(What follows is a letter to the editor appearing in the Nov. 29th Dispatch. The writer, George Kalbouss, makes a great point.)
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The failure of the super-committee to arrive at a negotiated recommendation to [reduce the federal deficit] brings to light a conflict of interest for Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (R). He had signed a pledge to a private individual, Grover Norquist, that he will never vote to raise taxes. It was also signed by our [area] Republican congressmen Steve Stivers, Pat Tiberi, and Steve Austria.
Our representatives take an oath of office that says, "I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion."
Portman owes us an explanation. Which of his oaths takes priority -- the one to the U.S. Constitution or the one to Norquist?
Did he indeed negotiate "freely, without any mental reservation" on this committee, or were his positions already signed, sealed, and delivered to Norquist [from the start]?
I strongly urge Portman to . . . state unequivocally that his oath of office takes precedence over any other oath he has taken, and I urge Stivers, Tiberi, and Austria to do the same.
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(Right on, George Kalbouss, whoever you are!)
Just saw this. George is a retired professor of Russian from the OSU Department of Slavic Languages, retired Army officer, excellent pianist, and all around story teller and good guy. And, he's absolutely correct in his letter. Just where do these people's loyalty lay? Well, I think we know.
ReplyDeleteThanks, BD. I just knew George had to be a righteous dude!
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