Columbus Ohio residents were treated to yet more of the Columbus Dispatch Printing Company's 'fair and balanced' judgment; Pat Tiberi has gotten the local daily newspaper's endorsement for Congress.

Hopefully, the CD readers will remember their past 'judgment' of the printing company's endorsements, including George W. Bush for president in both 2000 and 2004 (when shortly before the 2004 election, even the Dispatch seemed to know better.) In the midst of this latest economic crisis, that presidential endorsement has shown where the loyalties of the Wolfe family media empire really LIE.

First, the fact that a local printing company's public information monopoly would find it within their responsibility to endorse a candidate rather than inform the population of where the candidates stand on the issues that affect them most, is discrediting to not only the endorsement, but the legitimacy of the newspaper itself.

The Dispatch reports, "Tiberi [is a] moderate Republican, reasonable in [his] approaches to policy issues and capable of the nitty-gritty legislative work that's required."

The most glaring omission in that statement is that Tiberi has never sponsored and passed even one piece of legislation in his eight years of [dis]service.

By this same standard, Tiberi's voting record indicates Tiberi is just as "moderate" as he is "capable!"

Let's look at his "moderate" and "reasonable approach" from the pubic record of his congressional votes. As even the Dis[credited]patch noted, "most candidates are fiscal conservatives during the campaign season; the proof is what happens when they get to Capitol Hill."

The question is, why didn't the Dis[grace]patch look at that "proof" and relate that to their readers?

The [t]reason is that Tiberi's record is far from moderate.

First let's look at Tiberi's voting record concerning his 'moderate' fiscal responsibility over the past two years:

In agricultural issues, "our" congressman (who represents a large constituency of farmers) voted against the farmers five out of six times. As a result, the Farm Bureau has not endorsed Tiberi for the 2008 election cycle.

In Tiberi's House appropriations voting record, which is an indication of fiscal conservation or tax and spend tendencies, Tiberi voted FOR 13 of the 14 bills presented. Tiberi's sole NO vote, was AGAINST funding the "Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill of 2007" which would have

* appropriated $1,337,080,000 to the Army Corps of Engineers for construction and flood control,

* expressed gratitude (at the cost of $0 billions) of Congress and the American people to the members of the United States Armed Forces,

* prohibited funds appropriated in any Act from being used to establish any permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq (Tiberi supports 100-year war) and

* further acknowledged that Congress has the power solely to declare war.

Had Tiberi passed this bill, he would have recognized the authority of the US Constitution (heaven forbid!) which handed Congress (alone) the purse strings to fund wars, but only after those wars have been declared by Congress. Since the current (and never-ending) War on Terror was never declared by Congress, Tiberi is a traitor to the Constitution, having funded that undeclared, illegal and immoral war repeatedly.

In Tiberi's [weak] defense, he later voted for the "GI Bill, Funding for Midwest Flood Cleanup, Extension of Unemployment Benefits, and Other Provisions" which appropriated $8.48 billion for natural disaster relief and recovery. Of course, the "Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill of 2007" Tiberi had previously rejected, would have funded the Army Corp of Engineers $1,34 billion to prevent such flood damage.

Perhaps we should have first asked what the Columbus Dispatch Printing Company used as thier definition of "reasonable".

Considering the floods across the United States caused by levy failures, his consistent voting of military expenditures in this 100-year war and his repeated refusal to fund the care of our Veterans, this vote alone should be enough to outline the treasonous priorities of "our" congressman.

Specifically, Tiberi claims "I have been deeply and personally committed to improving health care for veterans for nearly twenty years…"

Oh, really?

* "Our congressman" voted AGAINST an amendment to an appropriations bill that sought to add $53 million for veterans' health care and for processing of claims for compensation and pensions. This amendment failed by one vote. (HR 2528, 2005 - Military Quality of Life and VA Appropriations).

* "Our congressman" voted AGAINST an amendment to an appropriations bill that provided education funding for eligible members of the Armed Forces and extended unemployment compensation. (HR 2642, 2008)

* "Our congressman" voted FOR the 2006 Congressional Budget which resulted in SIGNIFICANT CUTS in veterans' benefits programs. (HB 95, 2005)

* "Our congressman" voted AGAINST an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act of 2005 that called for the extension of TRICARE health benefits to Reservists and members of the National Guard. (HR 1815, 2005)

From 2003-2005, the Disabled American Veterans gave Mr. Tiberi a grade of 0 every year. In 2006, the Retired Enlisted Association gave Pat a 7 out of 100.

If this is the record of someone who genuinely believes he is committed to Veterans' issues, perhaps he should be "committed."

On issues of voting integrity, Tiberi voted against the "Backup Paper Ballots" bill, despite the concerns of his constituency and our own Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner who suspect that Ohio's electronic voting is unreliable and in fact may have been responsible for illegitimately handing the presidency over to George W. Bush in 2004. Tiberi also voted for the bill requiring voters to present an identification card-just 6 weeks before the 2006 elections. This bill tended to disenfranchise more democratic voters than republicans.

Tiberi's other "reasonable" voting highlights for his last term include voting:

* FOR the intelligence community use of terms like "jihadist," "jihad," "Islamo-facism," "caliphate," "Islamist," or "Islamic terrorist".

* AGAINST the use of stem cells for the advancement of medical research.

* FOR allowance electronic surveillance through "special courts".

* FOR retroactive immunity to electronic communication providers from liability with regards to civil action that may be brought up in any court due to assistance provided to the government in obtaining electronic surveillance.

* AGAINST providing federal assistance to foreclosed homeowners this past May-three times.

* AGAINST establishing the Office of Congressional Ethics.

* FOR--in fact, never voted against--Iraq War Appropriations.

* AGAINST Troop withdrawal, a ban of permanent bases, or limiting interrogation techniques (a vote FOR torture).

* Voted AGAINST women's issues every time, including votes AGAINST equal pay bills and AGAINST woman's reproductive choice.

As a final point, on January 5, 2007 Pat Tiberi said (as he had done three times before),

"I, Pat Tiberi, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

Perhaps he missed the very first line in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America (aka the Bill of Rights) which states,

"Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion…"

when he passed House Resolution 847, also known as the "Recognition of the Importance of Christmas and Christianity"?

What part of "defend the Constitution" does "our" congressman not understand?

Does this former Realtor really think he knows what's better for his constituents than the Founding Fathers of our nation did?

Would George Washington have passed funding wars that were never even declared by Congress?

Would George Washington have passed FISA retroactive immunity bills?

Would George Washington voted to bail out huge financial institutions, making the taxpayers the owners of dubious debt, while executives of these large corporations get large severance packages and are never held accountable to the rule of law?

As Tiberi's democratic challenger, David Robinson noted in a debate held this past September 11 (where Tiberi again failed to make an appearance):

"If you want to understand why Tiberi votes the way he does, just follow the money."

That seems like pretty good advise, so let's have a look.

Pat Tiberi's top 5 Contributors, 2007-2008

* Ashland Inc $13,500
* Limited Brands $13,100
* Grange Insurance $12,100
* National Multi Housing Council $12,000
* American Bankers Assn $10,000

Pat Tiberi's top 5 Industries, 2007-2008

* Insurance $158,531
* Securities & Investment $83,293
* Lawyers/Law Firms $72,506
* Real Estate $67,236
* Health Professionals $66,000

On the other hand, 95% of David Robinson's funds are by individuals. Now, which of these two candidates do you think will in return, support people like you and me through his votes in Congress?

The Columbus Dispatch reported that, "Tiberi goes his own way," but in light of Pat Tiberi's voting record, which towed the line of President George W. Bush's positions 93% of the time, it makes perfect sense that the Columbus Dispatch Printing Company endorsed Pat Tiberi.

At least their judgment is…um…consistent.