Republican: Bush Should Skip Olympics
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House Republican — chafing over President Bush's plan to attend this year's Beijing Olympics — wants to legally prohibit other U.S. government officials from using federal money to go.
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., cited concerns about China's record on human rights during a congressional hearing on Thursday and said Bush's presence would be akin to President Franklin D. Roosevelt sitting in the same stands as Germany's Adolf Hitler in 1936.
"Ronald Reagan would have never gone to the Olympics. I guarantee you that. Never gone," said Wolf, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Wolf, who co-chairs a congressional caucus on Sudan, blames China for not using its close ties with the Sudanese government to end the violence in Darfur. Wolf also charges that China has sold weapons to U.S. enemies, jailed countless political prisoners and tried to spy on America's high-tech industry, including companies in his district.
Wolf's legislation would not specifically prohibit the president from attending, which the congressman said would be tough to impose on a commander-in-chief. Instead the bill would focus on barring diplomatic and other federal officials.
Any American seen waving in the stands "will go down in history as cooperating in the genocide Olympics of 2008," Wolf said. "And history will never, ever, ever forgive them."
Last month, Bush said he planned to raise worries about human rights abuse in China with President Hu Jintao when he attends the games in August.
Bush was asked about reports that a laid-off Chinese factory worker faces subversion charges for saying human rights are more important than the Olympics.
"I am not the least bit shy of bringing up the concerns expressed by this factory worker, and I believe that I'll have an opportunity to do so with the president and, at the same time, enjoy a great sporting event," Bush said.
Wolf said the administration is missing its opportunity to deal with the crisis in Darfur.
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who was testifying on foreign aid programs, responded to Wolf's comments by saying only that "there is no greater spokesman for human rights in the world than our president."