A Couple of Californians Who Can Retire

Elton Gallegly and David Dreier -- a pair of Republicans who I hope Californians will be showing the door in November. Gallegly teased his constituents by pretending to consider retirement before deciding that apparently the US House of Reps can't live without him and 20 years in the House isn't enough. Or was it the White House who asked him to stay in the race? Good thing he's got that $5,000 raised with good buddy Tom Delay's help in case he needs it. Gallegly just recently voted to resume oil and gas drilling off the US coast, regardless of ecological dangers. After all, it's so much easier to keep driving those Hummers than trade down. It's going to be hard for Gallegly to run from Bush, who asked him to stay in the race, so it'll be one to watch. Gallegly's voting record?

• Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
• Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
• Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
• Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
• Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortions. (Apr 2000)
• Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)
• Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
• Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
• Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
• Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
• Voted YES on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
• Voted YES on ending preferential treatment by race in college admissions. (May 1998)
• Rated 13% by the ACLU, indicating an anti-civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)
• Voted NO on maintaining right of habeus corpus in Death Penalty Appeals. (Mar 1996)
• Voted YES on making federal death penalty appeals harder. (Feb 1995)
• Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999)
• Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
• Voted YES on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. (Mar 1994)
• Supports a Constitutional Amendment for school prayer. (May 1997)
• Voted YES on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy. (Jun 2004)
• Voted YES on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy. (Nov 2003)
• Voted NO on raising CAFE standards; incentives for alternative fuels. (Aug 2001)
• Voted NO on prohibiting oil drilling & development in ANWR. (Aug 2001)
• Voted YES on starting implementation of Kyoto Protocol. (Jun 2000)
• Voted YES on deauthorizing "critical habitat" for endangered species. (Sep 2005)
• Voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects. (Nov 2003)
• Rated 83% by the Christian Coalition: a pro-family voting record. (Dec 2003)
• Voted YES on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers. (Oct 2005)
• Voted YES on prohibiting suing gunmakers & sellers for gun misuse. (Apr 2003)
• Voted YES on decreasing gun waiting period from 3 days to 1. (Jun 1999)
• Rated A by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun rights voting record. (Dec 2003)
• Voted YES on banning physician-assisted suicide. (Oct 1999)
• Voted YES on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment. (May 2004)
• Voted NO on more immigrant visas for skilled workers. (Sep 1998)
• Voted YES on zero-funding OSHA's Ergonomics Rules instead of $4.5B. (Mar 2001)
• Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)
• Voted YES on authorizing military force in Iraq. (Oct 2002)

Dreier should be a poster boy for ethical blundering in Congress, if not outright corruption. Dreier chairs the US House Rules Committee. It's one of the most powerful, deciding how bills come to the floor, helping to determine their chances of passage, or being held back. As far as I'm concerned, Dreier's private life is his business, all I care about is is voting record. And it's pretty poor.

• Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
• Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
• Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
• Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
• Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
• Voted YES on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
• Rated 27% by the ACLU, indicating an anti-civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)
• Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999)
• Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
• Voted YES on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror. (Nov 2001)
• Voted YES on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. (Mar 1994)
• Supports requiring schools to allow prayer. (Jan 2001)
• Voted YES on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy. (Jun 2004)
• Voted YES on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy. (Nov 2003)
• Voted NO on raising CAFE standards; incentives for alternative fuels. (Aug 2001)
• Voted NO on prohibiting oil drilling & development in ANWR. (Aug 2001)
• Voted NO on starting implementation of Kyoto Protocol. (Jun 2000)
• Voted YES on deauthorizing "critical habitat" for endangered species. (Sep 2005)
• Voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects. (Nov 2003)
• Rated 0% by the LCV, indicating anti-environment votes. (Dec 2003)
• Rated 66% by the Christian Coalition: mixed voting record on families. (Dec 2003)
• Voted YES on restricting independent grassroots political committees. (Apr 2006)
• Voted NO on campaign finance reform banning soft-money contributions. (Feb 2002)
• Voted NO on banning soft money and issue ads. (Sep 1999)
• Voted YES on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers. (Oct 2005)
• Voted YES on prohibiting suing gunmakers & sellers for gun misuse. (Apr 2003)
• Voted YES on decreasing gun waiting period from 3 days to 1. (Jun 1999)
• Rated A by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun rights voting record. (Dec 2003)
• Voted YES on denying non-emergency treatment for lack of Medicare co-pay. (Feb 2006)
• Voted YES on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 2003)
• Voted NO on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
• Voted YES on banning physician-assisted suicide. (Oct 1999)
• Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
• Voted YES on continuing military recruitment on college campuses. (Feb 2005)
• Voted YES on deploying SDI. (Mar 1999)
• Voted NO on providing $70 million for Section 8 Housing vouchers. (Jun 2006)
• Voted YES on promoting work and marriage among TANF recipients. (Feb 2003)
• Voted YES on treating religious organizations equally for tax breaks. (Jul 2001)
• Voted YES on responsible fatherhood via faith-based organizations. (Nov 1999)

Do your part today. Toss out Gallegly by supporting his opponent, Jill Martinez in California's 24th. Find out more about David Dreier's opponent, Cynthia Matthews, and check to see how you can help her kick Dreier to the curb.