Sherrod Brown, current Congressional representative to Ohio's 13th District and Democratic nominee to unseat Republican Mike DeWine for Senator, did the unthinkable today. Brown, seen by many as a true progressive, a real liberal and a viable alternative to DeWine's sycophant sucking-up to the Bush Administration, forfeited his progressive values, moral standards and the rule of law, in order to score a few election points and votes.
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on bill H.R. 6166, better known as "The Military Commissions Act" that essential legalizes torture, offers unparalleled and historic power to the President, and even a new definition of "enemy combatant" so wide-ranging it could include an anti-war protester! The bill passed by a vote of 253-168 in the House under Roll Call 491. Some may better know this bill as the "Terror Detainee Bill", but most of us know it as the bill that authorizes the United States to torture people under the euphemistic phrase of "alternative methods".
The bill passed largely along party lines, but not wholly. Thirty-four Congressional House Democrats sold their souls and their conscience to the radical-right and rabid Republicans. Among those Thirty-four Congressional Democrats was Ohio's own Sherrod Brown! This is the same Sherrod Brown who voted AGAINST the Authorization of Use of Force in 2002, lobbied hard for more equipment and body armor for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, co-sponsored a bill to bring the troops home this October and even admonished the President for not pressing harder for the hunt to find Osama Bin Laden.
Congressman Brown is also the newest recipient of the endorsement of Democratic Senator Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriot Fund. I am certain that Senator Feingold will not find Mr. Brown's vote for a bill that condones torture neither progressive nor patriotic. In a single word, what Sherrod Brown did was, unconscionable.
Some will suggest and might be inclined to offer conjecture that Brown, who is running in a dead-heat with Republican Mike DeWine, simply voted "yes" in a political move to appear tough on terrorism, thereby not giving DeWine a talking point against Brown. Being tough on terror, and therefore not weak, requires more than a dissembling nod to the forces that oppose you in a game of political shells. In order to show that you are not genuinely weak, you must do the heaviest lifting of all, the courage to go it alone and get the job done yourself. By voting with DeWine and the Republicans, Brown proved his undeniable weakness and inability to stand alone and to stand literally above, on principle.
True patriots that champion the unwavering founding American principles don't surrender to popularity or pressure; they remain firm, even in the face of tremendous adversity. True guardians of the America system of time-honored values don't sanction sedition and subversion. Sherrod Brown today provided clear evidence that he is a career politician and not a civil servant to the people that elected him to Congress or appreciates those that have advocated his race to win the Ohio Senate seat in hopes of a better future.
Congressman Brown eschewed all ethics, all morals, and all human decency to, dare I say, "Score a few Brownie points!" Brown's vote for this grisly bill not only betrayed his progressive base, his party, but his country. It doubly goes to show that all politicians are corruptible, and when their career is on the line, they will yield to pressure and abandon both principle and party, taking the path of least resistance.
Sherrod surrendered away his convictions with this vote and bowed-down to the Bush cartel. Brown more than became an enabler to the Bush radicalism that is so pervasive in Congress today, but he became a sell-out to his own judgment and those who stood beside him and trusted him. Trust, above all, is never negotiable. Once you negotiate away your trust and cross that line, you can never come back.
This is a major blow to Ohio and the country. Regardless of whether Ohio gets Brown or DeWine as their next Senator, Ohioans and now Americans, are fundamentally assured of being devoid of any honest leadership, real courage or a standing voice in the Senate, once again.
# # #
Author's Note: If you live in Ohio's 13th District, use the Action Forum below to send a message to Congressman Sherrod Brown.
Frank J. Ranelli is an opinion editorial writer, a research author and critic. He is a former senior editor and current feature writer for the popular online news website, OpEdNews.com. His erudite and chic style of writing has been lauded and extensively published in a variety of news outlets and across the Internet. These include the Naples Daily News, The Online Journal, Information Clearing House, Alternet, The Smirking Chimp, Diatribune, and the former progressive journal of thought, Wicked Philosophy. Frank is currently working on his upcoming book, Rise of the Authoritarians, and is participating as a co-author in prominent philosopher Russell Blackford's anthology, Voices of Disbelief.
What might interest the rest of the world somewhat is this - Exactly how many of the illustrious American Governors, Senators and Congressmen, on all sides of the political divide and as we so clearly see so valiantly and self-sacrificingly holding aloft the brave flag of freedom in the face of well at least the threat of overwhelming terrist attack, do NOT happen to be of the jewish persuasion?
Some of us may not be blamed so harshly for our curiosity when virtually every surname that emerges via the various media from that great and glorious nation seems to be a Weintraub or a Brown or Green or Michael or Paul or a Minsky or Shinsky or a Rumsfeld or a Wolf or its offspring or a - and your indulgence as an overpowering wave of nausea overcomes this supplicant enquirer - a Kissinger!
How comes it that there are so few Gentile names among those that move and shake the very foundations of governance and its reporting over there?
Perhaps some honest native might struggle with an unwieldy pen and inform the rest of the perplexed world. If the great non-jewish majority are not to be labelled fools and dolts and idiots, your excuse had better be pretty good.
A word to any witting: to mitigate the situation before heaving up that dripping nib, we suppose you do still have tumbrils and blocks aplenty over there? There is a veritable harvest of heads ripe for rolling between then and now if you're quick. You might well start through that oval office and work your way round locally and through NY, if you will accept a well-meaning suggestion.
Then report when you've done.
Thank you.
by
amazin (31 articles, 0 quicklinks, 10 diaries, 377 comments)
on Saturday, September 30, 2006 at 12:26:33 PM
