Roskam's First Votes

Newly sworn-in Representative Peter Roskam presented himself during the recent and very close elections as someone who operates with integrity, who can reach across the political aisle with ease, and who will represent a change in the culture of how things get done in Washington. Now, after a squeaker of an election in which cleaning up the corruption of Washington was absolutely one of the main reasons for the Democratic takeover, Roskam’s talk now needs to walk, but already his true colors are starting to show. One of the earliest resolutions on the House floor (HRES6) represent the first of what will be many bills to clean up the sleaze and corruption that led to the downfall of Tom DeLay and now jailed Randy (Duke) Cunningham. This bill requires disclosure of earmarks, so that members of Congress could no longer slip in pet projects without attaching their name to them. 49 Republicans joined Democrats in voting for this non-ideological legislation; many conservative commentators hailed this legislation as a step in the right direction and lamented that their own party did not have the guts to pass it in the last session. But right there, for all to see, Rep. Roskam voted against this legislation.
Thankfully, he was on the wrong side of this. But as a constituent, I have to wonder what change Roskam felt he could represent if he could not even find his way to vote to clean up Washington. This was an easy test, and he failed. Many of us will be watching closely for exactly how we will be represented over the next two years, and we expect better