Thomas Petri page @ RemoveRINOs - conservative republicans and independents replacing RINOs with Constitutional conservatives

Thomas Petri

Voted AGAINST the surge: Had Petri gotten his way, we would have surrendered to Al Qaeda, granting them victory in their most clearly defined battlefield against us.

For an inside look at the importance of Iraq to Al Qaeda, please read the following report from the field, courtesy of Michael Totten and Colonel Mike Silverman: "Al Qaeda Lost"

For a poignant reminder of the hands into which Petri voted to leave the Iraqi people, please read the following post by Victor Davis Hanson: "Thyestean Feast."

Voted AGAINST reinstating funds for missile defense (ACU-6).

Voted AGAINST off-shore drilling in 07 (ACU-6).

Voted FOR Pelosi's "light-bulb ban" that, as the ACU explains, regulates "lights and appliances (including a ban on the incandescent light bulb), creating new programs for alternative energy sources, imposing more regulations on energy companies and mandating vastly increased use of ‘renewable’ energy” (ACU 6).

Voted FOR the 2007 Energy Policy that, according to the ACU, mandated reliance on biofuels while not allowing oil supplies to increase. The policy also stiffened regulations and raised taxes $2 billion (ACU-6).

Voted FOR applying McCain / Feingold to grassroots organizations (ACU-4) NOTE: Undoubtedly, in this instance, the dems were the good guys. This was GOP-sponsored and nearly ALL republicans voted for it. However, we at Remove the Rinos believe there is no excuse for voting against the 1st Amendment no matter how many republicans do so and no matter how reprehensible George Soros’ 527s are. And if John McCain were to jump off a bridge…..??

Voted AGAINST a 2006 conservative budget alternative that would have extended Bush’s tax cuts while trimming more than 300 billion dollars of discretionary spending, done away with close to 150 programs, and increased funds for the military and for veterans. It also would have opened ANWR for drilling (ACU-4) .

Voted AGAINST banning taxpayer dollars from going to the U.N. to renovate, or build anew, their headquarters in the United States (ACU 4).

Voted AGAINST drilling in ANWR in 2005 (ACU 2).

Voted AGAINST drilling in ANWR in 2006 (ACU-4) .

Voted FOR Cash for Clunkers (ACU-17).

Voted TO OVERRIDE Bush’s 2007 veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) expansion (ACU-6). This program was created in 1997 only to provide insurance to children from uninsured families who were narrowly above poverty. But 10 years later, the Dems moved to expand the program--and, as always, the devil was in the details. By joining forces with the Dems, he chose to do the following:

Re-define "children" to mean "21-year-old adults."

Re-define "just above poverty" to mean "$80,000 income."

Let some taxpayers pay for other taxpayers' insurance (even if the former make less than the latter and purchase their own insurance).

Give incentives for states to “recruit” new enrollees and thus make this big program even bigger. (Carney-1).

Voted FOR a 2009 bill to double SCHIP spending (ACU-17).   This insurance entitlement provides free coverage for enrollees whose incomes can be as high as triple the poverty level—and the vote was viewed as an important step toward the kind of nationalized health care that was passed in March 2010. Also notable, the CBO estimated that nearly 80% of the children who were given free insurance under SCHIP already had private policies (Carter - NRO). To pay for the swelling program, his vote included a tax hike.

Voted AGAINST an amendment "to prevent a federal court in Indiana from banning prayer in the Indiana House of Representatives" (ACU)

Voted FOR raising CAFE standards (ACU-2) For a look at the link between higher CAFE standards and increased traffic fatalities, as well as the folly of the economic justifications for higher standards, see what Dennis Kneale has to say: "New CAFE" (CNBC-1)

Voted FOR spending an additional $100 million on Public Broadcasting

Voted FOR raising minimum wage after the Dems rejected tax cuts that would have protected entry-level workers and small businesses (ACU-6) . For insights into the harmful effects the measure, in its House form, would have meant to workers and small businesses, National Review Online consulted with four leading economists. All four economists agreed that only politicians stood to gain from the measure : "At Minimum… Should Republicans fight back against a minimum-wage increase?"

Voted AGAINST the Online Freedom of Speech bill, which would have prevented e-mail and blogs from being regulated by the Federal Election Commission (ACU-2). In essence, this bill's defeat leaves open the possibility that McCain/Feingold could reach its way dramatically into the Internet (Hayward).

Voted AGAINST strengthening missile defense in 2008 (ACU-8