Congress passes emergency aid for Minnesota in the wake of the 35W bridge collapse. Support from the Minnesota congressional delegation should be a no-brainer, right?
Well, not really. Congressman John Kline joined his fellow Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann in voting to adjourn before the emergency aid could be considered. Republican Representative Jim Ramstad and Democratic Representatives Tim Walz, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison, Collin Peterson and Jim Oberstar voted against adjournment that failed 180-237.
You're bound to hear Republican bloggers complaining that the above statement isn't fair because the vote was a procedural vote on an entirely unrelated matter.
However, Rep Kline was willing to risk the wrath of his constituents by doing what the Republican Party Whip wanted instead of putting Minnesota's needs ahead of politics. That's how important the right-wing ideology is to Kline. This is not an isolated example. As we've reported before, Kline has chosen the Republican Party line over better veteran's benefits, something that should also be a no-brainer.
Isn't it time we got someone who uses his brain instead of relying on the Republican Party to make his decisions for him?
6 comments:
The reality is that every member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota voted for a motion to adjourn before final passage of the 35-W bridge repair funding package.
As predicted, you can see the the Republican paid spin doctors have already developed their talking points on this one.
Be assured that Kline and Bachmann were the only members of the Minnesota delegation who voted for adjournment knowing that the 35W disaster bill was the very next thing on the agenda.
Spin all you want, but the reality is that every member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota voted for a motion to adjourn before final passage of the 35-W bridge repair funding package.
Are you claiming that Congressman Oberstar, who was the sponsor of this legislation and like Kline and Bachmann voted for motion to adjourn, put politics ahead of Minnesota?
And if you go way back, every Congressman since Washington was President has voted for adjournment at one point in their career.
But the vote we're talking about was the one taken immediately before the 35W disaster bill was taken.
Check your facts. Oberstar was on the majority side of that vote as were all of the Minnesota delegation except Kline and Bachmann.
By your logic I could use the phrase "Oberstar again puts party before Minnesota priorities."
The reality is that every member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota voted for a motion to adjourn before final passage of the 35-W bridge repair funding package.
Are you disputing that in the vote immediately before the I-35W bridge was to come up on the agenda that Kline and Bachmann voted to adjourn and the rest of the Minnesota delegation did not? If so, you'll need to call the people who write the Congressional Record and have them change what's in there.
For observers to this little discussion note how Mr. Brodkorb cleverly avoids mentioning which exact vote he is talking about? Hence my comment that it could be any adjournment vote in the past two centuries he's referring to.
One thing for sure, he's not referring to the vote that immediately preceded the I-35W bridge aid agenda item.
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