Pubdate: Fri, 03 Nov 2000
Source: Morning Call (PA)
Copyright: 2000 The Morning Call Inc.
Contact:  http://www.mcall.com/
Author: Pat Rogers

DON'T SUPPRESS DEMOCRACY IN D.C.

To the Editor:

In 1998, 69 percent of Americans who call Washington, D.C. their home voted 
to give medical professionals the responsibility to prescribe cannabis if 
appropriate. Initiative-59 received resounding voter approval.

In 1999, the Republican-dominated 106th U.S. Congress nullified that legal 
and ultimate expression of redress by a majority of Americans in their own 
community. While the Congress has the right to overrule the people and 
government of our national capital, is it right for our Congress to 
suppress the will of 69 percent of the people? Would any American want 
Congress to veto, nullify and suppress his or her legal vote?

These members of the 106th U.S. Congress from Pennsylvania voted to 
suppress the will of the voters in our national capital: Robert Brady, 
Chaka Fattah, Robert Borski, Ron Klink, John Peterson, Curt Weldon, Jim 
Greenwood, Bud Shuster, Donald Sherwood, Paul Kanjorski, John Murtha, 
Joseph Pitts, George Gekas, Mike Doyle, William Goodling, Frank Mascara and 
Phil English.

These members of the 106th U.S. Congress from Pennsylvania voted to uphold 
and defend America's democratic institutions and traditions. These brave 
members opposed the suppression of a legal voter initiative by Americans: 
Tim Holden, Joseph Hoeffel, William Coyne and Pat Toomey.

This represents how our representatives voted on the final of two votes on 
this issue, when it was included in the Y2K Omnibus Spending Bill. The 
first anti-democracy bill was originally presented as the Washington, D.C. 
Appropriations Bill. President Clinton vetoed the first bill specifically 
due to this states rights issue. In that first House vote to suppress 
democracy in Washington, D.C., Rep. Toomey joined with the Republican 
majority and for the first time in history vetoed America's democratic 
tradition.

In the Senate, both Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum voted repeatedly to 
suppress democracy in Washington, D.C.

Pat Rogers, Allentown
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