***Huizenga ridicues constituents 10/16/2018***:Judge for yourself. Those in attendance at the debate know that supporters on both sides were very respectful and polite. The Congressman’s remarks are shameful and dishonest. That audience included my mother, my father, and my wife. I take offense to them being ridiculed by a member of Congress who can’t hold himself to a higher standard.Debate, 10/15/2018 at Newaygo High School, Newyago, MIAt the debate, I told the story of a patient who came in wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat. The paramedics joked with him, “uh oh, Dr. Davidson’s here. He’s a Democrat.” The gentleman walked in and said, “So I hear you’re a Democrat!” I responded “Yeah.” He responded, “You okay with that?” I responded “Yeah, I’ll treat you anyway!” He responded “Alright, I’ll let you treat me anyway!”This light-hearted and respectful exchange is how most people treat each other in real life. Our member of Congress fails to meet this basic standard.Fortunately, momentum is on our side in this campaign. People are ready for change in West Michigan. The polls have us within the margin of error. We can bring real representation to the people of West Michigan. If you agree we need to defeat smug and out-of-touch politicians, consider supporting my campaign.

Back in early 2017, I attended multiple town halls with Congressman Bill Huizenga. I attended those town halls as a father, a constituent, and a doctor who was worried about healthcare. Between debating Huizenga at the town halls and meeting with him privately with other doctors, I learned some disappointing things. Huizenga told me he did not believe healthcare was a right. He told me people ought to have “skin in the game.” And he told me he couldn’t understand why people in low-income housing around his district have satellite dishes, but can’t afford health insurance. He was smug, condescending, and out-of-touch. He voted to take healthcare away from millions of Americans. So I chose to run against him.Since running, another pattern has emerged. Congressman Huizenga routinely expresses hostility towards his constituents. Weback in the summer. After our debate on Monday evening, Huizenga was caught on audio tape calling the constituents who attended the debate “Deadheads,” “shameful” and “third-graders.” Below, you can listen to the audio, watch video of the debate, and read quotes from a Michigan Democratic Party press release about the remarks.

Republican Denigrates the Hardworking People of West Michigan He’s Supposed To Represent

HOLLAND — Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland) has been caught on audio tape showing the ultimate disrespect for his constituents. At a Republican Reagan Day Dinner in Holland on Tuesday, Huizenga launched into a long attack on seniors and working people with kids who attended a recent debate, calling them “Deadheads,” “shameful” and “third-graders.”

Huizenga complained that too many people attended a 2nd Congressional District debate in Newaygo between him and Democratic nominee Dr. Rob Davidson. The Republican compared his constituents to “Deadheads”: “You all know what Deadheads are, right? Deadheads are the folks that travel around, following the Grateful Dead. Well, we’ve got the political equivalent with my opponent.”

Huizenga went on to compare his constituents to elementary school children: “It was quite shameful, really. They acted like third graders. Now, maybe third graders might not have acted quite that way.”

“As a retired Air Force pilot, I’m about as far from a Deadhead or a third-grader as you can get. I’m certainly not a deplorable, Congressman Huizenga. When I faithfully served my country, I learned that public servants should never attack the people they serve. Unfortunately, that’s a lesson that my congressman failed to learn — or perhaps one he’s forgotten as he’s become a creature of Washington after all these years,” said Chris Kostamo, a former Air Force pilot and retired Airline pilot rom Grand Haven.

Another Huizenga constituent, Michelle Petz, a social worker from Fremont, said she was shocked by his insults.

“As a mom, I have been very concerned about Congressman Huizenga’s votes to cut health care for thousands of families in West Michigan and his refusal to protect those with pre-existing conditions like cancer and diabetes. He hasn’t taken the time to get to know the people he’s supposed to represent — hard-working folks who often have to work multiple jobs to support their families. And now he’s sunk to a new low insulting us. That’s unacceptable and he should be forced to apologize to the people he serves,” said Michelle Petz, a social worker from Fremont.

Huizenga has been under fire for outlandish campaign spending. A campaign finance complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was filed against Huizenga this month for using his campaign account for personal benefit.

“It’s clear that Bill Huizenga is feeling the heat from the backlash over his lavish, D.C. lifestyle. And he’s showing just how out of touch he is by attacking as ‘Deadheads’ and ‘third-graders’ the very people he’s supposed to represent. The people of West Michigan deserve a member of Congress who will respect them and listen to their concerns, not someone who makes it clear he thinks he’s better than them,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Brandon Dillon.



UPDATE: Dr. Rob Davidson responds:

“Congressman Bill Huizenga can call me names and belittle me, not the 500-plus people who are his constituents and who want to hear answers from their congressman especially after he’s been avoiding them for more than a year. I’m committed to listening and reaching out to every voter in the district, who deserve to be treated with respect whether they agree with you or not. They also deserve to be told the truth because even third-graders can tell that Congressman Huizenga is lying about his real record on Medicare and Social Security, which he has voted to weaken time and time again. Congressman Huizenga should publicly apologize to the constituents he insulted and to every West Michigan patient with a preexisting condition who could lose healthcare because he voted to put insurance industry profits ahead of people’s lives”

Here is the complete transcript of Huizenga’s remarks:

“I do want to talk a little bit about the election and what’s going on. We’ve got 21 days. Alright? We had a debate last evening — it was up in Newaygo. And — you all know what Deadheads are, right? Deadheads are the folks that travel around, following the Grateful Dead. Well, we’ve got the political equivalent with my opponent. He’s got a group of folks that are traveling around with him everywhere he goes and last night we had somewhere around 500–600 people in the gymnasium up in Newaygo. They were, by the way, complaining that it wasn’t big enough. They wanted to have more. We had a few folks there. But about a 10th of what they had. They were loud. They were raucous. They were demanding. And it’s really not much fun to be at a debate with somebody going at you the whole time. For those of you who were there, that’s what you saw, right? And it was quite shameful, really. They acted like third graders. Now, maybe third graders might not have acted quite that way.”

The audio is here.

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