Recently I wrote about an organization called Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) which has rated Republicans markedly lower than Democrats on issues of concern to soldiers and veterans. IAVA was founded in June 2004 and claims to be the nation's first and largest group dedicated to the Troops and Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the civilian supporters of those Troops and Veterans. The gist is that Republicans pretty much suck on defense while Democrats are mostly rated well by IAVA. Many of us have known this ever since Republicans in Congress criticized Clinton for going after bin Laden and since Republicans called Clinton "obsessed with al-Qaeda." That alone was enough for me to see that Republicans could not deal with threats to America while Clinton actually prevented the Millenium Attacks. Republicans claim that was pure luck (yeah...right), but it still is markedly better than anything Bush has been able to muster. Even some top ranking Generals, previously life-long Republicans, agree that Republicans are failing on Defense, not to mention the 21 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are so pissed they are running for Congress as Democrats and are vocally opposed to Bush's policies.

But I now want to extend my analysis to look at ratings of NY State Republicans vs. Democrats on other issues. Below I have ratings on Defense (A through F, from IAVA), Seniors issues (lifetime rating on a scale of 0-100 from Alliance for Retired Americans), environment (most recent ratings on a scale of 0-100, League of Conservation Voters, an organization), Labor issues (lifetime score from 0-100, AFL-CIO) and reproductive rights (lifetime score from 0-100, Planned Parenthood). This is a mix of so-called "right" and "left" issues, and in almost every case Republicans rank below Democrats. Feel free to distribute this info and use it on election day.

Republicans:
Peter King:Defense: C+; Seniors: 11; Environment: 8; Labor: 35; Choice: 0
Vito Fossella: Defense: C+; Seniors: 9; Environment: 17; Labor: 15; Choice: 0
Sue Kelly: Defense: C+; Seniors: 8; Environment: 92; Labor: 28; Choice: 82
John Sweeney: Defense: C+; Seniors: 14; Environment: 42; Labor: 35; Choice: 25
John McHugh: Defense: C+; Seniors: 20; Environment: 25; Labor: 45; Choice: 0
Sherwood Boehlert: Defense: C+; Seniors: 24; Environment: 83; Labor: 59; Choice: 100
James Walsh: Defense: C+; Seniors: 6; Environment: 58; Labor: 34; Choice: 0
Thomas Reynolds: Defense: C; Seniors: 2; Environment: 8; Labor: 12; Choice: 0
Randy Kuhl: Defense: D; Seniors: 10; Environment: 33; Labor: 33; Choice: 0

Pretty dismal ratings on these issues that Americans value. Makes you wonder just what their priorities are...oh, yeah, Halliburton and Exxon profits. Why do Republicans hate America?

Democrats:
Chuck Schumer: Defense: B+; Seniors: 96; Environment: 71; Labor: 92; Choice: 100
Hillary Clinton: Defense: A-; Seniors: 100; Environment: 71; Labor: 91; Choice: 100

Tim Bishop: Defense: A-; Seniors: 100; Environment: 92; Labor: 98; Choice: 100
Steve Israel: Defense: A-; Seniors: 81; Environment: 92; Labor: 82; Choice: 100
Carolyn McCarthy: Defense: A; Seniors: 88; Environment: 100; Labor: 84; Choice: 100
Gary Ackerman: Defense: B+; Seniors: 100; Environment: 92; Labor: 95; Choice: 100
Gregory Meeks: Defense: B; Seniors: 96; Environment: 83; Labor: 92; Choice: 100
Joe Crowley: Defense: A-; Seniors: 94; Environment: 92; Labor: 89; Choice: 75
Jerrold Nadler: Defense: B; Seniors: 100; Environment: 100; Labor: 99; Choice: 100
Anthony Weiner: Defense: B; Seniors: 100; Environment: 100; Labor: 93; Choice: 100
Edolphus Towns: Defense: B; Seniors: 93; Environment: 83; Labor: 97; Choice: 100
Major Owens: Defense: C; Seniors: 100; Environment: 100; Labor: 98; Choice: 100
Nydia Velasquez: Defense: B-; Seniors: 100; Environment: 92; Labor: 95; Choice: 100
Carolyn Maloney: Defense: A-; Seniors: 98; Environment: 92; Labor: 92; Choice: 100
Charles Rangel: Defense: A-; Seniors: 100; Environment: 100; Labor: 94; Choice: 100
Joe Serrano: Defense: B-; Seniors: 100; Environment: 100; Labor: 95; Choice: 100
Eliot Engel: Defense: A-; Seniors: 100; Environment: 100; Labor: 98; Choice: 100
Nita Lowey: Defense: A; Seniors: 100; Environment: 100; Labor: 94; Choice: 100
Michael McNulty: Defense: A-; Seniors: 100; Environment: 100; Labor: 95; Choice: 44
Maurice Hinchey: Defense: C+; Seniors: 100; Environment: 100; Labor: 99; Choice: 100
Brian Higgins: Defense: A-; Seniors: 100; Environment: 92; Labor: 87; Choice: 100
Louise Slaughter: Defense: B; Seniors: 100; Environment: 92; Labor: 97; Choice: 100

MUCH better, right? So, to those who see no difference between the two parties, I have to say I think you are full of it. I may not agree with all the Democrats all the time, and I particularly have problems with the likes of Towns, but by and large Democrats are much better on ALL the issues than Republiocans. Maybe Democrats can be weak at times, but to equate them with Republicans ignores the facts.

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