In the Aug. 7 story “Deficit warrior,” this newspaper made a questionable observation about my record: “Herrera Beutler’s adherence to the conservative GOP party line is in sharp contrast to the voting record of her predecessor, Brian Baird, a Democratic maverick who frequently crossed swords with House leadership.”
This just didn’t seem right, so my office did a little digging. I hadn’t spent much time analyzing how my votes conform with my party, but fortunately The Washington Post tracks how often each member of Congress votes with their party during each two-year session. According to the Post, Baird voted with his party between 88 percent (1999-2000), and 95 percent (2007-2008). The Post also shows that so far only 87 percent of my votes have been “party line.” See for yourself at http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/112/house/members/.
Whether you consider my vote to end wasteful farm subsidies, cut Pentagon spending while protecting active and retired military, or revamp instead of defund the Endangered Species Act, my votes don’t always line up with my party. But my pledge has always been to prioritize Southwest Washington’s needs — not my party’s. Whether it puts me with my party 10 percent or 100 percent of the time, this region will always come first.
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler
Camas
