As the government gets back to work, the presumptive Democratic challenger to U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham's Congressional seat is still asking Denham (R-Turlock) to explain why he voted against the compromise measure that ended the government shutdown.
Micheal Eggman, a Turlock farmer and beekeeper, held a Thursday rally in Modesto where he challenged Denham's “no” vote on the compromise.
“After taking the most reckless and irresponsible vote of his career in Congress, Jeff Denham has refused to level with his constituents,” Eggman said. “He’s refused to speak openly or publicly.”
Denham released a statement after the “no” vote, stating that the vote was driven by the lack of debt control measures in the compromise.
“My priority is finding a long-term plan to end our out-of-control spending, which has left each man, woman and child in our country on the hook for over $50,000 of debt as we reach our $17 trillion debt limit,” Denham said. “The American people deserve long-term solutions to stop the spending, stop running up the debt and give real certainty to families across the country and the financial markets so we can get back on a path to economic success and job growth.”
That statement didn't satisfy Eggman. The challenger says constituents deserve a “real explanation, not a press release intended to mislead or obfuscate his vote.”
“Last week our elected Congressman voted to cost us jobs,” Eggman said. “He put party politics and ideology before the people of this Valley. And he put party politics and ideology before this country.”
Eggman challenged Denham to hold a public forum to discuss his vote, and the 16-day shutdown which cost the economy $24 billion and 120,000 jobs according to the White House Council of Economic Advisors.
“These aren’t just numbers on a page, they’re real pain to real families,” Eggman said. “But the damage that Jeff Denham helped reap during those two weeks when the government was closed would have paled in comparison to the destruction done to our local economy, and the global economy, had Jeff Denham had his way and forced the United States to default on our debt.”
