Maine resolution all but dead

AUGUSTA – A lone Democratic lawmaker remained true to her word Tuesday and defeated a State House resolution on the Iraq conflict when she crossed party lines to vote with minority Republicans in the Maine Senate.

The 18-17 vote to defeat the resolve was backed by all of the Republicans in the Senate and by Sen. Peggy Pendleton, a Scarborough Democrat who felt supporting the measure would betray the values of her late father, a World War II veteran.

The nonbinding resolution – which urged President Bush to exhaust all diplomatic avenues and act in unison with the United Nations before taking military action against Iraq – is now perceived as “all but dead” by many lawmakers. The measure faces a final vote in the House, which is not inclined to take any action that could keep the resolve alive, according to several State House sources.

Last month, the Senate passed the original version of the resolution sponsored by Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, by a similar 18-17 vote, with Pendleton siding with the Democrats.

The measure was then sent to the House, where it was amended to make it more palatable to representatives concerned about perceptions that the resolve was unpatriotic and a rebuff of President Bush.

Some wording was deleted and language added to make the measure more of a “support the troops” resolution while still urging the president to exhaust all diplomatic efforts before dispatching American forces.

It also specified that the Maine Legislature would unequivocally support U.S. military personnel if fighting should erupt. The House then passed the resolve 73-67 and sent the revised measure back to the Senate for another vote.

Meanwhile, Pendleton reread a diary her father kept while serving in the European theater during World War II. She said she eventually decided to withdraw her support for Strimling’s resolve because it conflicted with the ideals espoused by her father.

On Tuesday, led by Senate Republican Leader Paul Davis, D-Sangerville, the GOP caucus quickly advanced several motions that reversed the previous vote on the initiative. Although Senate Democrats outnumber Republicans 18-17, the GOP members knew that with Pendleton’s vote they would prevail in killing the resolution in the Senate.

Pendleton did not speak during the Senate debate.

Other Democrats, however, rose to defend what they described as the concerns of thousands of Mainers who oppose American military intervention in Iraq. While Republicans largely agreed to respect the individual differences of opinion from most of their Democratic counterparts, there was one notable exception. Sen. Richard Bennett, R-Norway, said he was deeply offended by remarks offered by Sen. Chris Hall, D-Bristol.

Hall was the focus last fall of an election recount that GOP members claimed cost them the Senate majority. He is also a former British subject who has since become an American citizen. Hall said the United States “now stands alone” as it prepares to confront Iraq. He said that in recent travels to Canada, Britain and Trinidad he believes there is a unanimous sense “of despair and dismay about where America is heading.”

“When all of our friends ask us to stop and think again, we would be wise to stop and think again,” Hall said. “Their concern is based on the simple fact that we are about to do something that we have never done before in our 225 years of history: We are about to unilaterally undertake an offensive war.”

Bennett challenged Hall’s statements as “baldly inaccurate” and said both Hall and the backers of the resolve were mistaken when they maintained the United States would act unilaterally against Iraq and presumed President Bush was not seeking a diplomatic resolution.

“In fact, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and dozens of nations will stand with the United States if this war comes to pass,” Bennett said. “It is time if this war comes to pass that we put aside the rhetoric of unilateralism and blaming America and we start to work together as a country with other freedom-loving peoples around the world to create a better world for all.”

After the Senate vote, Pendleton said her Democratic seatmates were supportive of her decision to dissent even though it cost them an important political victory. Pendleton said that although many lawmakers characterized the resolution in different terms, she was sure that most of her constituents perceived the initiative as an anti-war statement.

“It’s the perception, and 98 percent of politics is perception,” Pendleton said. “And we’d be sending out the wrong message because this is perceived as an anti-war resolution.”