Be a conservative
Seeking a return to Republican virtue - Pete McCloskey
The Revolt of the Elders Coalition is an initiative organized by older Republicans who have served in Congress or in the executive branch and are deeply concerned about the present Republican leadership in the House. Our purpose is to educate the public about the DeLay Republicans, whom we believe have not only abandoned traditional Republican values, but also have dishonored and disgraced the party with their unethical conduct.
Our coalition was formed originally in response to the new ethics rules adopted by the Republican leadership to protect Majority Leader Tom DeLay…
We have been unable to understand the Republican House leadership forcing through energy and pork barrel spending bills, which only deepen already horrendous budget deficits and offer no relief against the dependence on foreign oil, which so skews our foreign policy. We are unable to understand or accept the Republican House votes against veterans’ health care while urging support of the troops whose wounds will clearly require continuing care in future years. The Republican party-line vote against prosthesis research this past spring seemed particularly outrageous.
Equally outrageous was the position of DeLay in urging “punishment” of judges who declined to review the Terry Schiavo decision, while at the same time his close allies, our own Northern California congressmen John Doolittle and Richard Pombo, were sponsoring a bill to allow the Congress to overrule decisions of the Supreme Court on constitutional issues. We hold the view that the constitutional checks and balances we have enjoyed since Chief Justice Marshall ruled in Marbury v. Madison have served us well.
Finally, our concern has continued to grow over the close relationship between indicted Indian gaming lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his claimed best friends, DeLay and Doolittle. Both have received substantial money from Abramoff, as has Doolittle’s wife. Doolittle has contributed $10,000 to DeLay’s legal defense fund and Richard Pombo has been named by one Washington watchdog organization as being one of “the 13 most corrupt members of Congress.”
For these reasons, we have formed a 501 (c) (4) nonprofit corporation to examine and publish the actions and views of the DeLay Republicans for the edification of the voting public. We believe that a respected and balanced Republican leadership in the House will be beneficial to the nation and we would like to see a return of the kind of bi-partisan cooperation and courtesy on critical issues, which brought this nation world leadership and respect after World War II. These are not matters of Republican vs. Democrat or conservative vs. liberal; we see them as issues that transcend party loyalty and political philosophy.
There can be no greater goal today than restoration of faith of our people in our own government and those whom we elect to lead us.
• Pete McCloskey served in the House from 1967 to 1983 as the Republican representative of a San Francisco peninsula district. He lectures on college campuses.
The Revolt of the Elders Coalition is an initiative organized by older Republicans who have served in Congress or in the executive branch and are deeply concerned about the present Republican leadership in the House. Our purpose is to educate the public about the DeLay Republicans, whom we believe have not only abandoned traditional Republican values, but also have dishonored and disgraced the party with their unethical conduct.
Our coalition was formed originally in response to the new ethics rules adopted by the Republican leadership to protect Majority Leader Tom DeLay…
We have been unable to understand the Republican House leadership forcing through energy and pork barrel spending bills, which only deepen already horrendous budget deficits and offer no relief against the dependence on foreign oil, which so skews our foreign policy. We are unable to understand or accept the Republican House votes against veterans’ health care while urging support of the troops whose wounds will clearly require continuing care in future years. The Republican party-line vote against prosthesis research this past spring seemed particularly outrageous.
Equally outrageous was the position of DeLay in urging “punishment” of judges who declined to review the Terry Schiavo decision, while at the same time his close allies, our own Northern California congressmen John Doolittle and Richard Pombo, were sponsoring a bill to allow the Congress to overrule decisions of the Supreme Court on constitutional issues. We hold the view that the constitutional checks and balances we have enjoyed since Chief Justice Marshall ruled in Marbury v. Madison have served us well.
Finally, our concern has continued to grow over the close relationship between indicted Indian gaming lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his claimed best friends, DeLay and Doolittle. Both have received substantial money from Abramoff, as has Doolittle’s wife. Doolittle has contributed $10,000 to DeLay’s legal defense fund and Richard Pombo has been named by one Washington watchdog organization as being one of “the 13 most corrupt members of Congress.”
For these reasons, we have formed a 501 (c) (4) nonprofit corporation to examine and publish the actions and views of the DeLay Republicans for the edification of the voting public. We believe that a respected and balanced Republican leadership in the House will be beneficial to the nation and we would like to see a return of the kind of bi-partisan cooperation and courtesy on critical issues, which brought this nation world leadership and respect after World War II. These are not matters of Republican vs. Democrat or conservative vs. liberal; we see them as issues that transcend party loyalty and political philosophy.
There can be no greater goal today than restoration of faith of our people in our own government and those whom we elect to lead us.
• Pete McCloskey served in the House from 1967 to 1983 as the Republican representative of a San Francisco peninsula district. He lectures on college campuses.
posted by professor rat at 10:24 AM
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