Wednesday, October 16, 2002

Max Cleland is a good fellow whose courage cannot be questioned, but whose judgment certainly can.

How about his vote to save the disastrous Bill Clinton from impeachment? And why did he vote for a $2 billion subsidy for dairy farmers and a farm bill that ushers in a new era of big government subsidies for agribusiness and millionaire landowners like Ted Turner with $73.4 billion in new spending?

This means an increased tax bill of $1400 for every American family and he voted against estate tax elimination which causes many family farms to be sold to pay redundant taxes. Cleland voted in favor of paying $582 million in "back dues" to the United Nations, irrespective of the fact that we have bailed out the UN in every one of its many past fiascoes, and supplied troops and millions in support efforts worldwide.

Max voted for the constitutional amendment giving Congress the power to limit campaign expenditures, thus voting against free speech, irregardless of the guarantees in the first amendment. He voted in favor of a prescription drug bill that would have doubled the cost to taxpayers, and would have paid for drugs that are currently covered by many seniors' health plans. He voted against elimination of the marriage penalty wherein some taxpayers pay more if they file one return instead of two for husband and wife. Bad judgment?

Max voted for an Export Administration Act that eliminated restrictions on high-tech exports that can be used by rogue states to build weapons that threaten the U.S. and others. This is consistent with Clinton-Gore policies that either eliminated or failed to enforce any restrictions on military exports or pass-through sales and assistance for rogue regimes such as Iraq and North Korea. He voted for the $15.5 billion foreign aid bill that would provide assistance to some of our friends and a lot of our enemies.

Max Cleland's massive spending votes in the U.S. Senate have helped to give birth to a $157 billion deficit. The Homeland Security Bill favored by Max and fellow Democrats in the Senate includes $5.1 billion in pork barrel projects that have nothing to do with the terrorist threat. They continue to bottle up 13 spending bills in the Senate in an effort to push spending higher and create a further burden on the taxpayer.

Why this effort to increase spending? Democrat pundits revealed in a New York Times column last year that their election year plan was to drive up government costs as much as possible, then blame looming deficits on the president's tax cuts that benefited all U.S. taxpayers. Were Max Cleland's votes tied to this strategy? Maybe good political strategy, but more bad judgment for America.

Cleland slandered our service members by referring to Operation Enduring Freedom as "enduring frustration." It seems he believes we should "catch" bin Laden.

We have done better. If bin Laden were not dead in a Tora Bora cave he would be on TV every night preaching jihad and exhorting more hatred against Americans. Max knows this. He vouched for the infamous chickenhawk, Bill Clinton, who artfully dodged the draft then sent our military in harm's way in Somalia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. But now Max asks Clinton not to campaign for him.

Is this a tacit admission that Max erred in favoring Clinton and doesn't want him around to remind the voters? And with evidence of illegal payoffs from Communist China, a soft on Osama policy that gave terrorism a free pass, and those horrendous pardons to terrorists and con-artists that bilked the U.S. taxpayer for millions how could Max ever justify the vote to keep Clinton? Do we reward such judgment?

Max Cleland will always be a hero to most Georgians. But we cannot afford the sort of tax increases and wasteful spending that results from his liberal vote in the U.S. Senate; and we can't condone his support for the most disgraceful president in our history who Max now tells to stay away from Georgia. Thanks for your sacrifice and service to the nation, Max, but time's up.

William Fielder

Peachtree City