Voinovich does Ohio and the nation proud

In this age of political cowardice, prompted by the crippling desire of officeholders to hold on to their positions for as long as possible, a display of courage is a sight to behold. The nation was treated to just such a sight last week when U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich broke ranks with his Republican Party and the leader of the party, President Bush, to vote against a bill that extends Bush's tax cuts for capital gains and dividends for two years.
But it wasn't only the vote that demonstrated Voinovich's courage. It was the speech the former governor of Ohio and former mayor of Cleveland delivered on the floor of the Senate that set him apart from his colleagues on Capitol Hill.
His remarks were so compelling that they attracted the attention of the dean of the Washington press corps, David S. Broder of the Washington Post.
Here's how Broder, who has been a witness to a great deal of political history in the nation, began his column last Sunday:
"The hardest question any Washington reporter faces these days, whenever talking to voters outside the capital, is simply: Can I believe anything I'm told by those politicians in Washington -- or by the press?
"The cynicism in the public is thick enough to cut with a knife. People are tuning out on the president, on politicians -- and on the press.
"That is what makes it newsworthy when a public official, speaking on the record, sets forth a view that is as blunt and uncomfortable as it is politically unpalatable."
Experienced hand
Broder is experienced enough not to be taken in by political snake-oil salesmen, which is why his focus on Ohio's junior senator is worthy of mention.
No one who has followed Voinovich's career and paid attention to his eight years in the Senate will be surprised by his vote against extending the tax cuts. In his world, you don't spend money you don't have, which is what the federal government has been doing for the past several years.
In his speech explaining his no vote, the senator said: "There are three reasons we should oppose the tax cuts that are currently before the Senate, as well as tax cuts that may come before the Senate in the near future: we do not need these tax cuts; we cannot afford these tax cuts; we should be working on tax reform rather than enacting tax cuts in a piecemeal fashion."
But he went a step further -- which certainly puts him in a class of his own as a member of the majority Republican Party: "I know this is controversial to state, but if you look at the extraordinary and unexpected costs that we have with the war on terror, homeland security costs, and rebuilding after Hurricaines Katrina and Rita, the logical thing that one would think about is to ask for a temporary tax increase to pay for them today. Instead, we are saying we will let our children and grandchildren take care of these costs."
And what enormous costs they will be -- if President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress don't listen to what Voinovich is saying.
National debt
Consider this: When the senator went to Washington in 1999, the national debt stood at $5.6 trillion. Today, the debt has topped $8 trillion and is growing. The House of Representatives' fiscal 2007 budget resolution is said to contain a provision that would raise the federal debt ceiling to nearly $10 trillion.
The budget deficit for fiscal 2005 was $318 billion, the third largest in the nation's history. The first and second largest were in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.
We have repeatedly warned of the ramifications of such irresponsible fiscal policy, but neither the White House nor the GOP leadership shows any desire to stop this runaway train.
That is why Voinovich's vote against his party and his president and his blunt words are noteworthy. They are the truth.