05/31/06 Shame On Baldwin For Terror Act Vote

Dear Editor: Thank you for your editorial (May 26) regarding Rep. Tammy Baldwin's astonishing vote in support of HR 4681, the so-called "Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act."

This radical and ill-advised measure was basically written and pushed through Congress by the American-Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC) over the objections of a very broad coalition of groups, both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian.

Even the State Department, no friend of the Palestinians, found the bill too draconian and punitive.

Your readers should know that the local AIPAC affiliate, apparently in coordination with higher leadership, put out an "emergency alert" targeting Baldwin in the weeks before the vote. By succumbing to this organized special interest pressure campaign, Tammy Baldwin has put herself firmly to the right of not only fellow Wisconsin Democrats David Obey and Gwen Moore, but even to the right of the Bush administration. Shame on her.