H.RES.627
Title: Deploring the abuse of persons in United States custody in Iraq, regardless of the circumstances of their detention, urging the Secretary of the Army to bring to swift justice any member of the Armed Forces who has violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, expressing the deep appreciation of the Nation to the courageous and honorable members of the Armed Forces who have selflessly served, or are currently serving, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and for other purposes.
The vote was 365 to 50 with 19 not voting. Xrlq lists the Representatives that voted against the bill and invites the reader to detect a pattern. It's pretty obscure but it's there. (Note: Two of the representatives of my home state of Washington appear on the list.)
The capper, however, came when a citizen of California sent a fax to his Representative regarding his vote. The citizen is named Daniel Dow and he is a Staff Sergeant in the California Army National Guard. The Representative is Fortney "Pete" Stark of the 13th District, who is no stranger to controversy. SSgt. Dow was displeased that Rep. Stark voted against the resolution and decided to tell him so. In response, Rep. Stark called SSgt. Dow's phone number and left a message, the transcript of which I will include in its entirety:
Dan, this is Congressman Pete Stark, and I just got your fax and you don’t know what you’re talking about. So if you care about enlisted people you wouldn’t have voted for that thing, either. But probably somebody put you up to this, and I’m not sure who it was, but I doubt if you could spell half the words in the letter. Somebody wrote it for you so I don’t pay much attention to it, but I’ll call you back later and let you tell me more about why you think you’re such a great goddamn hero and why you think that this general and the Defense Department who forced these poor enlisted (laughter) guys to do what they did shouldn’t be held to account. That’s the issue. So if you want to stick it to a bunch of enlisted guys have your way, but if you want to get to the bottom of people who forced this awful program in Iraq, then you should understand more about it than you obviously do. Thanks.
Xrlq has the text of SSgt. Dow's letter in this post. He also has a link to an audio clip of the Rush Limbaugh show where Rush reads SSgt. Dow's letter and plays the recording of Rep. Stark's response. He then points out the glaring condescension and arrogance exhibited by Rep. Stark.
And he's right, you know. The liberal elite really do think very little of the clueless proles who make up most of the population of this country. We're obviously not smart enough to take care of ourselves, which is why we need them to take care of us. They try so hard not to let it show but, sometimes, they just can't hold it in any longer and their disdain shines through briefly but clearly. Take, for example, when Rep. Stark said, "...probably somebody put you up to this, and I’m not sure who it was, but I doubt if you could spell half the words in the letter. Somebody wrote it for you so I don’t pay much attention to it...." SSgt. Dow is obviously an illiterate grunt who can't think for himself nor write anything like a coherent letter. He must be being used by someone else!
Or when he says, "I’ll call you back later and let you tell me more about why you think you’re such a great goddamn hero and why you think that this general and the Defense Department who forced these poor enlisted (laughter) guys to do what they did shouldn’t be held to account." These poor enlisted guys obviously can't think for themselves, they obviously are little more than apes that don't know the difference between right and wrong.
Pete Stark is such a condescending and arrogant asshole, it's a wonder he's still in office. Hopefully this will get the airplay it deserves and the people of California will toss this dickwad out on his ear. I could make the usual comment about not holding my breath, they're Californians after all but I'm not going to (or at least I'm not going to say it and *mean* it). You know why? Because, unlike Pete Stark, I believe in the innate intelligence of people. Often it's repressed by ideology, liberal or otherwise, but it's there and all it takes is the right circumstances for it to come out. So, instead of being condescending toward the people of the 13th District, which would lower me to Pete Stark's level, I'm going to say that I'm hopeful that they see this guy for the jerk he is and put someone in his place that better serves his constituents.
As is often the case, hat tip to Misha.
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