Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Conservative Hypocrisy Regarding "Bipartisanship"

Check out this paragraph from an article by Danielle Avel on Big Government regarding a recently proposed resolution in the House of Representatives:
This week, I’m happy to update this story with a positive development — Representative Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) introduced House Resolution 1371, “Condemning the selection of the Government of Iran to serve on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.”  The original Cosponsors of this measure represent a diverse, bipartisan group including Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Rep. Burton (R-IN), Rep. Campbell (R-CA), Rep. McCaul (R-TX), Rep. Inglis (R-SC), and Rep. Polis (D-CO).
Notice anything?

How about the calling of this resolution "bipartisan" because a lone Democrat has decided to cosponsor the legislation?

Remember last year when Republican Rep. Joeseph Cao voted for the health care reform bill, making him the only Republican to vote in favor of the legislation?

Remember when conservatives attacked the notion that the bill was "bipartisan" because one Republican voted for it?

Well, apparently Danielle Avel seems to have forgotten those criticisms, deciding to use the term to make House Resolution 1371 appear to be more then just part of the conservative political game - giving the appearance that Democrats are distancing themselves from the administration.

In reality, this resolution is nothing more then a bunch of conservative representatives pounding their cheest on the House floor for their constituents to see, but if conservatives were really interested in the "status of women," then maybe they should look into their own actions.

Take into consideration Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, who believes it is okay to deny homosexuals the right to marriage, who introduced an amendment to the to the 2010 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act to try and prevent "Federal funds from being used by a court to hear or decide the constitutionality of any portion of the Defense of Marriage Act."  Rep. Burton issued the following statement:
"Marriage between a man and a woman has been the foundation of human civilization for thousands of years all around the world. Protections for this vital institution are built into the culture and laws of our land because of the centrality of the family unit as the procreator of
children who represent the future of our society. I believe that the Defense of Marriage Act was approved by a Republican Congress and signed into law by Democrat President Bill Clinton in 1996 because the vast majority of Americans support upholding this sacred institution, and do not want to see marriage exploited and liberalized to fit any definition.

"I have offered this amendment to protect the Defense of Marriage Act in order to uphold the will of the vast majority of Americans from the rulings of activist judges, and to preserve the right for a State to not recognize a gay marriage performed in another State. I hope the Rules Committee gives my amendment objective consideration and allows it to go to the House floor for a vote."
I wonder what Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen thinks of Burton's statement, which condemns homosexuality and actively seeks to deny gays, like Ros-Lehtinen's transgendered son, the right to marriage?  In my opinion, it seems a bit hypocritical to attack Iran's involvement on a United Nations commission when some of these conservative senators seem to be doing exactly the same thing their Iranian counterparts are doing - denying rights based on religious interpretations.

It is also interesting because conservatives seem to enjoy bashing the United Nations for the cameras, but it doesn't take much to have them pass resolutions criticizing U.N. commissions they probably don't care for in the first place.

1 comment:

  1. Funny when you think that the Republican legislators tried to impose their authority over the courts. I bet they'd try to defund the supreme court if they felt it would rule against something they support.

    ReplyDelete

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