Roskam To 6th District: "HAHA to VAWA"

Walt Zlotow

 

We in Illinois' 6th Congressional District can always count on Congressman Peter Roskam: he always lets us down. Whether voting against a tax decrease for the middle class because it contained a tiny tax bump for the greedy rich, opposing hurricane relief for northeast victims of Sandy, or now, re-authorizing VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) because it extends needed protections for lesbians, gay men and women on Indian reservations, Roskam always votes against the Public Interest.

For the third time House since December, House Speaker Boehner allowed important legislation to move off the House floor to passage without a majority of his divided party because he's desperately trying to salvage the Republican brand tarnished by unconscionable stands of virtually every issue affecting America. But Congressman HAHA will have none of it. He joined the GOP majority of 137 other Republicans in a symbolic vote against re-authorizing this critical legislation, adopted in 1994 but allowed to expire in 2011. VAWA provides funding for programs that help prosecute sexual assault and domestic abuse cases and assist crime victims. The only down side to the current re-authorization is that annual funding for the next 5 years was cut by 135 million, 17% less than its last re-authorization in 2005.

What is particularly cynical and reprehensible about Roskam's vote is his typical tactic of pretending to support important legislation he opposes. I checked Roskam's web site for his take on the issue and was surprised to find a video clip of him praising the House version of this important bill, emphatic that sexual and domestic abuse against women will not be tolerated. Was I imagining his positive support? Turns out that the Roskam video was from May 18, 2012, and was a pitch for the much more water-downed House version which was soundly rejected by a strong bi-partisan consensus in the Senate - the one Roskam voted against. To hear Roskam respond to two female constituents' questions, he is women's Lord Protector whose VAWA version will prevent bad ol' Uncle Sam from creating a backlog of rape kits in sexual assault cases. Check out this hilarious, but truly sad video at www.roskam.house.gov and typing VAWA in search box.

How about a little candor and honesty from the Congressman. He should take down his silly nine month old video and replace it with this announcement:

"I voted against VAWA because I couldn't care less about extending its benefits to lesbians, gay men, undocumented immigrants, Indian women on reservations, and transgender youth. Besides, passage of the Senate version only insures that there will be an increased backlog of rape kit analysis. Seriously, I'm not kidding. I'm Congressman Peter Roskam, and I've approved this policy statement".   

Kirk's Vote 'Not To Vote' Is Payoff To War Party

 When my Senator Mark Kirk (War Party, IL) voted with 26 other Republicans February 26 to continue filibustering confirmation of Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary, he was simply paying off a debt to the war party which is his true constituency as Senator. Kirk's vote was purely symbolic: Hagel's confirmation was assured once less war crazy Republican Senators joined all Democrats to invoke cloture, ending the filibuster used for a month to smear this twice wounded Viet vet who shed more blood on the battlefield than his detractors likely possess in their entire bodies.

Kirk's band of war loving brothers had to smear Hagel because the substance and integrity of this patriot is overwhelming and irrefutable. Instead of leading the smears, Kirk stood on the sidelines cheering as firebrands like Ted Cruz (War Party, TX) told the Senate he needs to know if Hegel's wealth "came directly from North Korea". Then Rand Paul (War Party, KY) chimed in to inquire if Hagel received funds from the fictitious group "Friends of Hamas." Jim Inhofe (War Party, OK), ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chirped, "Isn't it interesting, that Iran supports Chuck Hagel's nomination to be Secretary of Defense? That is a frightening thing". Upstairs in Demagogue Heaven, Tail Gunner Joe McCarthy was beaming that the poisonous hate he spread within the Senate from 1950 to 1954 us still coursing through the veins of the Grand Obstreperous Party.

Kirk and company were reduced to this despicable display of non-governance because Hagel represents the first real threat to the endless and senseless wars these folks have feasted on since their launch in October, 2001. Hagel called out the Vietnam War for the folly it was. He called out the Iraq war for the folly it was. He's working to end the failed Afghan war and is pushing back against the next senseless war against Iran for the same reasons. He's also determined to reign in gargantuan and bankrupting military spending when our own nation is crumbling under us.

Senator Kirk, who never met a criminal war of choice he didn't love, will have none of this. He's made his intentions perfectly clear to those of us who responsibly study this issue. He's also made it clear to his masters in the war party, who give him a A+ rating for his efforts.  He and his fellow warmongers take satisfaction that Hagel comes to this struggle wounded by their scurrilous attacks. We must continue to call out Senator Kirk and his band of Merry Pranksters to make sure Chuck Hagel, a hero beyond reproach, gets the opportunity to turn the Titanic of American foreign policy away from the iceberg of criminal war.

Hello Sen. McCarthy, Sen. Cruz Calling

When I saw the picture accompanying the comments of Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz talking about "having a list of Communists on the Harvard Law faculty", I'm reminded of the adage, and I paraphrase:
 
     "If it looks like a McCarthy, talks like a McCarthy and acts like a McCarthy, it probably is a       
     McCarthy"