US Rep. Bill Posey’s national security stance is troubling
U.S. Rep. Bill Posey has been busy these days. He’s been in hot pursuit of the mystery man caught on camera spitting on a Trump supporter at a Florida bar. I’m holding out hope that all Floridians will agree with the congressman that spitting on each other is gross and uncivilized and shouldn’t be tolerated. And thanks in part to his tireless community outreach on the matter, the spitter-atlarge has been identified and arrested.
But is it too much to ask that the congressman muster the same work ethic in his pursuit of non-spitting related issues? You know, issues that actually keep his constituents up at night, like Russian aggression and interference in our elections. And is it too much to ask that he show at least the same outrage about Vladimir Putin’s crimes that he does for the spitting Florida man?
While Posey has been hard at work seeking justice for the spat-upon, his colleagues have been writing legislation to address their constituents’ national security concerns. A quick govtrack.com search on the key words “Russia” and “election security” yields 149 bills, of which 55 were filed in the House in 2019.
Among the most reassuring are six bills that take direct aim at Russian aggression and election interference:
■ The KREMLIN Act calls out Russia information warfare and political interference in the democratic systems of the United States and our allies.
■ The CROOK Act would fight financial crime used by Russia to finance its illicit activities.
■ The National Defense Strategy Implementation Act would address “the Russia challenge” by rebuilding military readiness and strengthening alliances.
■ The Election Security Assistance Act and the Protect our Elections Act would protect our elections from cyberattacks.
■ The Stopping Aggressive Incursions on Liberty Act would sanction Russia for its unlawful seizure of Ukrainian naval ships and deter future aggression.
Even in this hour of extreme partisanship and troubling isolationism, 69 times Posey’s Republican colleagues stepped up to sponsor these bills, sending a strong message to Moscow.
Posey has not signed on to a single one, nor has he authored any of his own solutions to foreign interference in our democracy. Instead he’s content sponsoring feelgood legislation about patriotic commemorative coins, “day of ” proclamations and building dedications.
It’s not just that Posey is sitting out critical national security legislation, he’s also actively voting against it for nakedly partisan reasons. Even though Florida was targeted by Russian hackers in 2016 and is bracing for a repeat in 2020, Posey voted against both the SHIELD and SAFE Acts that promises to strengthen elections security, protect against foreign interference and create tougher rules for elections officials. Even though his district is home to Patrick Air Force Base and major defense contractors, Posey bucked the long tradition of bi-partisan defense support and voted against the House National Defense Authorization Act in July.
Most troubling, Posey broke with an overwhelming bipartisan majority last week to vote against a resolution that would symbolically block Putin from rejoining the G7. Expulsion from the G8 was one of many consequences Russia faced after invading Ukraine.
This complete reversal of his earlier support of Ukraine has sent shock waves throughout the military and defense community. From our perspective, it appears Posey has grown comfortable with Russia’s invasion of a sovereign nation; confirmed election interference in at least a dozen democracies, including ours; and human rights violations too many to list.
Even if the congressman doesn’t understand how his legislative record emboldens Putin, betrays our allies and undermines our national security institutions, Florida’s 800,000 men and women in uniform, their private defense industry partners and their families certainly do. With all due respect to the congressman, it seems his preference for tele-town halls has left him disconnected from this important constituency.
Should Posey find the courage to host an in-person town hall, I’ll be the one decked out in my finest Navy Mom spirit gear in the front row. I’ll ask him why a congressman in a district so rich in aerospace, intelligence and national security expertise is sitting on the sidelines rather than leading legislation to keep America safe and free.
And I’ll look the congressman in the eye and ask him to explain exactly how his legislative record — which looks pretty darn pro-Kremlin to this national defense voter — is actually good for my family and my country.
It’s not just that Posey is sitting out critical national security legislation, he’s also actively voting against it for nakedly partisan reasons.
The author is a proud Navy Mom, wife of a defense contractor and co-founder of the Homefront Fidelity Project. She lives in Vero Beach.