McHugh Watch

In a letter to the Editor of the Watertown Times, Mr. John Barthelme of Canton succinctly takes issue with McHugh’s vote against the Iraq Resolution. The link to the WDT is here.

McHugh Disregards Popular Opinion

Friday, February 23, 2007
Rep. John McHugh has once again chosen party loyalty over legislative independence.

McHugh voted to support President Bush’s escalation of 21,000 additional troops to Iraq. This is the same man who supported giving the FBI access to public library records, who supported (without a court order) tapping international and domestic phone calls of American citizens, who supported kidnapping by CIA agents of foreign citizens (including Canadians) and later torture in another country, and who has repeatedly announced his full support of Bush’s disastrous war policies in Iraq.

Congressman McHugh, take the cotton out of your ears. Why can’t you understand that it takes more than partisan loyalty to make a people’s representative? When close to 70 percent of the American public agree that the war in Iraq has been terribly mishandled and want it to end, you vote to send even more combat troops.

I think the picture is clear. Whenever Bush barks, John McHugh wags his tail. Residents of the north country can do much better than this. Let’s remember McHugh’s voting record in 2008.

John Barthelme
Canton

DangerDemocrat directed its readers to the Northern New York Follies for a open letter to John McHugh.  When one goes out on the campaign trail and literally meets thousands of people you don’t need statistics and polls to know what most people are thinking.  The vast majority of people in the North Country and Central New York want out of Iraq.  I will leave it to the reader to link to NNY Follies for more insight into McHugh’s vote, remembering C.S. Lewis’ words “We read to know that we are not alone.”
With apologies to Paul Simon, most of us “can read the writing on the wall” and are trying their best to have our nation avoid Belshazzar’s fate after Daniel interprets “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.”

It’s time to critically analyze Mr. McHugh’s speech to the House during the Iraq debate that was recently reprinted in the Watertown Times as an editorial.

He argues that the message Congress is sending is not going to be heard by the President and, if it is heard, it will be as a “whisper.” He may very well be right, but that is not a reason to say nothing. In essence, McHugh is telling us that the President’s inability to hear the message is that he is deaf and dumb. I don’t believe that. It’s worse than that. He’s arrogant and stupid. Continue Reading »

Mike Arcuri, who represents NY 24th (Sherry Boehlert’s old district) was interviewed on WRVO a few days ago. Arcuri is a freshman member of congress who now sits on the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee is the gatekeeper of legislation, so even as a new member of congress in the majority he holds considerable power. He voted for the Iraq resolution.

His reasons:

• A winning strategy is to end the war and bring the troops home.
• We have nothing to gain by staying in Iraq
• Escalation will only increase the violence against troops. Every time we have escalated the war, there is more violence.
• Start with bringing the National Guard home followed by a phased withdrawal of all the troops.
• Congress holds the power of the purse and should not constrain itself with its use.
• He would consider “effecting” funding to bring troops home.

Listen to the interview here:

Arcuri WRVO interview

The official Roll Call is published. As predicted, our congressman, McHugh voted against it.

In contrast Jim Walsh representing the NY 25th, which includes Syracuse and part of Rochester, obviously learned his lesson in the last election where he only won by 2% points. McHugh defiantly supports Bush because he feels that he is unassailable. After all, he did win by 26% points. The voter turn out in Walsh’s election was 207,000 but only 158,000 in McHugh’s.
Opinion:

The majority of those in the 23rd want out of Iraq. What happened to representing the majority of the district? We have someone in congress but do we have a Representative. The very reason for this site is to make sure that the people of the North Country realize how they are being “represented.”

By electing a representative to Washington, we elect someone to represent us at the national level on the national issues that effect us. Just think: This war has cost us $366 Billion thus far and continues cost us $9,600,000 per hour and 100 American men and women each month. Is it worth the pittance that he claims to bring back to the district? We are going to be paying for his and his President’s folly for the rest of our lives – and so will our children.

House Concurrent Resolution 63 passed just now 246-182 with 17 Republicans supporting and 6 not voting. The official roll call is not yet in. We will post it soon as it is published.

More comment later. Audio file of our congressman’s statement not supporting the Iraq Resolution. He will vote against it.

For reference the Resolution before the house is:

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That–

(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and

(2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

It’s Valentine’s Day. Maybe more comment later.

For text of our congressman’s remarks – straight from the Congressional Record – and Mr. Skelton’s (chairman Armed Services Committee) response: Continue Reading »

First peek at the resolution. Not even assigned a number yet. House is to reconvene at 2 PM.