Republican castigates Brown

Republican Bob Batchelder slammed Rep. Henry Brown's hypocrisy in a June 28 letter to the editor in the Myrtle Beach Sun News:

"In response to the June 24 letter by Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., "Discharge petition flouts House leadership":

"Brown states he "doesn't want to go against House leadership," yet he claims to support concurrent receipt for veterans. Well, I guess you either believe in something and support it or you don't.

"He states, "I have been a tireless advocate for veterans issues."

"If that's the case, he would dare to be great and show some courage to vote for what he believes in and not what the
leadership tells him to. He goes on to laud the rest of his veterans affairs record, but this is the issue that counts, and he is absent without leave.

"To make matters worse, in the same paper on Page 3C, we find out Myrtle Beach won't get the congressional visit we wanted to view our infrastructure needs - Interstate 73. Instead, the boys will be in Charleston to check out the new Cooper River
bridge. We, in turn, are forced to bus our tourism leaders to Charleston."

Insincere service
Henry Brown has cranked out another press release (see. for example, The Hanahan News, June 11, 2003) seeking Korean War veterans who didn't get the Korean Service medal while exchanging fire with the enemy during that war. Reading the published release a veteran might get the idea he has to go through Congressman Brown to get his medal. This is not true as the U.S. Air Force is the lead agency to distribute the medals to US servicemen and women from each branch of Service. The Air Force will provide the medal at no cost, and on a first come first served basis, based upon availability of medals, to veterans who meet the criteria and provide a copy of their discharge paper. All of this information is on the (click following) Defense Department official web site.

Interestingly, this latest attempt to curry favor with veterans (and others keenly interested in servicemen and women) comes from a man who did not serve on active duty in any branch of the service. Brown did time in the National Guard while the draft and the Vietnam War were facts of life. He got out the Guard when his age and head of a family status made him ineligible for the draft and service in Vietnam.

This latest interest in service members and retired veterans by Mr. Brown does not extend to helping them pay insurance premiums with pre-tax earnings. He is not a co-sponsor of legislation re-introduced in the 108th Congress (2003-2004) by Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) and Senator John Warner (R-VA), to allow federal annuitants, members and retirees of the uniformed services and legislative branch employees to pay their share of health insurance premiums with pre-tax earnings. Is he waiting for marching orders from the leadership?
Semper fidelis

Brown votes against freedom of speech, choice

U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., has sided with the most conservative members of Congress to erode free speech and freedom of choice -- not that anyone is surprised. But the congressman, related to the head of the national Christian Coalition, again proved he is out of touch with most South Carolinians and in the pockets of the radical right because he supports limits on freedom.

On June 4, Brown voted to ban a seldom-used procedure called a partial-birth abortion. Critics, however, say the measure is rarely used - - and when it is, it is to protect the life of the mother. The vote, they say, really wasn't about the procedure, as much as it was about slowly whittling away at a woman's right to choose. One critic told The Washington Post, "Congress is passing legislation that prevents women and families and doctors from making decisions about the best way to protect the life and health of the woman."

In another controversial vote on June 3, Brown voted to restrict people's freedom of speech by voting to ban flag burning. While most Americans abhor burning of the U.S. flag, they value freedom of expression. Consequently, one of the hardest things to do to protect all free speech is to allow people who you disagree with to have freedom of speech. By voting to ban flag burning, Brown showed he was willing to limit people's personal liberties.