The Honorable John Shadegg
306 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Shadegg:
On behalf of the more than 350,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union, I write to offer our support of your candidacy for Republican Whip in the 110th Congress. Much-needed momentum for a return to fiscal discipline and limited government would be strengthened with your presence in Republican leadership.
From your days as Founding Director of the Goldwater Institute to your election to Congress, you've established a rock-solid record of fighting for taxpayers. As a son of the 1994 Republican Revolution, your service in Congress has embodied the spirit of smaller government and lower taxes.
As a ten-time winner of our Taxpayers' Friend Award, you have helped to expand the membership and elevate the influence of the Republican Study Committee. You have followed through on your promises of limited government, while so many of your colleagues failed to do so. You were one of only 25 Republicans to vote against the costly Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit and one of only 21 Members to support all 19 Flake amendments to strike wasteful earmarks from appropriations bills. Your leadership is needed to bring this kind of tenacity to the entire party caucus.
As Republican Whip, taxpayers' cries for a return to fiscal conservatism will no longer fall on deaf ears. The year 1994 marked a revolution in Congress, but perhaps 2006 can mark a revolution within the Republican Party. Your candidacy represents a new direction, a fresh opportunity to fight for the bedrock principles that brought you to Congress in the first place. To recapture the hope of 1994, Republican leadership must adhere to those principles instead of merely paying them lip service.
We are proud to support your candidacy for Republican Whip in the 110th Congress and look forward to working with you in the future to revive fiscal discipline and accountability on Capitol Hill.
Sincerely,
John Berthoud
President