Pro-Abortion, Pro-Tax Increase, and Pro-Illegal Immigration Bob Corker just can't seem to buy a break these days.Last week and this week he was being hit from all sides because of his record of not paying taxes.
Now, he is being slammed for his soft stance on port security from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Democrat Party Chair Bob Tuke went after Corker's stance on the the ports deal via the following press release:
"Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke today took Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker to task for completely failing to understand the vital national security concerns raised by the Bush Administration proposal to turn U.S. port operations over to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates.
According to a report in today's Tennessean, Corker told business leaders at a forum sponsored yesterday by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce that he "does not want to pull the plug" on the deal, even though it has drawn a great deal of skepticism and ire from a vast majority of Americans.
"Our country should not be in the business of outsourcing our port operations at the risk of national security," Tuke said. "But Bob Corker says we should take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to allowing our ports to be run by a company owned by a country from which terrorists have operated and been financed."
In addition to growing public sentiment against the deal, the United States Coast Guard has officially expressed concerns about giving administration of six major U.S. ports to Dubai Ports World. Tuke said that Corker's call for "err[ing] on the side of caution when it comes to national security" shows that he does not understand the severity of the situation and has probably been pressured by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to "go soft" on the issue.
"The security of our ports should not be left up to corporate review agencies and individual senators," Tuke said. "President Bush proposes to sell the operation of our ports to a company owned by a foreign country that houses persons hostile to our national interests. Apparently, Bob Corker finds no fault with that."
If Corker "can't take a stand on national security, he doesn't belong in the U.S. Senate," Tuke concluded. "Tennesseans expect firm action from their leaders on these issues. They don't want a softie."
Fellow Republican Senate candidate Van Hilleary also went after Corker:
"Former Congressman Van Hilleary, the Republican frontrunner for Tennessee’s open U.S. Senate seat, today issued the following statement highlighting the difference between his approach and Bob Corker’s approach to the Dubai World Port issue.
“Bob Corker says it is possible the Dubai port deal is acceptable. I do not. This is a difference between him and me. Being a leader means knowing the difference between right and wrong and I can tell you as a Desert Storm veteran who volunteered to go to the Middle East to fight the aggression of the world’s biggest terrorist and was stationed in the United Arab Emirates, this deal is wrong. You don’t give a key to the front door of our country to a nation whose record on terror is as mixed as the UAE’s. Period.
“I say revoke the ports deal with Dubai right now. Bob Corker says we should wait and study it some more. There is nothing we can possibly learn in the next 45 days that will change the fact that the United Arab Emirates as a matter of principle should not control our ports.
“Bob Corker says ‘I think we should err on the side of being cautious as it relates to our national security’(The Tennessean, 3/2/06). What a delicate way to put it. I don’t think there’s any erring to it. I think we protect and defend America at all costs and in this case that means stopping this ports deal right now.
“If you want a Senator who will use mushy language or always want to commission a study, I’m not your guy. But if you want a Senator who knows right from wrong and is willing to stand up and say so, I’m your man.”
Dubai Ports World is owned by the government of the UAE. Some of the September 11th hijackers used the UAE as an operational and financial base. The UAE was used to wire money to terrorists and served as an important transfer point of smuggled nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya by a Pakistani scientist."
Our security should not be gambled with. The President and Bob Corker apparently do not agree with that notion.
Congressman Ford said it best when he said, "This is not a Democrat or a Republican issue. This is a security issue. Delaying this deal is not good enough; we should end it now."
This is yet just another reason why Corker should not be our next U.S. Senator.
Read Congressman Ford's letter on port security here!
58 Days
Days of Congressional Inaction on Ethics
Above is the number of days that have passed since Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to bribing Congressman.
It is also the number of days in which Congress has failed to pass an ethics reform bill that would limit private travel, ski and golf junkets, and would call for a full disclosure of expenses by lobbyists on members of Congress.
It is time for Congress to step up and pass an ethics reform bill that would do all of the above. In addition, it is time to end the pork barrel spending system as we know it and establish an independent ethics commission that would review ethics complaints against members of Congress.
I am proud Congressman Harold Ford Jr. is fighting for that reform!
Read Congressman Ford's call for reform of the House rules here!
