Democrat Leadership: MIA

With the 2006 election a mere three days away, the final push by candidates near and far is being felt. Ad after ad highlight last minute issues, and the media reports some of the more closely watched races. I have seen reports of President and Mrs. Bush, Vice-President and Mrs. Cheney, and other high-profile Republicans on the campaign trail.

Notably missing from the high profile campaigns are the minority leaders of the House and Senate. Not a whole lot of Democrat leaders are showing up on the campaign trail for their fellow Democrat candidates. Even Sen. Kerry (D-MA) canceled planned campaign stops following his “botched joke.” Democrat leadership is MIA (missing in action).

No one can tell me that these liberal Democrats are not proud of their political stances. No one can tell me that they are not proud of their voting records. They verbalize their hostility toward the Bush administration and Congressional conservatives all the time. They sit and respond with cat-calls to proposals about stimulating the economy through tax cuts and partial social security privatization; reversing partial-birth abortion bills; prosecuting the liberation of Iraq successfully. Take a look at Rep. Pelosi’s (D-CA) voting record as recently reported in the Washington Times (http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20061102-090358-9812r.htm):

“A Roman Catholic who has repeatedly voted to uphold partial-birth abortion, who has voted against parental notification when minor children seek abortion and who has shown no concern for the rights of the innocent unborn, Mrs. Pelosi has consistently opposed the death penalty. Over the years, Mrs. Pelosi has consistently voted against welfare reform, including the 1996 bill signed by President Clinton and its re-authorization. In 1998, she opposed a constitutional amendment to permit school prayer in the classroom. In 1999, she opposed allowing state and local governments to display the Ten Commandments on public property, including schools. She has voted against education IRAs. In 2003, she opposed a $10 million program for school vouchers in the District of Columbia. That same year she voted against the 10-year $400 billion Medicare prescription-drug bill because she preferred one that was twice as expensive. Mrs. Pelosi has repeatedly voted for tax increases and opposed tax cuts, even the 2001 bill that doubled the child tax credit to $1,000, among other cuts. As the United States has become increasingly dependent on foreign sources for oil, Mrs. Pelosi has always opposed drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In recent years, she has become protectionist -- leading the opposition in 2000 against then-President Clinton's successful effort to establish permanent normal trade relations with China. She also opposed giving Mr. Clinton and Mr. Bush trade-promotion authority; and in 2005 she voted against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. In 2004, she voted to end Radio Marti broadcasts to Cuba. She voted to reduce funds for the B-2 intercontinental bomber, which performed superbly in the 1999 Kosovo War, in 2001 in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Mrs. Pelosi has repeatedly opposed anti-missile defense, even as a nuclear-armed North Korea has tested ballistic missiles.”

This is the voting record of Rep. Pelosi (D-CA), the potential House Majority Leader should Democrats gain the majority this election, and other liberal Democrats in both the House and Senate. But where are they when it is time to put their beliefs and issues before the American public? Why would they choose the campaign season before this important 2006 election to be MIA?

If I were a liberal, I would be furious. Not furious enough to vote Republican, mind you, but furious nonetheless. I would let these Democrat leaders know this through letters to legislators and to papers, e-mails, phone calls, and other means. I would be getting my liberal message out, since my Democrat leadership fails to show the courage to do so. This is not the time to recoil from duty.

Well, in the spirit of bi-partisanship, ChuckChants is helping fill the gap when Democrat leadership goes MIA. Don’t delay; spread the liberal’s message today!