Kline Has $780,000 Reason To Vote For The Colossal Taxpayer Bailout

The House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency taxpayer bailout for the nation's financial system, ignoring urgent warnings from President Bush and congressional leaders of both parties that the economy could nosedive without it. Rep. John Kline (MN-R) voted for the colossal taxpayer bailout which in reality is little more than taxpayers footing the bill for Wall Street and Washington mistakes during Kline's time in office. Not much of surprise here -given Kline has taken $780,000 from wall street. While Kline says his vote was in the best interest of Americans, ultimately those that gain the most are the special interests on wall street that have been very generous ($780,000) to Kline over the years.

According to research produced by MAPLight.org, House members who voted yes on the proposed bailout package received 54 percent more money from banks and securities than members who voted no:

"[O]ver the past five years, banks and securities firms gave an average of $231,877 in campaign contributions to each Representative voting in favor of the bailout, compared with an average of $150,982 to each Representative voting against the bailout – 54 percent more money given to those who voted Yes."

Kline even admits to hearing from thousands of folks in Minnesota's second district voicing concern about having to bail out wall street (private profits/socialized losses) and the billions it would cost Americans. But in the end, having received over 3/4 a million from Wall Street, Kline is beholding for his vote to Wall Street and not Main Street.

"The liquidity measures are a stopgap … You’re funding the banks’ balance sheets, but nobody wants to lend money to them because they’re all afraid of insolvency.” -Laurence H Meyers of Macroeconomic Advisers notes

It's ironic that Kline having grossly profit from Wall Street can even pretend to represent us. If Kline really was representing the second congressional district he would immediately return the $789,000 from Wall Street.

Now that another attempt at a taxpayer bail out has been turned back, hopefully we can have reform included in the next attempt. Let's see a plan that better targets aid..not the blank check, has reform and oversight built into it, that provides for a 'trickle up' approach that takes care of us over corporations.

Kline Continues To Said NO To Seniors

Representative John Kline(R- MN) has consistently voted NO against programs that would help senior citizens. Basically his lifetime score for voting for programs that would help seniors is 4 percent. His NO votes have allowed seniors to suffer, and big business to thrive on their suffering. A sampling of these votes are:

• NO... to allowing Seniors to negotiate Drug Prices
  
• NO... to Pro-Retiree Budget
  
• NO... to Stop Price Gouging
  
• NO... to SCHIP/Medicare Advantage
  
• NO... to Limit Drug Reimportation
  

Last year alone senior citizens in poverty jumped to 3.6 million, or 9.7 percent of all seniors. With the declining economy adversely affecting most senior retirements and increasing health care costs, older Americans are more at risk than ever. Yet Rep. John Kline continues to vote against them.

These are American folks just like us. They have worked their whole life, paid taxes, brought homes, raised families and contributed to the community.

Kline has retirement, a pension, and life long health care through the congressional office. Yet Kline won't vote for our seniors to have a smidgen of that same secure in their old age.

Wall Street Payday For Rep. John Kline

There's one thing that continues to worsen our economic crisis...it's lack of confidence in our leaders. We expected them to look out for our interest, to help preserve our homes and the future of our children but instead find out they were looking out for wall streets interests.

To belay fears and address this lack of confidence even George Bush addressed the nation. Agree or disagree, at least Dubya presented his bailout position. But our congressional representative Mr. Kline has been silent on the bailout. That's because the $780,000 he's received from wall street has brought his silence.

When Representative John Kline should be looking out for us, he's taking care of special wall street interests. Kline has promoted and voted for wall street's agenda calling for deregulation and privatization within their industry. Allow them to make billions while American's pay the cost...Kline even wanted to do the same (privatize) to Social Security!

Now we're expected to foot the bill to bail out wall street while our homes, jobs, and families suffer. Maybe Kline would like to apply $780,000 he's accepted from Wall Street toward that bill.

Like most of what John Kline has done....he has squandered his leadership in exchange for $780,000. Unfortunately we are paying the consequences for his lack of leadership. Isn't it time for a new direction?

Oh Look! Kline Has Some Shiny Old Medals

Kline is fighting back...yawn...as usual by trying to paint himself as a victim...this time from those bad veterans that look at his voting record rather than his shiny old medals...

When his opponent Steve Sarvi, himself an Iraq War veteran, claims that Kline is getting rock-bottom ratings from -- of all people -- veterans groups...Kline has his staffer whine...'but that's not what he meant!'

And when Kline suggested that the military is paying too much attention to post-traumatic stress syndrome in a congressional hearing, again...Kline's staffer said that's 'not what Kline meant!'

Ah yeah, poor Kline...how it must hurt his feelings when veterans get tired of his false promises and shiny old medals and actually look at his record. But we know....it's not what Kline meant!

Kline Is Picking Your Pocket For Big OIL!

Kline once again voted the wishes of OIL CORPORATIONS in voting no on H.R. 6899, the Comprehensive American Energy Security & Consumer Protection Act. Kline is picking our pockets to feed enormous profits to the Oil Industry at a time when Minnesotans have a 22 year record high unemployment rate!

Just to put it in perspective:

GAS
2002 =$1.47 a gallon
2008 =$3.79 a gallon

Oil Company profits
2002=$30 Billion
2008=$160 Billion

Pete DeFazio (D-OR) explained the finances behind the bill and why almost every Republican in the House opposed it.

"The oil and gas industry contributed $166 million to the Republicans since 1990, 75% of their political contributions. In fact, when President Bush took office, gas cost $1.47 a gallon. Today, gas costs $3.79. In fact, in 2002, the oil companies made $30 billion in profits. In 2008, it's projected they will make an unbelievable record $160 billion of profits, every penny extracted from American consumers and American small businesses and borrowed from overseas, putting us in huge trouble. The oil companies took care of the Republican cronies and the Republicans legislated on their behalf."

Big Oily Kline

There was never any doubt about where Kline stood. Voters in CD2 are figuring out what we knew all long...Kline doesn't represent their interests. Instead John Kline plays partisan politics, that is, when he isn't playing puppet for Bush or front man for major oil companies.

Check out the recent polling...and remember you can't fool all the of people, all of the time. And now we have John's vote for Big Oil's way...

“In case there was ever any question, John Kline proved today that it’s Big Oil’s way or the highway, never mind America’s need for gas price relief or an energy plan for the future. The bill Mr. Kline voted against will bring down gas prices and invest in a clean, renewable energy future. It also will provide America with an American-owned energy policy – something that the Bush-Kline Republicans failed to deliver in all their years in power. But, at least we know where John Kline stands: with Big Oil, not with the American people.” -Steve Sarvi, Kline’s opponent in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District