by David Pipkin

Created on: March 06, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

The following is an open letter I wrote to US Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) after reading derogatory comments he made about Australian Prime Minister John Howard, which appeared last week on CNN.com.

Barak Hussein Obama characterized the Prime Minister's remarks as an "attack" and quickly retaliated against him in the media. Senator Cornyn's response to the whole thing was to tell Howard essentially to shut up and butt out of US politics.

Throughout history, Australia has been the most consistent ally to the United States. Yet Senator Cornyn decides to line up with would-be president Obama in a media war against the Prime Minister simply because he does not endorse Obama's campaign for president? And democrats say Bush has been a source of division in the world... I guess any world leaders who don't endorse Obama's bid for president had better take notice.
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Senator Cornyn:

I was greatly disappointed and disgusted by your comments on CNN regarding Prime Minister John Howard. It was reported that you said, "I would prefer that Mr. Howard stay out of our domestic politics and we'll stay out of his domestic politics," Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, told CNN's "Late Edition."

As PM Howard said himself, "Apparently it's all right for people in the Labor Party to regularly criticize the Bush administration's policy on Iraq - and they do that almost on a daily basis. Yet my criticism of the policy position of somebody who is not president - and is not even the Democratic candidate for the presidency - that is interfering in American politics and is absolutely to be forbidden."

With all due respect, sir, what are you trying to accomplish? I submit to you that you would be hard-pressed to find a more consistent American ally, and for the Conservative cause in the world over the past 30 years than the ally we have in Australia. I expect an inexperienced Senator like Obama to retaliate against the Prime Minister, but I would have thought you would know better.

It seems to me the wiser path to defend free speech, especially when the speech is in support of prosecuting the War on Terror. This issue carries far too much importance to encourage its supporters to remain silent.

America's left allows their views and ideology to run rampant on the world, and here you are essentially telling one of our greatest allies to shut up.

Perhaps you should follow your own advice and concentrate on doing your job. There are enough issues here in Texas that demand your focus, such as a criminal property tax system, which penalizes homeowners for unrealized gains on their investment. Why don't you focus on a remedy for that situation, instead of contributing to the problem in America's foreign affairs?

We should be encouraging voices like that of John Howard, and not alienating our allies. You should issue an apology to PM Howard, and thank him for being one of America's greatest friends.

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