HESPERIA – Rep. Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, defended his 2013 vote for a budget that slashed pensions for retired military personnel – which was made an issue this week by 8th Congressional District candidate Rodney Lee Conover.
8th Congressional District candidate Rodney Lee Conover
Congressman Cook on Tuesday said he may have voted for an “imperfect bill” – which cut spending and did not raise taxes – but he has been at work mending the cost-of-living adjustment reduction for military personnel retiring at 62 and younger.
Cook also noted he voted along with other members of the House last week to restore pensions for the younger group of military retirees. The measure cleared the Senate the next day and President Obama signed it into law on Saturday.
Conover denied his attack on Cook was personal, assuring members of the media that his petition criticizing Cook’s support for the Ryan/ Murray budget was little more than a “simple disagreement.”
Conover’s petition has received about 1,200 signatures – something he says is just one of the many surprises he will bring to Congressional District 8 through his campaign.
“I’m not running for my health,” Conover said in a wire report. “I’m running because what I look at as a clear choice in conservative philosophy.”
Conover has nearly 30 years experience as a conservative activist for the Republican party, of which, he boasts having been a writer for the Rush Limbaugh Show for about six years.
Other candidates for CD8 include Democrate Bob Conaway, an attorney, and Republican Paul Hannosh, a teacher – as listed on aroundthecapitol.com.