A Closer Look At Abercrombie’s Record
Wednesday - September 29, 2010
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Del.icio.us“Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has been one of the world’s most active sponsors of terrorism.” - Iran, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Daniel Byman, Center for Peace and Security Studies, Georgetown University
On primary election night, MidWeek‘s own Dan Boylan, acting as TV commentator on primary election night, said, laughing, that winning Democrat gubernatorial candidate, former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, has certainly changed since he was a radical professor at UH, but added that he’ll still have to answer for some of his congressional votes during the general election.
So, knowing little about Abercrombie except that he’s a liberal Democrat, I wondered what Dan meant.
I decided to search.
It’s easy to find voting records. Starting online at the Washington Post,
I quickly found http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/a000014/, a database listing voting records of every member of Congress categorized by: votes on major legislation, missed votes and votes both with and against the congressperson’s party. No surprise that since 1991 Abercrombie has voted with the Democratic Party 92 percent of the time, and in the last Congress 98.5 percent.
But which legislation did he vote “Nay” on when his own Democratic Party voted “Yea”?
Since 2006, Abercrombie voted against Democrats (and Republicans) on the following issues, important to the security of our nation - and, in turn, Hawaii - and the safety of our military troops and of Israel, our staunch ally. He voted “no” or “present” on these bill/acts/resolutions (exact legislation names listed):
* Recognizing Israel’s Right to Defend Itself Against Attacks From Gaza, Reaffirming the United States’ Strong Support for Israel, and Supporting the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process.
* Promoting Antiterrorism Cooperation Through Technology and Science Act.
* Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act
* Department of Homeland Security Appropriations for fiscal year 2008
* Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007
* National Defense Authorization Act (12/5/07)
* Condemning the Ongoing Palestinian Rocket Attacks on Israeli Civilians, and for Other Purposes (Voted “Present.”)
* Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007.
* Reaffirming the Support of the House of Representatives for the Legitimate, Democratically Elected Government of Lebanon Under Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
* Expressing the Sense of the House of Representatives Regarding the Government of Syria’s Continued Interference in the Internal Affairs of Lebanon. (Voted “Present.”)
* Iran Sanctions Enabling Act.
* Condemning Human Rights Abuses by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Expressing Solidarity With the Iranian People.
* Calling on the United Nations Security Council to Charge Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad With Violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the United Nations Charter Because of His Calls for the Destruction of the State of Israel. (Voted “Present.”)
Last week, Iran’s Republican Guard received new surface-to-surface 120-mile range Fateh-110 missiles that can easily reach its neighbors and Israel, which Iranian president Ahmadinejad wants to eliminate (and who says the Holocaust didn’t happen). Iran is linked to al-Qaida, Hezbollah and terrorism acts by the 9-11 Commission, and to supplying the Taliban with weapons used against our troops in Afghanistan.
Unlike the primary race and personal attacks, I agree with Dan Boylan. Mr. Abercrombie - and all candidates - must answer for their records.
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