Ohio GOP congressman used first 3 votes to back tax scam for the rich

Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) has only taken a few votes since his narrow special election victory, and he used them to double-down on the wildly unpopular Republican tax scam.

Balderson defeated Democrat Danny O’Connor in an August 2018 special election to replace retiring Republican Pat Tiberi, with the winner serving out just the remainder of Tiberi’s term.

Sworn in on Sept. 5, Balderson refuses to be an independent voice for Ohio. Republicans broke their newest tax scam into a package of three bills, each of which Balderson obediently rubber-stamped for Trump.

The main bill extends provisions in the Republican tax scam which would lavish tax breaks on the richest 1 percent. According to the Tax Policy Center, the wealthiest 1 percent would be handed more than 40 times as much as the median American family ($40,000 compared to $980).

And to pay for it, Balderson supported adding trillions to the national deficit.

In less than a month on the job, he voted to add almost $3.8 trillion to the national deficit.

Yet somehow, Balderson still claims to be a “fiscal conservative” on his campaign website. On that same site, Balderson bemoans the national debt, saying, “With our nation trillions of dollars in debt, it’s time Congress stop the out of control spending.”

Balderson is absolutely in favor of out of control spending, so long as the congressional kickbacks flow to his corporate donors.

Balderson backed the 2017 Republican tax scam, which boosted the bottom line of wealthy corporations and rich Wall Street CEOs. That bill, where more than 80 percent of the individual benefits went to the richest one percent, added nearly $2 trillion to the deficit.

Balderson abandoned his own principles to back several bills that together added more than $5 trillion to the deficit.

O’Connor, running against Balderson again, has taken to the airwaves to bring attention to Balderson’s deficit-boosting votes.

The ad notes that Balderson has received $167,000 in corporate PAC money since announcing his support of the GOP tax scam.

The conservative-leaning Columbus Dispatch has been vocal about Balderson’s unwavering allegiance to Trump, which is a major reason why the newspaper repeatedly endorsed O’Connor.

Actions speak louder than words, and Balderson’s actions make clear where his priorities lie: a boon for the wealthiest among us while leaving most families out in the cold.