Arcuri Won't Oppose Offshore Drilling

In 2006, Democratic voters here in the 24th congressional district of New York nominated Mike Arcuri to be their party's candidate to the House of Representatives. Of course, they didn't have a choice - national party leaders had interfered in the primary election process, pushing other candidates out of the way for the sake of Arcuri, who was supposed to be "electable".

Now, four years later, we have a long record that shows what "electable" really meant. It meant that Congressman Michael Arcuri isn't really much of a Democrat. Over and over again, when the chips were down on really important issues, such as climate change, constitutional rights, and health care reform, Representative Arcuri has voted with the Republican Party, against the wishes of Democratic voters in our district.

Now, as we watch the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico get worse and worse and worse, Congressman Arcuri is springing into inaction again. There's a great bill that's been introduced by real Democrats in the House of Representatives - Democrats who aren't afraid to protect America's coasts from environmental disaster. It's H.R. 5248, the No New Drilling Act. The authors of this legislation rationally look at the huge economic and environmental disaster caused by offshore drilling, and say, "Hey, let's not do that again. Let's put a moratorium on offshore drilling."

Mike Arcuri? He won't sign on to the bill. Once again, Arcuri won't support a good Democratic solution to a national crisis. Why should Democratic voters support Arcuri in another election?