Kevin Zeese, Candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland, has protested the invasion of Iraq since before it began. In debates with his opponents Zeese has called for rapid and responsible withdrawal of U.S. troops and military from Iraq. “We cannot bring stability to Iraq,” says Zeese, “our economy, national security and environment are all tied to our Occupation of Iraq.”
"My opponent, Representative Ben Cardin has been running as an anti-war candidate, yet he has failed to check his own record."
Rep. Cardin says that he voted against the war. But what he does not own up to is the fact that he voted, twice -- with Tom DeLay and a majority of Republicans and against Elijah Cummings, Nancy Pelosi, and a majority of Democrats opposed to the war -- to defeat measures that would have denied President Bush authority to go to war in Iraq and required the Bush Administration to first answer questions about the justifications for the war and strategic planning.
On the day the House voted on authorizing the use of force, Rep. Cardin cast four different and contradictory votes. Details of the votes are listed below.
Since 2002, Ben Cardin has voted 14 times for continued funding of the Iraq War, permanent bases, against an exit strategy, while stating that “$320 billion in Iraq is a missed opportunity.” Check out http://kevinzeese.com/content/view/205/5/ for more on the duplicitous record.
Zeese states, “If voters cast a vote for either of my opponents, they will get a status quo Senator; if they vote for me, they cast a vote against the war in Iraq.”
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On October 10, 2002, the House of Representatives voted on four different measures, detailed below, relating to authorizing President Bush to use force in Iraq. (All information below is readily available on the official web site of the U.S. House of Representatives, www.house.gov) .
1. The first measure, which was supported by a substantial majority of Democrats who would later vote against H.J. Res. 114, which authorized President Bush to use force in Iraq, would have denied him authority to go to war. That resolution stated, in part,
“Whereas, the short-term and long-term costs of unilateral United States military action against Iraq and subsequent occupation may be significant in terms of United States casualties, the cost to the United States treasury, and harm to United States diplomatic relations with other countries: Now, therefore, be it Resolved . . . That the United States should work through the United Nations to seek to resolve the matter of ensuring that Iraqis not developing weapons of mass destruction, through mechanisms such as the resumption of weapons inspections, negotiation, inquiry, mediation, regional arrangements, and other peaceful means.” (Page: H7740)
Cardin voted WITH Tom DeLay and an overwhelming majority of Republicans and AGAINST Elijah Cummings (the only Maryland Democrat to consistently oppose the war), current Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Republican progressive Connie Morella, and a substantial majority of Democrats opposed to the war to DEFEAT this resolution to resolve the issues in Iraq through diplomatic and peaceful means. (Vote 452)
2. The second measure, as described at the time by its lead sponsor, Rep. Spratt, “unflinchingly supports the President’s campaign and the Security Council for beefing up arms inspection and backing them up with force, and if the Iraqis defy the new inspectors and the Security Council responds with military action, as it should, it authorizes the use of our Armed Forces.” (Page: H7754) This resolution was supported by numerous Republicans and Democrats who also voted to give President Bush authority to use force pursuant to H.J. Res. 114.
Cardin voted TO AUTHORIZE President Bush to use force in Iraq upon meeting the conditions in the Spratt amendment. (Vote 453)
3. The third measure, like the first, also was supported by a substantial majority of Democrats against the war, as well as Connie Morella, and also would have denied President Bush authority to go to war. Furthermore, this measure would have specifically required the Administration to answer detailed questions before further consideration was given to authorizing war. Among the answers expressly called for by this measure were:
* An analysis by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Comptroller General of the assertions of the intelligence community with respect to Iraq’s current capability to produce and deliver weapons of mass destruction.”
* An estimate by the Secretary of Defense of the number of United States military casualties and Iraqi civilian casualties that would result from military action against Iraq, including an estimate of the number of casualties that would result from military actions in and around Baghdad.”
* An estimate by the Secretary of Energy of any change in the price of crude oil and downstream products likely to result from military action against Iraq and an analysis of the impact of such change on the United States economy.” (Page: H7797)
Cardin voted WITH Tom DeLay and an overwhelming majority of Republicans and AGAINST Elijah Cummings, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, a substantial majority of Democrats opposed to the war, and Connie Morella to DEFEAT this measure and permit deployment of troops without first answering further questions relating to the rationale and conduct of the war. (Vote 454)
4. The fourth and final vote was on H.J. Res. 114, which expressed support for the President’s efforts to work with the Security Council and empowered him to authorize the use of military force if he decided further diplomatic and peaceful options had been exhausted. This measure was supported by most Republicans and a sizeable group of Democrats, of whom the most senior member was Steny Hoyer. This (Vote 455) is the only vote that Ben Cardin now seems to recall having cast.
Inexplicably, The Washington Post editorial endorsing Cardin in the primary praised “his tough-minded independence”, which The Post claimed, was evident when “He was one of a minority of Democrats to vote against the war in Iraq”. In fact, a substantial majority of Democrats voted “no” on H.J. Res. 114. That error should be corrected. To the contrary, Ben Cardin’s votes on Iraq did not demonstrate independence, but a desire to have it both ways—to be able to state, as he now does, that he voted against the Iraq war, while also preserving his ability to state that he voted with backers of the war to defeat efforts to stop the conflict. The Sun’s primary endorsement of Cardin, like that of The Post, also fails to present a complete and accurate report on Cardin’s Iraq votes. Both papers owe their readers a more detailed account of Cardin’s voting record.
Each of these votes is defensible. Honorable people took their respective positions on both sides of each of these resolutions based on their sincere conviction about what was in our country’s best interests.
However, Representative Cardin’s attempt to misstate his record is not defensible.
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