Monday, January 15, 2007

Sullivan's Votes: Wrong and Wrong Again

We checked the Congressional votes last week and—no big surprise here—Tulsa's own John Sullivan got it wrong again.

On raising the minimum wage, legislation which would help thousands of the First District's working people, Rep. Sullivan voted no. Never mind that it has been 10 years since the last increase in the minimum wage, or that in real dollars the minimum wage is at its lowest point in 50 years, Sullivan voted with the business interests.

On embryonic stem cell research, legislation that holds out the promise of medical breakthroughs that could cure Parkinson's and other diseases, Rep. Sullivan voted no. This vote despite that fact that some of the embryos included in the research will be destroyed anyway as medical waste.

To be fair, we can report that Sullivan is a team player. Like the rest of the Oklahoma Republican legislation, he voted against every bill put forth by the new Democratic majority. But we think a responsive and independent legislator would be willing to break with his party from time to time, to take a courageous stand that doesn't simply bow down at the altar of conservative orthodoxy.

We'd like to think that Rep. Sullivan possessed some actual political courage. But his recent votes, like the rest of his Congressional record, shows otherwise.

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