MALE VOICE: Senator Smith’s office… could you please hold?
“RADICAL” RUSS: Certainly. [short hold time with classical music playing]
FEMALE VOICE: Thank you for holding. Can I help you?
“R”R: Yes. My name is Russ Belville, and I am a constituent calling from Beaverton, Oregon. I was calling today to find out why Senator Smith didn’t sign on as a co-sponsor to Senator Landrieu’s resolution apologizing for lynching?
FV: Uhm… could I have you hold, please?
“R”R: Sure. [very long hold time with classical music playing]
DIFFERENT MALE VOICE: Sorry about the wait. Can I help you?
“R”R: Yes. My name is Russ Belville and I am a constituent calling from Beaverton, Oregon. I was calling today to understand why Senator Smith didn’t sign on to Senator Landrieu’s lynching apology resolution.
DMV: Well, Senator Smith completely supports the resolution; it passed unanimously.
“R”R: Of course, I’m not implying that anybody in this day and age supports lynching. But the Senate Republican leadership set this resolution up as an anonymous voice vote, so the only way to go on the record in opposition to the horrendous murders of black men in the 20th century was to sign on as a co-sponsor. Doesn’t Senator Smith want to be on the record as opposing lynching?
DMV: Uhm, Senator Smith was out of town and he missed the deadline to sign on as a co-sponsor…
“R”R: I would think going on record as opposing racism and murder is something the Senator would pay extra attention to. The senator remains the only one of six Pacific Northwest senators not signed on as a co-sponsor.
DMV: Well, Senator Smith was overseas at the time. There are many resolutions that come through the Senate, and this wasn’t one that the senator was particularly working on at the time…
“R”R: So, when a senator is out of town, there’s no way for his staff to bring to his attention such an important resolution, and no way he can sign on to a resolution unless he’s in Washington?
DMV: Well, there are so many resolutions…
“R”R: And this one wasn’t important enough to merit the senator’s attention?
DMV: Like I said, Senator Smith completely supports the resolution, but he was unable to meet the deadline to sign on as a co-sponsor.
“R”R: OK. Thank you for clarifying the issue for me. The readers of my blog will be interested to know Senator Smith’s excuse. [Click!]
So there you have it. Senator Smith remains the lone member of the Pacific Northwest Pro-Lynching Lobby, because he was out of town, his staff didn’t bring it to his attention, he couldn’t be bothered to check on senate resolutions while on a trip, and the dog ate his homework.
If you’d like to call Senator Smith, feel free. His Washington office number is 202-224-3753
UPDATE: After more reading on AMERICAblog, I learn that the “I missed the deadline” excuse is a LIE at worst and a COP-OUT at best.
The debate is over, folks. I just called the US Senate floor and asked “can you add your name as a cosponsor of a resolution AFTER it has passed.” I was told “absolutely.”
So if you do call Senator Smith’s office, don’t let them bamboozle you with tales of the overseas senator. Demand that he adds his name as a co-sponsor!
