Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-NY) Dodges Questions About Verizon Strike and Free Trade Agreements
Janette Spoor, a Communications Workers of America activist, asked Congresswoman Nan Hayworth (R-NY) what she will do to help American workers whose jobs are being sent overseas. Rather than answering the question, Hayworth goes on an unrelated rant on American exceptionalism and how the United States has offered more opportunity to its citizens than any other country. She argued that this is true because the government stayed out of the “free” market. The audience wasn’t happy with the answer and pressed her to answer the question. One man pointed out that the greatest growth in American history came when Franklin Roosevelt was president and government was more involved. Hayworth continued to spout her Tea Party-free market rhetoric, but the audience wasn’t having it. She was called out for her support for various free trade acts and her refusal to vote to close tax loopholes that benefit companies that outsource jobs. The same man then blasted her “You are the problem, not the answer,” and “Ma’am, you are not the teacher here, you are a congresswoman.” When she was asked about the outsourcing of jobs by Verizon and the subsequent strike, Hayworth refused to discuss the topic: “I am not talking about Verizon right now…This is not the Verizon meeting.” She continued by saying that the solution to jobs was taxes that are more “free” and flat.
Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-NY) Dodges Questions About Verizon Strike and Free Trade Agreements
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on August 14, 2011. Filed under