WASHINGTON – While families and small businesses struggle with lagging job creation in Colorado, appointed Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) was listed as a recipient of a swanky campaign fundraiser hosted by liberal trial lawyers who met during their convention in Vancouver, Canada yesterday.Thus far Bennet has not disclosed whether he traveled to Canada himself or if he instead employed one of his Democrat party bosses – such as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who made the trip – to pick up his campaign cash and bring it back to America.
In either case, the main event of Bennet’s foreign fundraising weekend appears to have been a ritzy reception of the “Committee for a Better Future,” a joint venture of the Democrat party establishment and the Washington, DC-based trial lawyers’ lobbying association, both of which have been under heavy fire in the United States for their out-of-control job-killing agendas. A new study released just last week by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) shows that small businesses – which have created 64 percent of all net new jobs in the United States over the past 15 years – shoulder a tremendous burden of the nation’s tort liability costs.
Bennet has previously claimed that “we simply can’t stand aside as special interest money is allowed to flood our airwaves and stack the deck further against the American people.” He also claimed in a 2010 campaign ad that in “this Washington” he believes “special interests have too much power.”
“Appointed Senator Michael Bennet owes Coloradans a straight answer: Did he travel to Canada yesterday to raise money from liberal trial lawyers, or did he send his bag man Harry Reid to collect his share instead?” asked National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokeswoman Amber Marchand.
“Bennet has voted for President Obama’s failed economic policies, and now he’s raising money from the same liberal ‘special interests’ that he claims ‘have too much power’ in Washington,” Marchand continued. “Whether he traveled to Canada himself or sent his bag man Harry Reid, Michael Bennet’s hypocrisy is astonishing, and there’s no doubt that voters will hold him accountable when they elect a Republican Senator in November.”
Background Information:
Bennet: “We Simply Can’t Stand Aside As Special Interest Money Is Allowed To Flood Our Airwaves And Stack The Deck Further Against The American People.” (Senator Michael Bennet, “Bennet Joins Push To Protect Democracy From Unlimited Special Interest Election Spending,” Press Release, 4/29/10)
P In The 2010 Campaign Ad “This Washington,” Bennet Said The Washington, D.C. “Special Interests Have Too Much Power.” (“This Washington,” www.youtube.com, Accessed 7/12/10)
According To The U.S. Chamber Institute For Legal Reform, Small Businesses Bore 81 Percent Of Business Tort Liability Costs In 2008, And Lawsuits Cost Them $105.4 Billion. “Small businesses are the engine of job growth in this country. They have generated 64 percent of the net new jobs over the past 15 years. Particularly at a time when unemployment rates are high, it is important to understand the burdens small businesses bear, with the objective of creating an environment in which small businesses will thrive. To this end, the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform has commissioned a study of the tort liability costs of small businesses from NERA Economic Consulting (NERA). Their findings are as follows:
· The tort liability price tag for small businesses in America in 2008 was $105.4 billion.
· Small businesses bore 81% of business tort liability costs but took in only 22% of revenue.
· Small businesses paid $35.6 billion of their tort costs out of pocket as opposed to through insurance.” (U.S. Chamber Institute For Legal Reform, “Tort Liability Costs For Small Business,” July 2010)
