Congressman Duncan breaking rank?

[Mr Switters]

Is it just me or has anybody been listening or hearing Congressman Duncan's latest public comments about the War in Iraq, the Patriot act and other Bush Administration policy?

I was shocked to see his criticisms of the War when he appeared on "Tennessee Today" on Sunday (local show in Knoxvegas that precedes Meet the Press). He was very critical of the Bush Administration for the manner in which we went to war and he expressed his concerns over the outrageous cost of the effort. He was quick to point out that we are paying 800k for a SINGLE police trainer (and we have something like 24,000 of them over there now).

Today, he was a guest on the HHH show (morning talk radio) and continued to voice his concerns about the current course of action in Iraq. He was again very critical about the manner in which we were led to War. It was even mentioned that we should get out of there as quickly as possible because it was clear to him that the Iraqi people do not appreciate the opportunity we have given them through the removal of Saddam. Also mentioned was his belief that we could have contained Saddam without direct aggression and that he voted in 98 for the Iraqi Liberation Bill which would have supplied 100million to resistance fighting against Saddam from within Iraq.

He was also directly asked whether or not he would support the renewal of the Patriot Act and quite pointedly said that he would not vote for it's renewal and that he was concerned about the polling that shows most Americans (81% I believe) now believe the Federal Government has too much power.

My only question is this.. When did Jimmy Duncan become a Democrat? :)?

Your's Truly,
Mr. Switters

[indigobusiness]

1. They call me MISTER Switters...

ok Switty.

[SharonAnn]

2. Here in East Tennessee, his anti-war vote didn't go over well.

However, he's popular enough that he can "ride it out".

He's more like a true conservative. Not interested in foreign intervention unless absolutely necessary, and Saddam Hussein's removal was not absolutely necessary. He's seeing things for what they are with the Iraq war and with all the other deficit exploding spending of the * administration.

However, the downside is that he favors a drastic change in the Federal tax system that would be something like a "value added tax" on all personal spending. This, of course, would heavily penalize low income people who have to spend everything they have in order to survive and would reward the wealthy who spend a much smaller percentage of their income to live and invest the rest. And, the wealthy will find ways to even avoid taxes on what they spend.

I meet with him every time he has "constituent" day in the area and he's pretty consistent in his conservative views.

Interestingly, when I first met with him on the problems of "Black Box Voting" and the lack of a Voter Verified Paper Ballot, he was extremely interested and is supportive of Rush Holt's bill in the House or a different one if it's an improvement. I don't think he's signed on to it yet, but I hope he will.

He did say that he had "paid for" his vote against the war but didn't go into details. I imagine Tom DeLay used his famous "hammer" technique on Duncan by witholding something that East Tennessee needs.

[69KV]

3. Duncan voted no

Duncan voted no on the Iraq war vote and some of the homeland security laws. One of only six anti-war votes from the R side.

What the heck, anyone want to invite him over to join us in the GOOD party?