democrats are offering to reduce this most important contribution to our national debt. I even pointed to President Clinton’s warning to Democrats that they cannot do nothing on Medicare or “it will consume the entire economy.” I reminded Tonko of the Medicare trustee’s report that Medicare will be broke in fi ve to 10 years if nothing is changed. A new Congressional Budget Office report has been released that shows the current trajectory is so bad that it’s outright “unsustainable” because “spending for health care in the United States has been growing faster than the economy for many years.” The report states, “Unfortunately, Obamacare doesn’t do anything to reform Medicare — it only exacerbates the problem.” Tonko’s answer was we will eliminate, waste, abuse and fraud. How often have demagogues used this answer to reduce spending over the past decades? I, for one, won’t waste my time going to future Tonko town meetings.
Re Don Cazer’s July 6 letter, “Tonko performs like Democratic puppet at town hall meeting”: Mr. Cazer writes that he attended my recent town hall meeting in Niskayuna, hoping for a dialogue on the important issues of the day, a goal we both shared. He writes that what took place was “an hour of the typical Democratic talking points.” I respectfully disagree. What took place over nearly two hours was a wide-ranging, open and energetic discussion on many federal issues, from the budget to the debt ceiling to health care. All opinions were welcome and useful. I took an unlimited number of questions from a smart and engaged audience, and many of us stayed afterward to continue our discussion. I pride myself in being accessible to the public, and we dialogue as community regularly through town hall meetings, events, office meetings, and even when I make a stop at the convenience store to pick up the morning newspaper. I disagree with Mr. Cazer and others who believe we should end Medicare to solve our budget woes. I also disagree that we should continue to provide Big Oil with mindless subsidies or overgenerous tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. However, it is critical for us to engage in thoughtful discussions so I can make the most informed decisions on behalf of the people I am humbled to serve.
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Usually Taxin Tonko refuses to hold any Town Halls. He had all of one about Obamacare where he made a total fool out of himself. His handlers know how bad he looks in front of a live audience. One of the worst Congressman along with Charlie Rangel. 
