Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and Let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.


- Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838
  Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Steny votes against his party

Lost in the following article - and lost in the chart showing the 59 Democrats who voted against the revised McGovern bill - is the name Steny Hoyer.

Steny Hoyer. Anyone know who this guy is? Anyone?

Everyone knows that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is the Majority Speaker of the House, but how many know that the real leader of the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives is Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-ME)?

That's right, Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer voted against his party, and with the GOP, on legislation crafted by his party - legislation that would have mandated the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Brilliant.

Pelosi recommended Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) for Majority Leader when the Democrats took over Congress last November. In my opinion - and the opinion of many voters - Murtha earned it with his fearless candor about the high cost of the war in Iraq (at a time when most lawmakers were still cowering in Cheney's long, bogyman shadow.)

Murtha, a decorated veteran, came to represent angry families of Iraq veterans and casualties, and the anti-war movement. Murtha visited wounded troops (even went to Walter Reed,) saw their suffering and lost patience long before his fellow Democrats.

Yes, the position of Democratic Majority Leader might well have gone to Rep. John Murtha (D-PA).

Instead it went to Steny Hoyer. And this is what the Democratic Party received in return for its support of dear old Steny:

Thursday the House voted on a slightly revised version of the McGovern bill. It would have mandated the beginning of withdrawal (”redeployment”) of U.S. forces from Iraq within 90 days and completion of the withdrawal (”redeployment”) of most U.S. forces from Iraq within 180 days after that. The bill was defeated 171-255. 59 Democrats joined almost all Republicans in voting no.

The roll call is here:http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll330.xml

Who are these 59 Democrats?

One striking fact is that 13 of them represent districts that were carried by John Kerry in 2004. Here they are:

State District Rep. 04Bush 04Kerry
California 28 Howard Berman 28% 71%
Colorado 2 Mark Udall 30% 67%
Georgia 13 David Scott 37% 62%
Illinois 3 Daniel Lipinski 41% 59%
Nevada 1 Shelley Berkley 42% 57%
Maryland 5 Steny Hoyer 42% 57%
Pennsylvania 13 Allyson Schwartz 43% 56%
Texas 29 Gene Green 44% 55%
Maryland 2 Dutch Ruppersberger 45% 54%
Georgia 12 John Barrow 46% 53%
Tennessee 5 Jim Cooper 47% 52%
California 20 Jim Costa 48% 51%
Wisconsin 3 Ron Kind 48% 51%


A reasonable guess is that support for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq in these districts is even greater than in the country as a whole.


The commentary went on to recommend that each of these Democratic representatives deserved a primary challenger in the next election.

I commented on Common Dreams - and I will repeat the challenge here - that Steny Hoyer deserves not only a primary challenger in 2008... the Democratic party might want to consider handing their leadership position to someone who shares the ideology of the party and represents the will of American voters.

I can't help but wonder if Mr. Hoyer is receiving kickbacks from U.S. contractors in Iraq. This smells.

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posted by Maire | 5/12/2007 08:04:00 PM

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