WI Senate: Baldwin Voted Present on Resolution to Condemn Ahmadinejad Genocidal Remarks

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, candidate for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, defended her refusal to condemn Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning the Holocaust and advocating the destruction of the state of Israel, in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Baldwin voted “present” with only 11 other House members on the 2007 resolution, which called on the U.N. Security Council to charge Ahmadinejad with inciting genocide.

The vote passed the house by a 411-2 vote. Reps Dennis Kucinich (D) and Ron Paul (R) were the two votes against the measure.

The Sentinel reports:

In a Wednesday interview… Baldwin said she never thought the resolution was a no-brainer, even with Ahmadinejad’s harsh anti-Israel rhetoric and nuclear ambitions. Baldwin – a Madison Democrat running against ex-Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson for a U.S. Senate seat – called it a “very difficult” vote.

The Madison representative said she was afraid that if Congress passed the non-binding resolution, then-President George W. Bush could have used it as a basis to go to war against Iran without seeking congressional approval.

She said Bush had previously used this tactic to justify invading Iraq in 2003. 

Baldwin’s refusal to vote to condemn the Iranian leader sheds further light on a candidate with far-left extreme views. In addition, between 2003 and 2009, Baldwin also co-sponsored legislation to block funding to provide body armor and medical supplies to support troops in Iraq five times. Along with her radical voting record in the house, Baldwin has also accepted nearly $60,000 in direct and indirect campaign contributions from the Council for a Livable World, a nuclear-control organization opposed to sanctions against Iran.

Lisa Boothe, Communications director for Baldwin’s opponent, former Governor Tommy Thompson (R), told the Sentinel:

Obviously, Madison liberal Tammy Baldwin didn’t think Ahmadinejad’s statements denying the Holocaust were extreme enough to even take a stance (on the resolution)… Meanwhile, she was pocketing money from a pro-Iranian group, opposing sanctions on Iran, and supporting the current regime… How many more off-the-wall excuses can Tammy Baldwin come up with to explain her extreme record?