Home California Meuser Makes False Claim on DeSaulniers Voting Record

Meuser Makes False Claim on DeSaulniers Voting Record

by ECT

Candidate Mark Meuser is challenging Senator Mark DeSaulnier for the Senate District 7 seat and has stepped up his rhetoric in the last month by accusing Senator DeSaulnier of being an extreme liberal. He released a video last night which offered a cheap shot at the Senator, however, the video in itself was vague and offered little substance.

This is par for the course for Meuser as nearly all of his videos are vague and offer little details on his specific solutions. I even asked him about this during an Oakley Chamber of Commerce event a few weeks back at Brownstone Gardens and he said they were intended to be like that and were done months ago.

Here is the transcript of the video he posted and I have a few follow up questions for Mr. Meuser.

Video Transcript

“The old saying is true, actions speak louder than words, simply put pay less attention to what an incumbent says. Instead look at his voting record. The voting record reveals the heart of the Politician. Let’s look at how the democrat parties voting record has affected our state.

One area of paramount concern is the depressed economy. It is depressed because businesses are leaving for other pro-business states like Texas and Florida. The California unemployment rate is through the roof. We all know someone who is unemployed or underemployed; however, all the democrats can do is continue voting for more government regulations which created this problem.

While our state cannot create jobs in the private sector by forcing businesses to higher Californian’s, Sacramento can create a business climate that is as favorable as our weather. Without a strong and thriving private sector, the state economy will not recover, let alone grow.

A strong private sector brings jobs, prosperity, and a larger tax base. The first thing Sacramento must do is stop job killing legislation.

According to the California Chamber of Commerce, my opponent has the second worst voting record when it comes pro-business climate. Check the voting record of my opponent and see his actions do not match his words.

I am mark Meuser and I want to be your next State Senator and I want to fight for limited government where businesses can thrive and create California jobs once again.”

Click here to view the video

Here are a few questions for Mr. Meuser based off this video which I hope he responds.

  1. Meuser is encouraging voters to ignore what DeSaulnier says and instead  look at an incumbents voting record. Okay, what is Meuser voting record we have to go by? He is encouraging voters to compare apples to oranges (Meusers promises vs. DeSaulniers votes).
  2. Meuser is touting a voting record but does not name one vote or bill that has hurt business. What bills have hurt business?
  3. Measuer states that Democrats keep voting for more government regulation but fails to mention what they voted on or what the regulations are. What are they?
  4. Meuser talks about a favorable business client but provides no examples of what Democrats have done to hurt the business climate. What have they done?
  5. If he is in love with the so called  pro-business climate of Texas and Florida, why does he own a lawyer firm in Walnut Creek? Surly, California’s business climate is not that bad if he moved from out of state to California recently to work at a law firm only to 9 months or so later own his own firm. How do you justify this action Mr. Meuser?

Along with his video, he also has a page on his website further promoting the California Chamber of Commerce survey with a link to their PDF.

Lets go through this PDF he is touting shall we? Yes, we shall.

  • 2007: 1-13, however 30 other Assembly Democrats had the same voting record as DeSaulnier. In fact, 31 Republicans were at the top of the list
  • 2008: 2-13, however 32 other Assembly Democrats had the same voting record as DeSaulnier. In fact, 31 republicans were at the top of the list.
  • 2009: 2-10, however, DeSaulnier shared that score with 4 other Senate Democrats while 8 Democrats had a lower score. In fact, 15 Republicans were at the top of the list.
  • 2010: 3-13, however DeSaulnier shared that score with Senator Corbett while 3 other Democrats ranked lower. In fact, 12 Republicans were at the top of the list.
  • 2011:  1-12, however, DeSaulnier shared that score with Senator Hancock and Leno.  In fact, 15 republicans were at the top of the list.

The point of this exercise in going through the scorecard is to show is partisan politics at its best. It clearly favors Republicans and attacks Democrats.  It’s not an accurate scorecard.

Based off this so-called Chamber Scorecard, Meuser is apparently now using rhetoric that calls Senator DeSaulnier an extreme liberal. This is a flat out lie based off my little exercise above.  I just went through the survey which highlights that Democrats either voted with DeSaulnier, or had worse records since 2007.

Below is a Facebook post from June 23 when the extreme rhetoric began.

I know extreme liberalism and Senator DeSaulnier does not fit that description or even come close to the profile. This looks to be desperation on the part of Meuser. Ultimately, DeSaulnier does have a good track record of helping working families while being an asset to Contra Costa County.

I would simply like to point out that while I like Mr. Meuser as a person, he is being reckless with his tone and would encourage him to tone it down while issuing an apology to Senator DeSaulnier.

Touting a simple list is reckless and misleading. A voting record does not mean anything unless you know the bill, who authored it, and who does and does not benefit from it. Ultimately,  its is difficult for anyone to say if a Yes or No vote was in the best interest of business.

Mr. Meuser should issue an immediate retraction.

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7 comments

JAJAMES304 Aug 21, 2012 - 10:34 am

Who in the hell is Mark Meuser and where did he come from? I’ve never heard of him? What makes him so special to think he can attack a Senator like that? Is he asking for a spanking in November?

JimSimmons42 Aug 21, 2012 - 10:59 am

Having watched the video, it was my comedy of the day. I did not like the tone Meuser took, the text makes him look better than he sounded.

His tone includes

Insteeeead
Leeeeaving California
Throooough the roof
oooour state cant create jobs
will nooooot recover
his aaaactions do not match his words

Thanks for the laugh Mark M.

Jill_Thompson55 Aug 21, 2012 - 11:03 am

Burke, you are an idiot. At least Meuser is campaigning. DeSaulnier has been MIA! All campaigns do what Meuser is doing.

Rob Saw Aug 21, 2012 - 2:00 pm

Another wannabee nobody wanting to be a State Senator slaming current legislators. DeSaulnier. Even the Times didn’t screw this up when they said that they encouraged him to run first for local office to better understand the realities of government service.

Darla Aug 22, 2012 - 10:00 am

Headline is misleading. Meuser didn’t make false claims, he shared actual information from the California Chamber of Commerce. Anyone can quickly see that some of the DeSaulnier votes were so anti-business and damaging to the economy that even liberal Governor Jerry Brown agreed with the Chamber of Commerce and vetoed the bills that DeSaulnier supported. DeSaulnier is a proud LIBERAL and has a very poor voting record from the viewpoint of business and the Chamber. For this site to take issue with his opponent’s valid statements to that effect says much more about this radically left political blog site that about either of the candidates. Silly, wrong, cheap and without any redeeming value.
Too bad this site isn’t willing to be serious and genuine.

burkforoakley Aug 22, 2012 - 11:51 am

The false claim is that DeSaulnier is an “extreme Liberal”

Mark Meuser Aug 29, 2012 - 12:55 pm

[…] week Mr. Burkholder, an Oakley blogger, attacked me for reporting that the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) reveals that […]

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