October 6, 2010
Today Karen Henry Stokes, the wife of the late Republican Congressman Paul Henry, endorsed Pat Miles for Congress, releasing the following statement:
“I have been silent because of my long loyalty to the Republican Party, and my deep affection for faithful Republican friends who were close to Paul's life and have remained close to mine. And also because I sincerely want the Republicans to regain a majority in Congress. But even that does not allow me to cast a vote for someone whose extreme views, I believe, would be harmful to our district.”
“After all, while my late husband Paul Henry served in the Michigan House, Senate and U.S. Congress, he was never a member of the majority party, and yet I believe most Republicans, Democrats and Independents would say he represented his constituents rather well. As has been pointed out by his Calvin College colleague in the most recent Henry Institute newsletter, Paul was "generally loyal to his party, but not highly partisan. And he deviated from party positions when he felt the issue called for a different stand." I would call this Congressional election one that calls for a different stand.”
“I support Pat Miles because he is the reasonable candidate, a centrist rather than an extremist. He is the one who has a record of service to this community, the one who believes in listening to real people with real concerns, the one who believes that being a public servant means service for the public good, service to all of one's constituents and the country.”
“For the good of our District, I will be voting for Pat Miles on Nov. 2.”
“I am so grateful to Karen for her support in this election,” Pat Miles said. “She has been a great friend, and her husband served this district so honorably for many years. In Congress, I would be honored to serve in the tradition of Congressman Paul Henry and to join the ranks of moderate, reasonable leadership we’ve always had in the 3rd District. In Congress, I will work to create jobs through lowering taxes for small businesses, instituting a payroll tax holiday to get money back in workers' pockets, and supporting tax credits for research and innovation. I will make it my number one priority to create jobs right here in West Michigan."