RE: We're Not The Only Ones
Although not sports, Andrea Hopkins also gets brave. This trend is extremely refreshing, and I sure hope it continues........
[b]ANDREA HOPKINS: Davis Hasn’t Learned Obstructionism Isn’t Same As Governing[/b]
By Andrea Hopkins
Opinion Editor / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: June 15, 2008
U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-Tenn., is finishing an underwhelming freshman term.
For the most part, he’s spent the past two years touting his efforts to bring the pork back to the 1st District and opposing every teensy bit of legislation with a Democratic or even centrist whiff about it.
Davis , 48, of Johnson City , doesn’t have the sense to be chagrined by his lack of accomplishments. No, he’s proud of his obstructionist role.
“IT IS AN honor to stand up for smaller government, lower taxes, conservative moral values, and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Davis proudly pronounced in a recent press release.
That solid stand on behalf of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” doesn’t extend to uninsured children, overextended borrowers in danger of losing their homes, soldiers who want to pursue a college degree or the unemployed. Davis voted against measures that would help all of those groups of people, some of whom live right here in East Tennessee .
Obviously, Davis shares the rabid-right view of government as a beast to be slain – with one exception. He’s perfectly comfortable using his office to shower the chieftains of industry with a plethora of government goodies. A recent $4 million earmark for BAE Systems, a defense contractor that runs Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport , is a prime example.
BAE got the earmark and Davis got a fistful of campaign cash – $11,000 in all. Davis has apparently forgotten his 2006 pledge to end the practice of earmarking.
DAVIS ’ GUIDING principle appears to be that government largesse is only a bad thing if it benefits those pinched by the economy. If it benefits big business – no matter how shady the company’s dealings – that’s perfectly fine.
By now, some of the East Tennessee voters who sent Davis to Congress are likely experiencing buyer’s remorse. He wasn’t the first choice for most of them.
In 2006, Davis barely slipped past a crowded Republican primary field to win the nomination – edging second-place finisher Richard Venable by a mere 576 votes. Venable, now head of an economic development organization in Sullivan County , asked for a recount, but was denied it by the state Republican Party’s Primary Board.
Davis cannot escape this fact: Just 22 percent of 1st District voters picked him as their candidate of choice; 78 percent wanted someone else.
MANY OF these voters shifted allegiance to Davis in the general election. After all, he was the Republican nominee in a district that would pull the lever for my Brittany Spaniel-Beagle mix Bella before voting for a Democrat.
At least, Bella would have had the good sense to vote in favor of a bill making it a federal felony to transport fighting dogs across state lines. The same cannot be said of Davis, who opposed the bill, prompting dog-lovers to picket a fundraiser on his behalf at Bristol Motor Speedway last year.
Perhaps “dogfighters for Davis ” could be one of his campaign slogans.
Giving credit where it’s due, Davis has sponsored 18 pieces of legislation during his short congressional career. One of them even passed – a bill designating June 20, 2007 , as “American Eagle Day” and celebrating the recovery of the bald eagle.
TWELVE OF Davis ’ other bills deal with tariffs on various chemicals. All of those are parked in committee – unable to attract a co-sponsor. It isn’t quite clear what Davis’ interest is in substances like crotonaldehyde, a precursor chemical used in the manufacture of the food preservative sorbic acid, or phenyl salicylate, used in the manufacture of some adhesives and waxes. Either chemistry is a hobby, or some corporate interest asked Davis to carry this legislation. Odds are good it’s the latter.
Another Davis ’ bill is described as a measure to defend the integrity of the United States against terrorism. The legislation actually would use federal tax dollars to reimburse state and local governments that opt to aggressively hunt down illegal immigrants. This measure also remains in committee.
No doubt, hard-core Davis supporters won’t care about his record. They might even be pleased by it. That he stood in opposition to the Democrats – and moderates within his own party – is sufficient.
But for the rest of the 1st District, an obstructionist-in-legislator’s-clothing simply isn’t good enough.
Andrea Hopkins is opinion editor of the Bristol Herald Courier. She may be reached at ahopkins@bristolnews.com.
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