I’ve already written about Rep. Thelma Drake’s (R) accusation that CLW endorsee Glenn Nye cheated on his taxes.  Nye seems to have effectively refuted this smear.  But it’s clear that Drake is not finished with the underhanded campaign tactics.

The latest round began when an independent union group aired a TV ad criticizing Drake for not supporting veterans.

Admittedly, these are tough charges in an area that has more military bases than any other congressional district in the country.  However, rather than defending or explaining the votes against funding for veterans’ healthcare cited in the ad, Drake accused Nye of lying about his diplomatic service.

At a hastily-assembled news conference, Drake surrounded herself with veterans, including an Iraq war vet, Greg Robinette, who claimed Nye is wrong to tout his experience in Iraq, because he was there with the State Dept. rather than as a solder:  “He can say he was there, but he is not a combat veteran. That’s offensive, it’s not the same.”

According to the Newport News Daily Press

Robinette went on to question Nye’s story about negotiating for the release of an American hostage while working in Macedonia.

“The U.S. Army and Marines went in and saved that hostage,” Robinette said.

Drake wondered aloud how a “a very junior member of the State Department” was so instrumental in the rescues and said that so far, her staff had been unable to find news clips or State Department officials to verify the story Nye used on the campaign trail and in commercials.

The Nye campaign was quick to respond by releasing the official awards documents detailing his work in Macedonia.

According to the award application submitted by his superior at the State Dept.:

“[Nye was] essential to securing the release of an American held captive by the NLA (National Liberation Army).  It should also be noted that unlike many other prisoners held by the NLA, the American was not abused or mistreated.  I believe this is a direct result of the pressure that Glenn kept on the NLA.”

The union ad is tough stuff, to be sure, but responding to it by questioning a patriotic American’s service to his country is below the belt.

You can help Glenn Nye fight the smears here.

 

With 26 more votes than necessary for passage – 86 yeas to 13 nays – the Senate passed the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal yesterday, overcoming the deal’s only legislative obstacle left after the House passed the deal on September 27.

Click here to find out how your representatives voted

Now, after a more than thirty year ban on nuclear trade imposed on India for conducting illicit nuclear tests, the deal heads to the President’s desk for signature, an event that seemed highly unlikely just months ago.

As a result of the deal, civilian nuclear trade between India and the United States will open. India will receive U.S. technology and nuclear energy, and will allow U.N. inspectors to inspect those civilian nuclear facilities. Nuclear weapons facilities will not be opened for inspection, one of the many remaining serious concerns.

In order to pass the agreement before adjournment, Congress was pressured into foregoing the required 30-day review period. In a matter of days, the United States approved a deal that undercuts decades of work by the global non-proliferation efforts, and even by Congress itself.

The passage is being widely touted as a much-needed foreign policy victory for the Bush administration before it leaves office in January.

More after the jump, including the citations of Council experts in Congressional testimony.

OPPOSITION IN CONGRESS

Thirteen Senators voted against the deal, including Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who highlighted the work of the Council’s Leonor Tomero and Lt. Gen. Robert Gard.

According to Harkin,

“Leading arms control experts have condemned this agreement. Leonor Tomero, director of nuclear nonproliferation at the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation [sister organization of the Council], rendered this verdict:

‘The Bush administration ignored congressional conditions and gave away the store in its negotiations with India, with nothing to show for the deal now except having helped foreign companies, enabled the increase of nuclear weapons and nuclear-weapons materials in India, and seriously eroded a thirty-year norm of preventing nuclear proliferation.’

He also quoted Gard:

‘The greatest threat to the security of the United States is the proliferation of nuclear weapons. This deal [with India] significantly weakens U.S. and international security by granting an exception to the rules of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and American laws, thereby undermining the entire non-proliferation regime and inviting violations by other nations.'”

Several other Senators spoke out against the deal, and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) introduced an amendment to explicitly place conditions – to scrap the deal if India detonates a weapon and impose several reporting requirements – on India. Sen. Rich Lugar (R-IN) and others rejected these qualifications, arguing that, “if India resumes testing, the 123 agreement is over,” and U.S. laws would already require termination of the agreement.

FOLLOWING THE LEADER?

Yesterday, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani told reporters, “You don’t have to be worried about [the deal]. Pakistan will now be justified to also make a demand for a similar deal as we don’t want discrimination.”

Now, about those opponents who argued that an exemption for India would undermine nuclear non-proliferation efforts and encourage an arms race in the region…

Of our 40,000+ supporters, at least 5,000 are not registered. If you’re one of those 5,000, we – along with our sister organization, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, and eight other peace and security groups – want to give you all the tools you need to register for this crucial election.

If you are not registered, PLEASE REGISTER!! If you don’t know if you are, let us know. If you are 100 percent sure you are, urge your friends to do the same (They can use our site, too.)

More details after the jump.

The deadline for voter registration is Oct. 4-15, depending on what state you live in. Click here for a list of deadlines.

If you know you are not registered or if you need to change your name, address, or party on your registration: click here to go to our voter registration website. (Your registration form will be sent to and processed by your state or local election officials.).

If you fill out the application on the website, you can check the status of your voter registration application by contacting your secretary of state or local elections official (information you’ll receive after completing your registration form).

If you don’t know if you are registered: We may be able to help determine your registration status. Send an email to ahoffman@clw.org with your first and last name, mailing address and e-mail – we can check your updated information against the state voter file and get back to you. (Or you can contact your local Board of Elections or Secretary of State’s office.)

In a throwback to the Cold War, Ohio candidate Mary Jo Kilroy’s Republican opponent is calling her a socialist.  His evidence?  A 15 year old French documentary.

The Republican charges are simply ridiculous.

The movie in question is Sentimental Journey: America’s Dissidents in which a French filmmaker, Noel Burch, travels to the United States to interview political activists on the American left.  In the course of his travels he visits the offices of the Columbus Free Press, which Kilroy edited at the time.

However, instead of spouting fiery rhetoric about overthrowing capitalist pigs, Kilroy discusses using new media (cable t.v. in this instance) to bring about “real change.”  (Actually that sounds sort of like the Obama campaign, doesn’t it?)

Pretty innocuous stuff, huh? Not to Ken Spain, spokesman of the National Republican Congressional Committee: “Despite her multiple denials and dismissing claims that she once ran a socialist newspaper as lies, it appears that Mary Jo Kilroy has been caught on tape peddling socialist propoganda”

In fact, the Free Press was a community paper, not a socialist one.  The filmmaker himself might have socialist sympathies, that’s not clear from the clip, but at no point does anyone imply that the paper or Kilroy herself are godless communists.

The fact that Republicans are stooping to such tactics shows how close they are to losing this seat.  The seat has been held for 16 years by Republican Deborah Pryce.  Kilroy challenged her in 2006 and lost by less than one point.  Pryce is now retiring and Kilroy is favored to win the open seat race. A poll taken following the Republican primary showed Kilroy with a ten point lead over the Republican nominee, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist.

You can help Mary Jo Kilroy fight this baseless attack here.

PostScript – Credit where credit’s due. Hats off to the Republican opposition research team for digging this up.

   

Two new polls out show Council endorsed candidates with solid leads.

First, let’s look at a poll for the seat in Maine left open by Rep. Tom Allen’s decision to run for Senate:

Chellie Pingree (D – CLW endorsee) – 44%
Charlie Summers (R) – 33%

This pretty much confirms the conventional wisdom that the real race in this district occurred in the Democratic primary.  Looks like we’ll be seeing Pingree in DC next year.

You can support Pingree here.

Now, to Michigan:

Gary Peters (D – CLW endorsee) – 41
Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R) –    37
Jack Kevorkian (I) – 8
Undecided – 14

This is the first time we’ve seen Peters leading, but take it with a grain of salt.  This poll was paid for by the Democratic party, and was actually taken back in August.  Party financed polls frequently favor their candidates, and one wonders why they sat on it so long.  Still, it is a clear indicator that this is a close race.

Read more about this race here.

Oh, and yes, that is Dr. Death coming in third.  Who said life (or death) doesn’t have second acts?