OH-01 GOP Rep. Steve Chabot: With House Dems Censuring Musharraf

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Conservative Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, who represents Cincinnati's west side, has joined 18 Democrats sponsoring a measure that strongly condemns Gen Pervez Musharraf's power grab in Pakistan. Chabot is the only Ohioan whose name is on the House resolution calling for restoration of constitutional government, the release of opposition leaders and a fresh review of all U.S. financial and military aid. Two other Republicans have signed on. The resolution stops short of saying Musharraf should step down, and notes that Pakistan has been a key ally in combating Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Still, it expresses deep disapproval of the move toward dictatorship.

Surprisingly, Chabot has not said much - if anything -- about the resolution condemning Musharraf, which was filed when the crisis began 10 days ago. There's been no press release, no discussion on his House Web site, and no media coverage. He is running for reelection next year, and his concern about human rights and the rule of law in Pakistan would seem to be an issue that would put him in good stead with voters. Perhaps he doesn't want to be seen as cozying up with Democrats. One of HR 810's co-sponsors is Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who has targeted Chabot for defeat next year and has been running ads in Cincinnati that call Chabot a Bush patsy. Apparently, they do agree on at least one thing: Musharraf is a tyrant.

The resolution calls for Pakistan to protect the security of opposition leaders, and specifically mentions former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who has been in and out of house arrest and has become the leading foe of Musharraf's government.

A similar measure is pending in the Senate, where Democrats John Kerry and Joe Biden have publicly upbraided Pakistan's president. Chabot has been a member of the House Pakistan Caucus, which is supposed to foster closer ties between that nation and the U.S. But it also is a channel for Pakistani Ameicans to lobby members of Congress.

The North American Union: 7 Ohio House Republicans Claim It's For Real

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- A resolution has been filed in the Ohio House by seven GOP lawmakers who want the state on record urging Congress and President Bush to block unification of the United States with Canada and Mexico. The legislators contend an entity called the North American Union is quietly being created to supersede U.S. sovereignty. The NAU has been described as emerging from a government conspiracy that would "integrate" the continent into a single state without meaningful borders.

House Concurrent Resolution 31 specifically warns of a tri-national political and governmental entity. It is sponsored by State Rep. Jim McGregor, R-20, a former Gahanna mayor who also had a long career with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. McGregor has picked up six co-sponsors, and they all seem to share concerns of the John Birch Society and others on the far right that the United States is facing a grave threat. The resolution says the Security and Prosperity Partnership between the three North American neighbors is the stalking horse that will supersede sovereignty:

"Whereas, in meeting Security and Prosperity Partnership initiatives, the security and prosperity officials are examining opportunities to open the borders between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, gradually creating a de factor North American Union; and

"Whereas, the gradual creation of such a North American Union from a merger of the United States, Canada, and Mexico is a direct threat to the Constitution and national independence of the United States and implies an eventual end to national borders within North America . . ."

The John Birch Society is leading a campaign against the North American Union, a campaign that some have dismissed as akin to the so-called black helicopter theories rampant a few years ago. Another proponent is Jerome Corsi, who led the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004 when they attacked Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry. Corsi sees the North American Union as something similar to the European Union, with the U.S. remaining as a country but with its courts and Congress under a continental parliament. The money in circulation wouldn't be dollars -- some think they would be known as "Ameros."

But if the 7 Ohio House Republicans have their way, this state will help stomp out the conspiracy and save the union.