Every election season, Republicans trot out the same old accusations, sometimes subtle, sometimes less so, impugning the patriotism of Democrats. One truly horrendous ad in the Georgia Senate races mixes images of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and Democratic Senator Max Cleland, stating that Cleland, a triple-amputee Vietnam veteran, is against fighting terrorism and undermines America's defenses. Other such commercials this election cycle attack the resolve of Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD, despite the fact that Senator Johnson's son has fought in the army as part of our war on terror. Then there was President Bush's infamous slur during a campaign swing through New Jersey that the Senate was
ot interested in the security of the American people."" Knowing it's hard to run in this economy on their own record, Republicans resort to the idea that the Democratic Party is somehow anti-American.
And so it should shock the mind that President Bush attended a fund-raiser last week for the Republican Senate nominee in New Hampshire, Congressman John E. Sununu, the son of former New Hampshire Governor/Former President Bush's Chief of Staff John Sununu. Congressman Sununu defeated incumbent right-wing Senator Bob Smith in the primary by an eight-point margin, so it's important for Republicans to pump a lot of money into delicate matters like this and keep the seat. However, before he first got it in his head to run for the Senate from his Republican-leaning state, Sununu had a record on terrorism more comparable to that of the notorious (and now ousted in her primary) Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-GA, than what Republicans like to advertise about themselves.
In 1999, Sununu voted against a non binding House resolution urging the Palestinian Authority to crack down on terrorists, and then went further by being one of the few votes against a resolution condemning Hamas and others for their attempted moral rationalizations of suicide bombings. Only when called on it after 9/11 did he return a $750 contribution from American Muslim Council head Abdurahman Alamoudi, an extremist who proudly declared at a rally outside the White House in 2000 that he is a supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah.
So while President Bush travels the country and slanders Democrats and their commitment to security, and Republicans actively court Jewish voters by saying Democrats are soft on the Middle East, they have nothing better to do than raise money for Yasser Arafat's point man in the House Republicans, hoping to promote him to the Senate.
Sununu certainly does need the help. Though his triumph over a two-term Senator, albeit a man prone to public buffoonery, was certainly impressive, it's caused more problems than it has solved. Though he could never have won the general election, Smith's supporters are starting drives to write in his name for Senate or take revenge by voting for the Democratic nominee, six-year Gov. Jeanne Shaheen. Smith, still smarting from the loss, has deliberately done nothing to stop it besides a lukewarm endorsement of Sununu shortly after the primary. And so when Shaheen discusses her proposals for economic development and commitment to America's security, the polls are running even in a state that should be a slam dunk for Republicans. Sununu badly needs Bush and others to come and give him their seal of approval, covering up his true record.
All of this does obscure the real truth: Both parties are fundamentally committed to the health and welfare of the United States and its allies in these current struggles, people like McKinney or Sununu the exception. The administration, by politicizing the war on terror, selfishly divides the country and creates a red-scare atmosphere for its own partisan gain. Hopefully the American people won't fall for this gag, though, and treat Democrats and Republicans as equal partners in these matters. And, with a bit of luck, the people of New Hampshire will see through Bush's gimmicks and tell him on election day that the last thing we need in the U.S. Senate is a pro terrorist Republican.
