This comes via Cernig over at NewsHoggers, It seems that we have some Republicans who are so damn self righteous that they would rather people in Africa to die of AIDS, so, they can say, “I prevented run-away spending”, than they would like to see their party improve their image.
From McClatchy Washington Bureau, we have the substance of why these senators are against this Bill:
In a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the seven senators — Coburn, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and David Vitter of Louisiana — criticized the bills’ increased spending over the next five years from $15 billion to $50 billion, the expansion of AIDS funding to countries such as China and India and the inclusion of funding for agricultural-assistance and poverty-alleviation programs.
"The bills’ support would allow morally questionable activities, including advocating with host governments to change gender norms and policies and promoting activities that could include needle distribution to drug users," the senators wrote.
McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., support the legislation and said they were pushing for a compromise. Reid has been reluctant to move the legislation forward until an agreement is struck, and this week Democratic leaders focused blame for the delay on the seven senators.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, supports expanding the program, and the White House has pressed lawmakers for the legislation’s passage.
"President Bush himself talks to members of Congress about it to make sure that they know how important he thinks it is that they pass this bill because of all the good work that it’s doing," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Wednesday. "And I think that members of Congress recognize that, as well. I think we’re just working on these details. There have been some concerns, but I think that we’re able to address them."
The bills are backed by a wide range of humanitarian groups. Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently pressed McConnell to convince the Republican senators who’ve balked to pass the legislation.
"With the quick passage of this legislation, the United States could send a strong signal of its continuing global health leadership that will leverage support from other G-8 nations," Tutu wrote in a letter to McConnell. "That is why I am so deeply troubled by the impasse in the U.S. Senate regarding this legislation. I see signs that global determination to keep the promises made on AIDS, TB and malaria is waning, and I know that passage of this legislation, prior to the G-8, is crucial to regaining momentum."
Ya know, I’m just going to call this, for what it is, and that is blatant stupidity. For all the things that I have criticized President Bush for, this was not one of them. This is where I and the people who call themselves Nationalists, disagree. I believe in reigning in on spending and in spending money to foreign countries. But on humanitarian issues, I make an exception. AIDS is a terrible disease, and anything our Government can do to prevent it’s spread, should be pursued to the best of our abilities.
Not only this, the Republican Party has a serious image problem, that is really in need of fixing, at let me just say, this is doing absolutely nothing to fix it. I mean, if the Republicans want to repair their highly tarnished image, which was all but destroyed by the actions of a Neo-Conservative Administration. This is really going to set the party back, very far back.