Rep. Roy Blunt has two definitions of "integrity": Southwest Missouri integrity and congressional integrity. When Roy visits the 7th District, he campaigns with Southwest Missouri integrity on pro-life issues; is against same-sex marriage and supports agricultural-friendly programs for area farmers.
Roy says he is for the HAVA reform bill - (Help America Vote Act). But when he’s “working” in the halls of Congress, all bets are off. He is lending his support to other Republicans who have a very different set of values.
Take Rudy Giuliani and Chris Shays, for example. Both Giuliani and Shays are for abortion on demand. Shays is against partial-birth abortion, but he is pro-choice. He is for gay civil unions and same-sex marriage, and he is for the use of school vouchers. Shays believes that the government should “greatly reduce” agricultural spending. Why does Roy support Chris Shays?
Information about politicians is on Project Vote Smart. It’s a non-partisan website that helps voters make informed decisions. One can do a search on a politician's name and be provided with a bio, issue positions, campaign finances, interest group rating, voting record, speeches and public statements.
But here’s the rub. Roy Blunt refuses to participate in Project Vote Smart. He refuses to provide responses to citizens on issues via PVS's yearly “National Political Awareness Test.” Instead he likes to publish a year-end voting record for us that is misleading and hard to read.
Roy has been asked to participate in PVS-NPAT by major news organizations and members of his own party, including John McCain and Bill Frenzel. The answer is always NO. Roy’s congressional integrity tells him that we don’t need to have that much information available to us.
Tonight, December 12th, Roy and Rudy Giuliani are hosting a reception to “honor” a few fellow Republican Representatives. Among them are Chris Shays (CT), Charles Boustany(LA), Tim Murphy(PA), Mike Fitzpatrick(PA), Jim Gerlach(PA), Rob Simmons(CT), and Mike Sodrel(IN). Except for Chris Shays, not one of the “honorees” participates in Project Vote Smart. What are they trying to hide? Are they wary of a paper trail?
Where is our outrage? Where is their integrity?
The party will be held at The Grand Havana Room(interesting choice--yes, they have a well-stocked humidor), a private club in New York City that on the 39th floor with its floor to ceiling windows (formerly Top of the Sixes) has a commanding view of downtown Manhattan.
A ticket of admission for a co-chair level PAC is $25,000, vice-chair level PAC is $10,000 and a ticket for an individual is $2,500. Will you be there?
The Bellwether Consulting Group, a financial investment consulting firm that caters to institutional investors, is sponsoring the event. What do you suppose the pay-off for Bellwether will be? And, no doubt, Roy’s congressional integrity will be in full swing.
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