Deborah Pryce
Republican Congresswoman in Ohio’s 15th District (for Columbus, Upper Arlington, Hilliard and surrounding communities), Deborah Pryce has established record of negative behaviors that reflect poorly on herself and hamper American efforts to make progress against challenges to its social, economic, and constitutional integrity. When Deborah Pryce first entered the Congress in 1994, she signed the Contract With America, which vigorously asserted that members of Congress should only remain in the body for twelve years. Twelve years later, she’s running for another two-year term. This is a frustrating indication that Deborah Price can’t be trusted to follow through on her promises and commitments.
To see what another two-year Pryce term might be like, we can look at some of the many low points in Pryce’s legislative record for the past two years:
# By voting “no†on the Farr Amendment, Rep. Pryce voted to keep Section 102 in H.R. 418, giving a Bush administration bureaucrat the ability to nullify any law without judicial review of that decision. Where I come from, they call that dictatorship.
# By voting “no†on the Scott Amendment, Rep. Pryce voted to keep language in H.R. 27 that allows organizations to engage in government-funded religious discrimination in hiring. We had thought that bigotry was old hat, and that the separation of church and state was secure. With this vote, Rep. Pryce has helped to weaken the constitution and bring bigotry back in style.
# On September 29, 2005, a slim majority of member of the United States House of Representatives voted for H.R. 3824, an attack upon the Endangered Species Act, alandmark law that brought the American bald eagle back from the brink of extinction.
# While the Republican-controlled Congress is allowing the government’s budget to spiral wildly higher, it irresponsibly suggests that we ought to cut taxes for the aristocratic class of our country that lives not by actually working, but off an inheritance from mumsy or daddy. As it is now, nobody has to pay a penny for anything up to a million dollars they get in income when a relative dies. But Deborah Pryce supported H.R. 8, a bill that would permanently eliminate income taxes on any unearned money over a million bucks that people receive as part of an inheritance. You and I won’t get that kind of inheritance: it’s the already filthy rich who will benefit. At this time of budget deficits, we shouldn’t be cutting away these sorts of taxes. It’s not fiscally prudent. It’s not sensible. It’s not fair. It’s just plain nuts. That’s Deborah Pryce for you.
# With the Hostettler Amendment to H.R. 2862, Deborah Pryce voted to keep a ruling of a federal court from being enforced, because she didn’t like that it ruled against the placement of a religious monument on public property. That’s not the rule of law. That’s an arbitrary violation of the separation of powers. But hey, apparently that’s just fine with Deborah Pryce.
Someone with a regressive, destructive legislative record like this might merit our mild attention if they did not have big plans for the future. But Deborah Pryce displays an uncommonly open ambition for power. Pryce is already Chair of the Republican Conference and therefore the 4th-ranked Republican in the leadership of the House of Representatives. When a nonpartisan organization dared to refer to Deborah Pryce as a middling player in House politics, Pryce quickly sent out her spokesman, Sean Spicer, to label such an evaluation as “ridiculous” and to reiterate her desire for power and influence. Due to her leadership position, her priorities stand a good chance of being reflected in Republican Party policies in general. And as those higher in the House Republican leadership continue to fall by the wayside as ethics scandals and the consequent backstabbings play out, Deborah Pryce stands a good chance of taking her extremely conservative vision for America nationwide.
This year, Deborah Pryce is facing stiff competition in her attempt to be re-elected; she’s running against the well-organized and well-spoken Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy. Supporting Kilroy’s campaign is perhaps the best way we have right now to stop Deborah Pryce from continuing to screw up America.
