Patchen: Schweikert has forgotten his constituents

Representative David Schweikert proudly boasts of being fiscally responsible. He routinely emphasizes the need to cut down expenses in order to get the U.S. economy back on track and stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio.

True to form, Schweikert continues to brag about his expertise in math and finding “sound” solutions. In fact, he recently approved Speaker Mike Johnson’s creation of a bipartisan commission designed to examine the national debt to look for ways to cut spending, and hinted that he would like to be part of this likely commission because he’s “really good at the numbers.” It’s something he says he's been “screaming” about.

That’s what scares me. His voting record suggests he’ll be all-too eager to slash Medicare, healthcare and Social Security without any regard to the people in our district. He’s not around here very often so perhaps he hasn’t noticed that thousands of his constituents, like me, are retired folks living on fixed incomes, and our hard-working neighbors that live and serve our communities will be devastated. 

A wise former senator once said, “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value.” To be sure, Schweikert prioritizes tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy and corporations over the majority of his constituents’ needs in Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Phoenix.

We need to scream back: Representative Schweikert, you were elected to represent the needs of all of your constituents, not just your fat-cat friends and yourself. You’ve clearly shown us who you truly represent. You have ignored or forgotten the majority of your constituents. We will not forget this in November. Count on it.

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