No One In Congress Remembers Dwight Eisenhower's Farewell Message To America?Justin Amash (R-MI) has the least objectionable crucial vote record of any Republican in Congress-- 42.86. It's a better voting record than 7 Blue Dog "Democrats" have this cycle. Translation: Amash has voted more frequently for progressive positions on important roll calls than these monstrosities pretending to be Democrats (from bad to worst):
• Stephanie Murphy (FL-07)- 41.53• Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05)- 38.14• Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01)- 38.14• Henry Cuellar (TX-28)- 32.20• Jim Costa (CA-16)- 31.53• Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09)- 30.51• Collin Peterson (MN-07)- 26.89
No, this is not another post about how the DCCC has recruited another ghastly batch of Blue Dogs who they know will be just as bad in Congress and those 7 pigs-- Clarke Tucker (AR), Brenden Kelly (IL), Paul Davis (KS), Gretchen Driskell (MI), Dan McCready (NC), Kathy Manning (NC), Jeff Van Drew (NJ), Max Rose (NY), Anthony Brindisi (NY), Ben McAdams (UT). No, it's a post about why it's important to elect candidates who believe in American values and act on those beliefs in Congress.There was a vote on Thursday for the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019 and Justin Amash complained to his twitter followers that "Today, by a vote of 363-54, Republicans and Democrats in the House quietly reauthorized funding for intelligence agencies and activities that have been used to violate the constitutionally protected rights of Americans."I asked one of the 46 Democrats who voted against it, what happened. By any measurement, he's one of the best Democrats in Congress and someone who is destined for a leadership role. "The vote seemed to take everyone by surprise," he told me, "and there was very little organizing to educate people about it first. I’ve been caught up in the Peter Strozk hearings so forgive me-- I wish I knew more." Like I said, he was one of only 46 Democrats to vote correctly on this. Amash was one of only 8 Republicans to do so. 222 Republicans voted terribly-- no surprise-- but so did 141 Democrats, led by Pelosi, Hoyer and the rest of their leadership team.It was no surprise that Ro Khanna voted against it-- as did super-progressives like Barbara Lee, Judy Chu, Jan Schakowsky (IL), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ), Katherine Clark (MA), Jim McGovern (MA), Jamie Raskin (MD), Adriano Espaillat (NY) and Pramila Jayapal (WA). This morning Ro asked, rhetorically, "Where are the Russ Feingolds of our party-- the senator with the courage to vote against the patriot act. Where are the profiles of courage? How can Democrats not stand up for civil liberties?" Harsh! Thank God South Bay California voters elected him!