Who voted against the bald eagle?

The Green Man 9/30/2005
[1] comment

Politicians talk a good game when it comes to patriotism. They’ll chant “USA! USA!” They’ll push amendments to outlaw burning the American flag. They’ll make long speeches about Homeland Security. They’ll wear little lapel pins.

But when push comes to shove, and politicians in Congress are given the chance to ensure the survival of a living symbol of the United States of America, what do they do? They take out their guns, aim and fire.

Yesterday, a slim majority of member of the United States House of Representatives voted for H.R. 3824, an attack upon the landmark law that brought the American bald eagle back from the brink of extinction. Without the Endangered Species Act, the American bald eagle would probably not exist any more, except on the backs of our quarters and as a graphic on Republican web sites promoting corporate pollution.

I’ve seen the American bald eagle fly, and I think that it is worth protecting. 229 members of the House of Representatives disagree. They voted yesterday to seriously weaken the protection of endangered species like the American bald eagle. They did it for the sake of profits for big business.

This issue of genuine patriotism, of love for the real homeland, is not purely partisan. Yes, most of the votes to attack the Endangered Species Act came from Republicans, but a large number of Democrats took part in the attack too. Yes, most of the votes to defend the Endangered Species Act came from Democrats, but some Republicans joined in that defense.

On both sides, those who broke party ranks deserve our attention. The Democrats who voted for H R 3824 deserve particular condemnation. After all, if these Democrats had voted against the radical measure, H R 3824 would have been stopped. The Republicans who voted against H R 3824 deserve our thanks. Both groups are listed below. Check it, to see if your representative in Congress is there.

Democrats who shamefully voted to attack the Endangered Species Act:

  • Neil Abercrombie, of Hawaii
  • Joe Baca, of California
  • John Barrow, of Georgia
  • Marion Berry, of Arkansas
  • Sanford Bishop, of Georgia
  • Dan Boren, of Oklahoma
  • Allen Boyd, of Florida
  • Dennis Cardoza, of California
  • James Costa, of California
  • Jerry Costello, of Illinois
  • Bud Cramer, of Alabama
  • Henry Cuellar, of Texas
  • Artur Davis, of Alabama
  • Lincoln Davis, of Tennessee
  • Chet Edwards, of Texas
  • Harold Ford Jr., of Tennessee
  • Stephanie Herseth, of South Dakota
  • Ruben Hinojosa, of Texas
  • Tim Holden, of Pennsylvania
  • James Marshall, of Georgia
  • James Matheson, of Utah
  • Mike McIntyre, of North Carolina
  • Charles Melancon, of Louisiana
  • Allan Mollohan, of West Virginia
  • John Murtha, of Pennsylvania
  • Solomon Ortiz, of Texas
  • John Peterson, of Minnesota
  • Earl Pomeroy, of North Dakota
  • Mike Ross, of Arkansas
  • John Salazar, of Colorado
  • David Scott, of Georgia
  • Ike Skelton, of Missouri
  • John Tanner, of Tennessee
  • Gene Taylor, of Mississippi
  • Bennie Thompson, of Mississippi
  • Albert Wynn, of Maryland

    Republicans who did the right thing, and voted to defend the Endangered Species Act:

  • Charles Bass, of New Hampshire
  • Judy Biggert, of Illinois
  • Sherwood Boehlert, of New York
  • Jeb Bradley, of New Hampshire
  • Michael Castle, of Delaware
  • Tom Davis, of Virginia
  • Vernon Ehlers, of Michigan
  • Michael Ferguson, of New Jersey
  • Michael Fitzpatrick, of Pennsylvania
  • Mark Foley, of Florida
  • Rodney Frelingheysen, of New Jersey
  • James Gerlach, of Pennsylvania
  • Wayne Gilchrest, of Maryland
  • Nancy Johnson, of Connecticut
  • Timothy Johnson, of Illinois
  • Sue Kelly, of New York
  • Mark Steven Kirk, of Illinois
  • Ray LaHood, of Illinois
  • LaTourette, of Ohio
  • James Leach, of Iowa
  • LoBiondo, of New Jersey
  • Todd Platts, of Pennsylvania
  • James Ramstad, of Minnesota
  • David Reichert, of Washington
  • James Saxton,of New Jersey
  • John Schwarz, of Michigan
  • E. Clay Shaw, of Florida
  • Christopher Shays, of Connecticut
  • Rob Simmons, of Connecticut
  • Christopher Smith, of New Jersey
  • Fred Upton, of Michigan
  • James Walsh, of New York
  • Curt Weldon, of Pennsylvania
  • Frank Wolf, of Virginia
    • This entry was posted in Environment, Legislation and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

    One Response to Who voted against the bald eagle?

    1. The Green Man says:
      4/23/2008 at 10:27 am

      I note with pleasure now that Al Wynn has finally be ousted! Donna Edwards is a real Democrat who won’t promote this kind of Republican bull. Way to go! Elect Edwards 2008!

      Reply

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