Letter to the Editor: Denney vs. LaMalfa

I recently had the privilege of writing and mailing postcards in support of Audrey Denney for Congress.  On each card I wrote, “[Audrey] will fight to protect the environment, our health care, Social Security, the USPS, our elections, people of color, and LGBTQ folk”. As I wrote each card, I thought about how all of those have come under attack by the current regime in Washington, DC, and how our unrepresentative in CA-1, Doug LaMalfa, has been and is complicit in those attacks, either by commission or omission.

LaMalfa has been a vocal and consistent denier of human-caused climate change.  His response to the wildfires devastating the West is to regurgitate #45’s “forest management” mantra and, by implication, to echo that failed leader’s, “Science doesn’t know.” As an indication of his failure in this area, LaMalfa has a 2 percent life-time score from the League of Conservation Voters (lowest among the California Congressional delegation).

When it comes to health care, we cannot forget the over 60 times LaMalfa voted to repeal the ACA, with no replacement planned, indicating that he was perfectly fine with thousands of people — including veterans — in “his” district being stripped of their health care.  As an indication of his antipathy toward women’s health issues, he has a score of 0 percent from Planned Parenthood Action Fund. In the face of COVID-19, he has continually criticized Gov. Newsom’s plans to keep Californians safe, has declared the primacy of economy over people’s health, echoed #45’s unfounded criticisms of WHO, and has followed the example of his party’s leader in many times appearing umasked and ignoring social distancing at public events.

His failure on Social Security can be summarized by his unquestioning support of #45’s Executive Order to cut the payroll tax, which would work to defund Social Security.  He either lied or is totally ignorant when he stated that Social Security benefits would not be affected, because that is exactly the purpose of the Executive Order.  This is a major failure in representation of the current and future retirees among the people of this district.

The USPS and elections currently go hand-in-hand, and LaMalfa has not issued one word of criticism of #45’s or DeJoy’s actions to destroy the Postal Service at a time when we need it the most.  There has been from him no voice at all for protecting mail-in voting; no word of assurance to the people of this district that their mail-in votes are a safe and secure method of voting.  He has also been completely silent about the efforts of his own party to suppress the votes of any who is not likely to vote Republican. Additionally, in his failure to voice any protest against DeJoy’s attacks on the postal service, he is complicit in injuring postal users (all of us) who fail to receive needed medications on time, Social Security and other checks on time, live animals via mail, and all those many other necessary communications for which we rely on the Post Office.

Far from protecting people of color, LaMalfa has consistently praised #45 for his immigration policies, and has never issued one word of criticism against his blatant racism, xenophobia, or hatred of non-white people.  Indeed, he has parroted the regime’s unfounded accusation that it is ANTIFA that is totally to blame for violence and destruction in our cities, with no acknowledgement or condemnation of the right-wing and white supremacist groups actually responsible.  In 2018, the ACLU gave him a score of only 4% (tied for lowest among the California Congressional delegation).
LaMalfa has yet to speak out in support or protection of LGBTQ people.  In fact, he sponsored a bill that would strip the protection of choice from minors dealing with gender issues.  His score from the Human Right Campaign has been a steady 0% throughout his time in Congress.

This list could go on for quite a while, but I will stop here.  I conclude by saying that I am voting for Audrey Denney, who will fight to protect us, not for someone who has consistently stood and voted against the protections we need.

Paul Guffin
Downieville