by Mario Hernandez
Daily Lobo columnist
Although the beat is addictive and the music moving, the song "Won't Get Fooled Again" by the Who is not just meant for dancing. It has a political message that cannot be overlooked and, strangely, has relevance to our political climate. We are continually being fooled by our politicians, and we are being convinced to vote for candidates that are not good for us.
We have fallen victim to it in our own state and in our own elections. One politician in particular has duped us and laughed all the way to Capitol Hill - Rep. Heather Wilson.
She has whispered sweet nothings into our ears, and we have gobbled it up, grasping onto each word, hoping they are true. We were hoping that she really did care for our veterans, all the while slashing veterans' benefits, increasing health insurance profits and the price of prescription drugs. While we were dreaming of Wilson being an official for the people, she was busy taking from the back pocket of the middle and lower classes and depositing into the hands of businesses and CEOs.
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We prayed that she actually cared for our children's futures, but she fooled us again when she helped slash money for education, voted against environmental protections and continued to back a war where thousands of sons, daughters, mothers and fathers have died.
Wilson represents our 1st Congressional District. You have probably heard her claims to be working for you and for your causes, but she isn't. Her voting record speaks for itself.
If you are a minority, you might want to know how she has voted for your causes. On issues that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered most important to its cause, she sided with it only 36 percent of the time, according to Project Vote Smart's Web site. Worse, the same organization has found that she sided with the League of United Latin American Citizens only 28.5 percent of the time.
I wouldn't want to leave the Arab American Institute out of the picture, either. Wilson has sided with it only 8.3 percent of the time - anything more and her stance on terror might look bad.
Also, if you are a woman and care about what you can and can't do with your body, you should know that Project Vote Smart found that 88 percent of the time, Wilson votes to take away the control you have over your body. In addition, her voting record shows her support of the American Association of University Women is at 21 percent, and it is at 30 percent for Business and Professional Women USA.
Are you a student? Wilson voted in favor of education bills and benefits 33 percent of the time. Even for issues conservative groups find most important, she only supports them a modest 66 percent of the time.
What is Wilson really voting for? Here's a hint - it starts with the letter 'b' and ends with 'usiness.' If you guessed business, you would be correct. She voted in favor of subsidies to businesses and business special interests a whopping 91 percent of the time. This is the issue she clearly backs above all else. She may claim otherwise, but the facts and the voting records do not lie.
She claims that she is backing small businesses and their employees' ability to access things like health care. However, she voted against an amendment to a bill that would have done just that, the Small Employer Health Benefits Plan amendment. This amendment would have created "a small employer health benefits plan, which would provide access to qualified national and state health pooling arrangements, assisting both employers and employees of small businesses with the costs of health coverage." Perhaps she just forgot to vote how she said she would on that one day.
Wilson is a lobbyist in a politician's mask, an elected official who helps the businesses that fund her campaigns and fools people into believing she is working for them. Let's show Washington that we are smarter than that. Let's show that we won't get fooled again.
Mario Hernandez is a UNM political science major.
