{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://rohrabacher.house.gov//media-center/blog/why-i-voted-against-condemning-russia", "Why I voted against condemning Russia", "2014-12-09", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Dana Rohrabacher", "R000409", "rohrabacher.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Recently the House passed, by an overwhelming margin, a resolution to condemn the Russian Federation for actions considered hostile and aggressive within its sphere of influence, specifically with regard to the politically torn country of Ukraine.\nTen Members voted \u201cnay,\u201d myself among them. I wish to explain why I took this unpopular position.\nAbove all, while Vladimir Putin\u2019s government may well have engaged in questionable behavior toward neighboring countries, Resolution 758 was nothing more than gratuitous, needlessly provocative, and shortsighted. Moreover, reasonable observers the world over can see it as tantamount to a declaration that Russia is America\u2019s enemy.\nThe wording spilled over with uncommon vitriol and inaccuracy at a time when our language must be focused, measured, and responsible. Since the end of the Cold War, the world has grown increasingly dangerous. This is not the time for motions designed to make Congress look tough and on top of global events.\nThe moment, rather, calls for a clear-sighted and surefooted ability to identify friends, foes, and those who \u2013 following their own interests \u2013 fall somewhere in between, always ready to find convenient allies.\nMore than ever, Congress must assess emerging threats astutely, with the highest degree of accuracy and balance. By passing this resolution, it failed these requirements.\nThe threats to America looming largest are, in order, radical Islamic terrorism and a still-Communist China, whose new economic power has emboldened its leadership to imagine that the ancient Middle Kingdom should control the world. The perils posed by Putin, if any, are not close.\nAs Americans who enjoy that most mature of democracies \u2013 and I say that with a straight face \u2013 we may not like the way Putin resolves conflicts in his region. We may not appreciate how he treats dissenters in his fledgling democracy -- a reminder of how we\u2019ve turned, for example, the IRS into a political weapon and the NSA into a mega-snoop.\nThroughout history America has allied with far worse actors. In my judgment -- and I say this as one of the collapsed Soviet Union\u2019s most ardent enemies \u2013 we face a likely prospect of working with whoever leads Russia against the more pressing threats of Islamic terrorism and China\u2019s prickly claims to hegemony.\nHouse Resolution 758 did little more to insure against these real threats than to enable my colleagues to flex their muscles \u2013 on paper. We can and must do better.\nView published article HERE", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://rohrabacher.house.gov//media-center/blog/why-i-voted-against-condemning-russia"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8224640041589737, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}