Memorial Day always makes me think of my dad-Yves "Buster" Melancon. He served for twenty-seven years in the United States Army and went to Vietnam twice. As a Combat Engineer, Dad wasn't directly engaged in the fighting, but he did travel throughout the war zone. I always wonder how my life would have been different if Dad had never come home.
I was lucky. Thousands of sons and daughters lost their parents to the war in Vietnam. Once, when I was an adult, and after he had retired, I asked my dad to tell me about his experiences. He simply said, "all I know is that a lot of good brothers died for no reason," and then he started to cry. I never heard the rest of the story.
Now, I'm a dad and my son-Christopher Yves-Paul Melancon-is joining the United States Army. He plans on being a Combat Engineer. I wish my dad were still alive. He would be proud.
Millions of men and woman-like my dad and my son-have sacrificed themselves to serve and protect you and me. Do we do enough to protect them? Do we do enough to prevent "a lot of good brothers" from dying "for no reason"? I'm convinced our new President understands that he has their lives in his hands.
My oldest son will enter the US Army in June. In all likelihood he will go overseas with thousands of our brave men and women. If captured by the enemy, do I want him water boarded? Do I want his captors to strip him naked, to throw freezing water on him, to slap his face or to slam him repeatedly against a wall?
When I think about torture, I'm reminded of the story told in almost every Roman Catholic Church. Hanging on the walls are the Stations of the Cross. They tell how the Romans tortured and then murdered Jesus.
Who would Jesus torture? No one. Torture is wrong. It clearly violates the Golden Rule: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).
Bush's Brain, Karl Rove is ignoring a Congressional subpoena to testify on the political firings inside the Department of Justice, and has opted to fundraise for embattled Republican's instead. The question the Texas Democratic Party is asking is, "Will vulnerable Republicans welcome tainted money?"
Rove is no stranger to controversy. He was willing to risk the life of a CIA operative by devising a plan to reveal her identity and the person behind many of the White House policies that put raw politics above doing what's best for our country.
The scary thing is Rove is now making history as the first political operative and White House staffer to ignore a Congressional subpoena to go raise money.
"It is time for Karl Rove to stop acting like he is above and beyond the law and put an end to his flagrant violations of the people's trust," said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie. "Until that happens, any candidate trying to raise money at an event featuring Rove should immediately cancel the fundraiser and return any money raised."
In an unprecedented move, Karl Rove blatantly ignored a Congressional subpoena to testify on the political firings at the Department of Justice, forcing the House Judiciary Committee to issue Rove a rarely-used Contempt of Congress citation. Although Rove has been trotting around the country appearing on talk shows, when it came to owning up to the American people, he indefensibly claimed immunity.
"Karl Rove is responsible for a lot of what's gone wrong in Washington and Austin, and the Republicans that welcome his fundraising help are thumbing their noses at Texans who want to change things and restore a government that works for us again," added Richie. "Americans deserve to hear Karl Rove testify under oath and tell the truth, but here he is, defying a subpoena and raising money for Texas Republicans who are offering more of the same old failed and corrupt politics."
We will absolutely keep our eyes on Rove's benefactors. So far we know he is raising money for Big Bland John and Sherrie Matula's opponent John Davis.
Nearly six out of every 10 military families disapprove of Bush's job performance and the way he has run the war, rating him only slightly better than the general population does.
And among those families with soldiers, sailors and Marines who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, 60% say that the war in Iraq was not worth the cost, the same result as all adults surveyed.
It looks like the American public, regardless of which segment you are looking at, is on the same page of having given up on this President. Yet another warning sign for GWB brand Republicans in Texas...
This editorial cartoon ran in this past Sunday's San Antonio-Express News after President Bush's fundraiser for Junior Senator John Cornyn last Thursday. Rick Noriega's US Senate campaign responded with our own Stamp Out Bush effort with over 1,000 donors answering the call. Thank you to the donors, Democracy for America, John Kerry, Wes Clark, VoteVets.org, Richard Morrison and all those who endorsed the effort. You made a picture with Bush worth 1000 donors.
Phillip is absolutely right in his previous post that the Texas of today is a world of difference from the Texas of 5 years ago. That year we saw the rise of John Cornyn from Attorney General to U.S. Senator, defeating Ron Kirk 55-43. But thanks to hard work by a dedicated group of Democrats, the world of 2008 will indeed be very different than the world of 2002.
A large part of that has to do with President Bush. Having ridden sky-high approval ratings into the 2002 elections, he naturally helped prop up John Cornyn and every other Republican that ran (and sadly won) in so many Senate races that year. Now, Bush is no longer popular. In fact, there is not a *single state* in which he has over 50% approval anymore. Not one. In Texas, Bush's approval is just above 40%. That's now below John Cornyn's last measured approval of 43%.
But that change hasn't stopped Cornyn's allegience to Bush- he's continued to vote with him lockstep, one of the strongest pro-Bush voting records in the Senate. Heck, even Texas' other Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has broken with the president on issues such as SCHIP or the DREAM Act. But I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that Cornyn is welcoming Bush to and has already welcomed Cheney with open arms to come fundraise for him in Texas.
"It's in the eye of the beholder," Mr. Cornyn said, adding, "I'm pleased that the vice president would take time out of his schedule to assist us in that effort."
...
"But I believe that it's important in a state as big as Texas to raise the funds to tell people who you are and what you stand for."
Rick Noriega and Texas Democrats are fighting back. Just as they have been for the last 5 years, together we are going to push back- in 2007, 2008, and beyond.
Below I've included an email sent by the Noriega campaign...we'll be seeing a lot more activity this week regarding President Bush secretly arriving in Texas to fundraising for John Cornyn. This is what change looks like.
President Bush is arriving in Texas for two secretive, invite-only fundraisers for his Rubber Stamp: Senator John Cornyn.
We shouldn't be surprised that George W. Bush is coming in 3 days to help his #1 cheerleader for his Administration's failed policies.
But we're not going to let President Bush quietly slink into Texas to help Rubber Stamp Cornyn. Click the link below and help us reach our $50,000 goal in 3 days to Stamp Out Bush's Rubber Stamp.
Today, President Bush vetoed a bill that would have added 4 million children to the Children's Health Insurance Program. The bipartisan legislation had 18 Republican Senators signed on and was only one vote away from being veto proof in the House (more on that later).
Another letter was sent directly to President Bush yesterday urging him to reconsider his veto. There isn't a link, but the copy of the letter is below.
The legislation passed by Congress last week represents a bipartisan consensus and is the solution to ensure states and the federal government meet our moral obligation to care for our youngest and most vulnerable Americans.
This bipartisan consensus bill provides states the opportunity to continue covering millions of currently insured children and allows states to address the growing number of uninsured children. The bill largely reflects the philosophy that state flexibility, as well as options and incentives for state performance, are preferable to mandates. Most importantly this bill represents a common-sense, bipartisan approach that will ensure that health coverage for millions of currently enrolled children is not jeopardized.
We are encouraged that Congress has prioritized children's health insurance coverage. We urge you to join the strong bipartisan consensus among Congress, governors, and the American public by signing this legislation into law.
This second letter was signed by:
Signing the letter were Govs. Janet Napolitano (AZ), Mike Beebe (AR), Bill Ritter (CO), Jodi Rell (CT), Ruth Ann Minner (DE), Rod Blagojevich (IL), Chet Culver (IA), Kathleen Sebelius (KS), Kathleen Blanco (LA), Martin O'Malley (MD), Deval Patrick (MA), Jennifer Granholm (MI), Brian Schweitzer (MT), John Lynch (NH), Jon Corzine (NJ), Bill Richardson (NM), Eliot Sptizer (NY), Mike Easley (NC), Ted Strickland (OH), Brad Henry (OK), Ed Rendell (PA), Ted Kulongoski (OR), Phil Bredesen (TN), Anibal Acevedo Vila (PR), Tim Kaine (VA), Jon Huntsman (UT), Chris Gregoire (WA), Joe Manchin (WV), Jim Doyle (WI).
Again, Perry's name is sadly missing.
CNN reports that a recent poll has 75% of Americans supporting Congress and the expansion of CHIP. Talk about out of touch.
Republican officials disappointed in every way. Bush vetoes a bipartisan bill. Perry says he disagrees with 43 Governors. John Cornyn voted against the SCHIP bill in the senate… twice. Worst of all, we were one vote away from making children a priority in the House. Since McCaul voted against the bill, I am going to go ahead and blame him.
Since Congressional officials like Mike McCaul and Junior Senator John Cornyn are up for re-election this cycle, there total lack of support is sad and confusing. Maybe it is time for them to sit in a room with the 4 million uninsured children and tell them why they don't need medical coverage. Maybe Rick Perry and the House and Senate leadership should tell Texans why families are not a priority for them but giving plush hand outs to donors are.
There are no excuses. There is no reason for this veto. There is no reason why our elected official sat on the sideline when we demanded leadership. There is no reason why they deserve our votes ever again.
Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) spoke on the House floor yesterday about the failure of the surge to achieve its objective. Seems pretty relevant since all the Republicans think things are going so well over there.
The President's surge is as successful as the President's boast to capture Osama bin Laden 'dead or alive.'
Now Congress must respond to the President's propaganda surge with a truth surge, with a memory surge that reminds America of repeated false cries of progress and phony excuses that have only brought our families more insecurity. Congress must learn from the courage of our troops. Appeasement will not stop this wrongheaded administration policy. More blank checks will only drain our national treasury while fueling more death and destruction that only endangers our families.
With the recent resignation of Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, statements and releases are circulating en masse right now. John Cornyn would have you believe that this embattled Republican operative has done nothing wrong.
His resignation marks another casualty of the hyper-partisan atmosphere in Washington that does not serve the best interests of the American People.
Despite countless hearings and subpoenaed documents, it's clear that the Attorney General did not interfere with ongoing investigations and prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys. Rather, his mistake was underestimating the ferocity of relentless partisan attacks and not preparing more to address them. Perhaps because their attention was distracted by 300 other investigations already launched by the Democratic majority, the Justice Department did a very poor job in responding to these spurious charges.
[…]
Since taking power over 200 days ago, Democrats have opened more than 300 investigations and held more than 600 oversight hearings, while their other notable accomplishment is renaming 20 post offices.
The American people deserve and demand bipartisan action on the many important issues facing our country today. It is my hope that the poisonous and partisan atmosphere that has surrounded this Congress will be lifted and my Democratic colleagues will work with Republicans in the best interests of the American people.
Well said Junior Senator Cornyn. Now it is time to face some facts. Alberto Gonzales created a partisan Department of Justice and then lied about it. People don’t resign from a job that they are doing well.
Alberto Gonzales, along with Cornyn and Bush, created an illegal and warrantless wiretapping program that is bogging down our courts. In 2006, this issue was a big enough deal to the American people that they voted overwhelmingly Democratic and gave both chambers of Congress over to the Democratic Party. Not only were people so irate about the program, Gonzales was being investigated by both Republicans and Democrats because he likely perjured himself during the Congressional investigations mentioned above.
Lt. Col. Rick Noriega put it bluntly, “It’s about time. Our country’s interest should come first. This appears to be a political decision. Hopefully this can put an end to the politicization of the Justice Department.”
It is hard to be surprised that Cornyn would mislead the country and his constituents. He constantly refuses to answer questions on political shows like This Week or in Town Halls. Instead, the Junior Senator uses partisan, flamethrower language in order to divert our focus from a Bush crony resigning to blaming a Democratic majority for finding the problem. As a Democrat, I am proud we won the majority back and I am even prouder to say Alberto Gonzales has resigned because he lied to Congress and the American people. It is sad that you do not agree with that Mr. Cornyn.
Mikal Watts, stated, “John Cornyn’s loss is America’s gain. His strong support of the Attorney General only delayed the inevitable, but now the rest of the nation can move on to the task of restoring balance and integrity in our top judicial office.”
Now we are at a cross roads of cronyism. The rumor swirling is that Bush will replace Gonzales with failed Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. In an e-mail that just recently went out from the Edwards Campaign, Joe Trippi wrote this:
That's right—Bush may actually replace the man who brought us a political purge of U.S. Attorneys and illegal spying on Americans with the man who brought us the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
It is time to do what is right for America and not the Republican base. The two seem to be mutually exclusive, but our Republican elected officials only want to govern the radical right. That is unacceptable and it is time for Cornyn and Bush to realize that they must represent all of us, not just the percentage that voted for them.
