So, Ed Board, you really want Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson to “keep this up” and win re-election?

I, for one, do not. I vow to do all I can to keep Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and other Republicans, OUT of public office. After all, Republicans (Kay included) have had plenty of time in this Republican led Congress, to show us what we can expect, if things don’t change. Personally, I am in favor of a change.

Hutchinson, in particular, has a damaging legacy characterized by a weak voting record on human rights, social justice, women’s rights and civil liberties. But, you don’t have to take my word for it. Rather than tell you who to vote for, I suggest voters examine the voting record of the current candidates running for re-election. I challenge all fellow students to look at this upcoming election not as a popularity contest, but instead as a race for restoring our individual rights, human dignity, and our nation’s integrity as a respectable world power. The fact that Kay Bailey Hutchinson has served as a figurehead on special committees is of little importance. What is important is Hutchinson’s discouraging voting record; it serves as a much more accurate measure of her competency and character.

For example, on September 28th, 2006, Senator Hutchinson voted to approve the Military Commission Act of 2006. This legislation “gutted the enforceability of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, retroactively stripped federal courts of authority to consider habeas corpus petitions and other legal actions by foreign detainees, provided retroactive immunity to civilians who authorized or ordered illegal acts of torture and abuse, and set up military commissions that can order executions of defendants based on evidence that the defendant cannot see and that was obtained only as the result of horrific abuse.” (ACLU.org). Knowing that Hutchinson voted to support torture by supporting this Act, how can she profess to be an advocate for veteran affairs? According to many experts and ex-military officials, torture carried out by the United States will inevitably cause further harm to (and the widespread application of torture of) U.S. troops.

Second, on March 2, 2006 Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson neglected to oppose the unauthorized wire-tapping of American citizens by casting her vote in support of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005. Hutchinson “failed to add to the Patriot Act [with] reasonable, necessary safeguards to protect civil liberties. It made many expiring provisions permanent, including provisions that allow the government to obtain a wide variety of private confidential records using National Security Letters, seek secret court orders under section 215, gag recipients of these record requests with only an illusory right to challenge, and secretly search homes and offices. The bill also expands the death penalty, limits protest rights at major events and coerces businesses to check their employees against flawed government watch lists” (ACLU.org).

Furthermore, woman voters in particular should be aware of Hutchison’s discouraging views on a woman’s right to choose. On July 25, 2006, Hutchinson (and a majority in the Senate) “passed the Child Custody Protection Act…making it a federal crime for any person, other than a parent, to accompany a young woman to an out-of-state doctor for abortion care if her home state’s parental-involvement law has not been met. [This law]…endangers vulnerable teens and violates a woman’s right to choose” (ACLU.org).

Nonetheless, according to Ed Board: “We think she has been doing a great job the past several years and think she should keep it up”.

So, SMU students: if you agree with Ed Board and you still wish to support Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s re-election -then, fine.

Let’s just hope you never find yourself in a situation where you are detained without charges, in need an attorney, without a right to privacy, denied your reproductive rights, in need of (but refused) a fair trial, or convicted of a crime you didn’t commit.

Other than that -sure, she’d be great for everybody else!

Election day is almost here: November 7th.