Friday evening, in a 219-212 vote, the United States House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES, for short). The bill was over 1,000 pages in length, but apparently that wasn’t enough for the Democrats because they enlisted more “transparency and accountability” by adding another 300 page amendment after it left the rules committee at 3AM.

Representative Tom Perriello issued a statement today that said,

“Freedom isn’t free. Since September 11th our leaders have asked everything of our military families and very little of the rest of us. This bill is estimated to cost families approximately $12 per month – a cost that could be offset by any household that reduces its energy. Therefore, families can choose to sacrifice $12 per month for national security or adjust the thermostat one degree.”

While I find it laughable that a man who, by the best standards, can be considered the deciding vote to use your tax dollars to close Gitmo (and either release the detainees or bring them to detention facilities in the lower 48) makes a statement talking about his staunch advocacy of national security, at least Perriello is acting within his nature. Even though 5th District residents may disagree with his vote, at least he stuck to his principles.

My anger over ACES’ passage is not directed at Tom. After all, if I get bit by a dog or a snake, I don’t get mad at the animal, because it is only acting according to its nature. If I were to be bitten by a man, it would be unexpected and met with retaliation.

And so it is today with HR 2454. I called Rep. Perriello and urged him to vote against ACES, knowing that it was highly probable that my voice would fall on deaf ears. What I did not anticipate, though (and perhaps I should not have been surprised), was that the bill passed through the belly of the beast and was handed to the Senate by Republicans.

Eight representatives; Mary Bono Mack (45-CA), Mike Castle (atL-DE), Mark S. Kirk (10-IL), Leonard Lance (7-NJ), Frank LoBiondo (2-NJ), John McHugh (23-NY), Dave Reichert (8-WA), and Chris Smith (4-NJ), all voted in favor of the bill. Remember these names, folks, because these 8 votes were the deciding factor in its passage, and each can be personally blamed. While it is interesting to note that all eight members were from states that are hardly considered conservative strongholds, those crossing the aisle still serve to remind the good people of the 5th district of why I have chosen to embark on this campaign.

Many times ~ and the media loves to quote it ~ you have heard me refer to myself as a “reluctant Republican.” The point I’m making with that statement was parlayed Friday by the vote on the House floor, and the eight defectors who showed their true colors are the examples I point to when distancing myself from past GOP failings.

I find it disheartening sometimes when I talk to people on the trail who assume that I am a snake oil salesman who wants to peddle the latest promises to garner their vote in June and then November. I understand that I don’t have a voting record to work from. But it is people like these elite 8, who play the wolf in sheep’s clothing by selling themselves as Republicans that force me to “prove my conservative chops” everywhere I go.

And sadly, I am not complaining for me. I will get the message out, one person at a time, if I must. I’ve never backed down from a challenge and don’t intend to start now. But it hurts me for the American people, when they become disgusted by “leaders” who sell out their principles for the sake of their own power, and perpetuate the system of failure on Capitol Hill.

For instance, the last time Congressional approval ratings were above 40% was in January of 2005. If an entire school were to average less than 40% on the Standards of Learning testing for four solid years, they would lose their accreditation and shut down. If a single student were to perform at such an abysmal level, they would fail their classes and not pass on to the next grade.

Yet Congress gets the message every election cycle that they can continue to fail us, and we will, in return, keep passing them on to their next term. We need to apply the same logic we use in America’s classrooms to the Congressional cloak rooms.

In July, the Goodyear plant in Danville begins contract negotiations. How competitive will the organized workforce be if they are sitting across the bargaining table from a management team that is already considering more outsourcing because of this cap and trade bill your Republicans just gave you?

This bill will halt industrial production in this country as we know it. These congressmen need to be called to account and removed from their positions. Let us not forget that we surround them. If Republicans are willing to sell their souls for political ambitions, then they should leave the party.

I am seeking the Republican nomination because I believe in the principles for which this party was founded: smaller government, lower taxes, and accountability to my constituents and the American people.

It is precisely because of Republican betrayals of these values (most recently embodied in the Cap & Trade vote), that well-meaning individuals look at Washington and say, “Democrats and Republicans are all the same.” In essence, this is a correct assessment, and they have no reason to believe otherwise.

The solution, and what I propose in this campaign, is to stand on the ideological differences that define the Republican Party and make it the clear choice for REAL progress in this country.

It is my hope that I do not share the halls of Congress with the “Benedict 8,” but should they be my colleagues in the 112th Congress I will declare, to their faces, on behalf of the voters of VA’s Fighting Fifth, “Either stand on principle, or stand aside!”