I was stunned to read the following paragraph in an
AP article about a House amendment yesterday:
The GOP-controlled House also voted 304-124 to accept another contentious amendment stating that the detention and lawful interrogation of detainees at Guantanamo is essential to the war on terrorism.
304-124?!? "Contentious" though it may have been, 79 Democrats voted for this abomination! I was so outraged, I resolved to "out" every single one, and have posted their names below the fold. At the very least, I urge any of you who see your representatives on the list to write or call them and give them a piece of your mind. But to my way of thinking, this vote is a dealbreaker. It displays such incredible insensitivity to human rights and basic justice--at the very moment when the world is closely watching how we deal with Guantanamo--that I think these Democrats should be actively opposed in primary battles, and certainly shouldn't get any of our money. I'm not one to "make the perfect the enemy of the good", but this is beyond the pale.
This list was culled from the
official tally of the website of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Andrews
Baird
Barrow
Bean
Berkley
Berry
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Boren
Boswell
Boyd
Butterfield
Cardin
Cardoza
Carnahan
Carson
Case
Chandler
Clyburn
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Cramer
Cuellar
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
Dicks
Edwards
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Ford
Gordon
Green, Gene
Harman
Herseth
Higgins
Hooley
Hoyer
Israel
Kildee
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Lipinski
Lynch
Marshall
Matheson
McCarthy
McIntyre
Meek (FL)
Melancon
Menendez
Miller (NC)
Moore (KS)
Ortiz
Peterson (MN)
Pomeroy
Reyes
Ross
Ruppersberger
Salazar
Sanchez, Loretta
Schiff
Schwartz (PA)
Scott (GA)
Skelton
Smith (WA)
Spratt
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Towns
Udall (CO)
Wu
Wynn
[There were three Republicans, by the way, who deserve credit for voting against the amendment:
Leach
Paul
Petri
Judging by ADA's congressional scorecard, Leach is very moderate. Paul and Petri appear to have conservative voting records, so I'm not sure what made them see the light in this case.]