Why isn't this being discussed? How safe are we really when the Republicans just shot down a bill tightening up security on ports?

http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/ap/ 2006/09/13/ap3014774.html

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Today I had the honor to deliver the nationally-aired weekly Democratic radio address. My focus was the very serious national security concerns surrounding a United Arab Emirates-owned company taking over operations at several US ports and on the larger issue of making sure that the security of our country always comes before partisanship or special interest influence.

The full text of my address is below but the theme is very simple: we need representatives who put the safety and wellbeing of their constituents above all else. Above partisanship. Above powerful special interests. Above Washington lobbyists. And above themselves.  Please share your feedback on my address in the comments - I'll be checking them throughout the weekend. You can also hear the complete audio at www.busbyforcongress.org

-Francine

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As Craig Crawford notes in his column in this issue of CQ Weekly, President Bush and his administration are rallying around a new talking point to defend themselves against the scandal surrounding the sale of American ports to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates: "We didn't know about the deal."

The White House answer to those puzzled by the flat-footed handling of the Dubai port story is almost pathetic: They say they didn't know about it. White House spokesman Scott McClellan acknowledged last week that Bush wasn't aware until the previous weekend that a panel headed by the Treasury Department had approved the $6.8 billion sale. And Treasury Secretary John W. Snow said he had only known about it for "three or four days."

It would be bad enough if the Bush administration made a politically unwise decision and stuck by it. Surely, there are reasons the White House could cite in defense of their approval of the port sale, including the fact that America's ties to the UAE have grown since 9/11 and some American ports are already owned by companies controlled by foreign countries. (These points might not save the administration politically, nor do they convince me of the righteousness of the sale, though they could combine with other facts to at least make a credible case.) But the Bush administration is now claiming ignorance, a defense that could potentially hurt them even more than a principled argument.

The spinners in the Bush administration have been able to thwart a significant portion of opposition to even their most unpopular policies by claiming that they are acting affirmatively to protect the American homeland. By their logic, anyone holding beliefs contrary to the doctrines of the Bush administration either does not support the troops, wants to cede control of the country to terrorists, or is un-American. Again, this strategy has proven at least somewhat successful in recent years.

The problem with the new rationale of the Bush administration -- that they did not know of the sale until after it occurred -- is that it makes the President and his underlings seem detached from the job of protecting the homeland. The sale of control over American ports to a company controlled by the government of a country, a number of whose citizens attacked America on September 11, 2001, clearly should raise security questions. Apparently, some of these questions were even brought up by the Homeland Security Department prior to the sale. But the White House gives such a low priority to protecting American soil that not only did it not sufficiently address these questions, higher ups in the administration like the President and the Treasury Secretary apparently were not even aware of the questions or the sale itself. It is as if the Bush administration is just giving up on the issue of national security, ceding it to their opponents. Why the Bush administration would give away their only chit with the American people at this point in the game is truly beyond me.

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For as much time as the somewhat irrelevant Cheneyquiddick incident received in the news, the past week has brought a number of important stories to the fore which seem to be having an effect on the American people.

As Matt noted earlier today, the sale of control over six American ports to a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates has done much to show Americans the real priorities of the Bush administration: corporatism above all esle -- including protecting and defending our homeland. But this was not the only troubling news item this week.

On Tuesday, the Associated Press' Pauline Jasudason reported that in 2002, Jack Abramoff was paid more than one million dollars to set up a meeting between President Bush and then-Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Muhamad. Dr. Mahathir, you might remember, was stridently anti-Semitic, thoroughly authoritarian and fecklessly corrupt during his more than two decades in office. What's more, Mahathir often spewed anti-American rhetoric and was never a close friend of the American government. Nevertheless, for about one million dollars, he was able to set up a meeting with the President of the United States. What, exactly are the priorities of this administration and the Republican Party as a whole?

Earlier in this Congress, Repbulicans twisted a sufficient number of arms to secure ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. It's not at all inconceivable that thousands, if not millions, of American jobs will speed up their flight out of the country. These are not just blue state factory jobs, though many of them will likely be lost, too; it is forseeable that jobs in agriculture and textiles, which are essential to the economies of red states, will be shipped off to Central America.

Time after time, President Bush and the Republican Congress have shown that they believe in one thing above all: the primary role of government is to make the business of corporations -- American or not -- easier. Whether the company is owned by the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Mahathir or Randy "Duke" Cunningham's buddy Mitchell Wade, it's clear that the Republican Party will stop at nothing, including ensuring America's security, to help out corporations. So much for the party of strong national defense.

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The United Arab Emirates is not a democratic Nation.  Bush said one of the reasons we invaded Iraq was to ensure democracy.  Bush said he needs to spy on Americans with out a Warrant to protect democracy.

How is giving control of our Ports to a Company in a Nation that operates with out a democracy?  The UAE is one of the only countries in the Middle East with absolutely no elections, not even single party rule elections.

Is this another country that Bush Sr is Lobbying for!

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