Major Mike
Oregon politics is quite a different animal from the other places I have lived. Although I have only voted in two states, (Michigan…my home of record during my service years, and Oregon, my home since my retirement) I have lived in Michigan, Louisiana, California, Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida, and observed election cycles in each of those states. By far, Oregon is the most benign election environment I have witnessed to date. With the exception of a few, scattered posters, near a few major intersections (at least in my outings around Portland), there is very little evidence that we are 30+ days away from a mid-term election.
This lack of energy lulls one to sleep about the upcoming election. I barely heard the Darlene Hooley ad the other day espousing her wonderful accomplishments while in office. As the Representative of Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District, I heard a reference, in her ad, to her securing improved helmets for our troops.
My ears perked up.
Was Ms. Hooley cut from the same cloth as most liberal Dems, or maybe she was different? Maybe she had a voting record that placed her clearly in support of our troops in the field. I decided to look. I went to her campaign site and validated that she, “ …is fighting for proper equipment for our troops,” a somewhat larger claim than I heard on the commercial…when she claimed to be fighting for “better helmets” specifically.
Next I went to Project Vote Smart and the Washington Post Congressional vote tracking site, and I looked at her record. And here is what I found…
Here is where she does not support our troops in the field or their efforts to ensure that this country remains safe from attacks out into the future…
NO…HR Resolution 1064…against enhanced, layered security for Maritime cargo.
NO…S 3930/HR 6166 …Military Commissions Act…against implementing a tribunal system, as prompted by the USSC Hamdam decision, to grant authority for the US military to try captured combatants, and to have their cases resolved their cases in military courts.
NO…HR 5825 …against electronic surveillance of potential enemies within our borders that receive electronic communications from overseas.
YES…S418…for protection of military personnel from financial institutions.
NO…House Resolution 895… against supporting Intelligence and Law Enforcement Programs to Track Terrorists and Terrorist Finances Conducted Consistent With Federal Law and With Appropriate Congressional Consultation and Specifically Condemning the Disclosure and Publication of Classified Information That Impairs the International Fight Against, Etc.
NO…House Resolution 861… against Declaring That the United States Will Prevail in the Global War on Terror, the Struggle to Protect Freedom From the Terrorist Adversary.
NO…House Resolution 868… against Providing for Consideration of the Resolution (H. Res. 861) Declaring That the United States Will Prevail in the Global War on Terror, the Struggle to Protect Freedom From the Terrorist Adversary.
My summary…Darlene Hooley wants to protect the checkbooks of our servicemen and women in the GWOT, but she doesn’t really support the aggressive, offensive action necessary to win the GWOT…in fact her non-support of House Resolution 861 underscores this point.
It is not enough to say that you “support the troops,” by throwing upgraded helmet suspension systems as bones to the troops, while you are undermining the sincere efforts of the military and civilian leadership to actually win in Iraq, stabilize Afghanistan, and continue to thwart attacks in this country. The thousands of deployed troops deserve a non-partisan approach to fighting the enemy on these battlefields, and this includes breaking ranks with your party when your district…as it does…has troops in the field.
Courage Darlene…a few shots from the Kos Kids, is a small price to pay to truly support our troops, and their commanders, with all of the weapons they need to fight across the globe…not just to protect their noggins and their checkbooks.
1 comment:
Its got to be tough to be a politician with integrity in this City. As the Willamette Week described, it is a 'liberal echo chamber.' In fact it is a Nutroot echo chamber, blaring with the cacophony of veritable insanity. Now the monbats have taken to camping on the corner of the Hawthrone Bridge in the evenings with End The Bush Regime signs. For crying out loud, with 2 years left to go, why not just concentrate that energy on a useful effort like real Democracy... Elections, not Coup's. But, I'm fine with their wacky distractions. Another three weeks of their antics, and this State will have a Republican Governor, with Saxton pulling ahead on Kulongowski this week. Talk about a Nov. 8th hangover for the Left. Hooley might well take a hint from that, and find her political spine.
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