I Don’t Hate America!

The US House of Representatives today approved a transportation and housing bill today by a vote of 270-147.  The only members of the Minnesota delegation voting against the bill were Reps. John Kline and Michele Bachmann, both Republicans.  The bill includes $195 million for funding the reconstruction of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis.

Steve Sarvi, the only announced DFL challenger to Kline so far, released the following statement:

“I’m in shock. John Kline has been grandstanding on this issue for the past month – and now, when he actually has the opportunity to deliver the funds authorized to Minnesota in the wake of the bridge tragedy, he votes against the bill. He chose a smoke-and-mirrors attempt at convincing his constituents he’s willing to invest in the infrastructure they count on every day over actually doing anything about it. This was a horrible vote for the people of Minnesota. An unthinkable vote.”

President Bush has threatened a veto based on grounds it “doesn’t hold spending to reasonable and responsible levels.”  It’s too bad that Kline and Bachmann are more concerned with helping Bush reinvent himself as a fiscal conservative with a year remaining in his term than investing in infrastructure.

Want to talk about playing politics with the bridge?  Kline, Bachmann and Bush offer the prime example of that with their votes and threatened veto, respectively.

In a procedural motion on a resolution to continue federal spending as the fiscal year ends Sunday, Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-California and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, offered an amendment supporting Gen. David Petraeus and condeming MoveOn.org’s criticism of him. The motion was accepted by appropriations chairman Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wisconsin.

All I can say is: ugh! While I am not completely in agreement with Moveon.org’s advertisement (maybe that’s for another post), must Congress use this crucial time to vote on whether or not ads purchased by PACs should be given approval?

The fiscal year is winding down.

No spending bills have been signed into law yet.

Congress’s approval rating is at 11 percent.

And what do we get? Procedural motions that can produce nothing but “gotcha’ politics” and ammo to those on both sides. I’ll update as this continues.

The motion to amend (it was really a motion to recommit with amendment, but the bill is already back before the House as I write this, whatever) passed 341-79. All 79 nays were Democrats who will now be accused of “turning their backs on the troops” or some such nonsense by talk radio and right wing bloggers.

10 minutes of debate. 20+ minutes of the voting machine being open. You can laugh at this if you want, but that half hour is time that could have been spent on real legislation such as that before the House addressing popcorn lung disease. I will update with how the Minnesota delegation voted once the roll is posted (though I am sure there won’t be any surprises).

No surprises here on this roll call. Minnesota members voting aye: Walz, Kline, Ramstad, McCollum, Bachmann, Peterson, Oberstar. Voting nay: Ellison. At least maybe some people will let up on bullcrap such as calling Tim Walz “MoveOn.org’s Minnesota representative.”

While much has been made about candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s First District and state Sen. Dick Day’s commitment to make illegal immigration the defining issue in the campaign for the Republican endorsement, fellow candidate and state Rep. Randy Demmer, R-Hayfield, today told supporters in an email message the single issue he hears the most about from constituents is “family values.”

From BPOU picnics and meetings to parades, I have spent the summer crossing and re-crossing Minnesota’s First Congressional District meeting with prospective delegates and general election voters alike. In addition to meeting and exchanging ideas with so many people, I have shared many of these experiences with my wife Kathy, family members, friends and supporters making for enjoyable as well as informative opportunities.

Although the issues of importance to the people of the First Congressional District have varied from immigration to spending . . . from the War in Iraq to health care . . . from taxation to education, the one most repeated subject is that of family values. It is very obvious that the great majority share with me that certain beliefs are the core of family values.

Protecting the rights of the unborn . . . a ban on public funding of embryonic stem cell research . . . and the belief that marriage is a union of one man and one woman are fundamental. I firmly believe residents of the First Congressional District hold dearly to the philosophy that families that live, study, play and worship together are the foundation and very essence of our country.

Family values extend to education. Parents and families are far and away the most important determinant of success. People of the First District are not looking for federal government intrusion into education. They believe, as I do, it is a family and local issue.

As I continue in this campaign, which covers border to border in southern Minnesota, I continue to pledge my non-negotiable commitment to the family values that are so very important to the people of the First District. Please join me in our campaign to replace Tim Walz and return responsible Congressional representation to Minnesota’s First Congressional District.

Sincerely,

Randy Demmer

Yes, those evil gay marriages and that evil stem cell research again! They are OBVIOUSLY of much greater concern to southern Minnesotans than a war that is draining human and financial resources, a broken health care system or even immigration, an issue which virtually everyone thinks needs evaluation.  Or agriculture, which this message didn’t mention.  I guess this email message seems to illustrate that Demmer has decided that forgetting about agriculture needs of the First District will now be a recurring campaign theme.

Please Randy, run as a social conservative.  And please get the GOP endorsement.  Give the voters of the First a hard choice next November: male, southern Minnesota version of Michele Bachmann (you, Randy), or a common sense, pragmatic, hard working incumbent (Tim Walz).

Or you will get votes because of the thing most impressive about your campaign so far: your perfectly maintained hair. Seriously, watch for yourself: it keeps its terrific condition in the parade breeze.

Speaking of Randy Demmer taking on Tim Walz, Hal over at Blue Man in a Red District has a fantastic take on Demmer’s press release asking Walz to denounce Moveon.org.

The press release, it should be noted, was picked up by no one (that I can find via Google, anyway) other than Hal and Michael Brodkorb over at MDE. Must be that evil liberally controlled media…

You can’t make this stuff up. Well, the story does come from Fox News. If there is better proof that our current criminal justice system does an inadequate job of rehabilitating offenders, or even instilling some semblance of sanity, someone please forward it to me.

On second thought, save the policy papers and other research: I don’t have time for that, ahem, frivolous stuff.

Embattled NFL quarterback Michael Vick, facing federal charges related to his alleged participation in dogfighting, has been hit with a “$63,000,000,000 billion dollar” lawsuit filed by a South Carolina inmate who alleges the Atlanta Falcons star stole his pit bulls and sold them on eBay to buy “missiles from Iran,” FOX News has learned.

Jonathan Lee Riches filed the handwritten complaint over “theft and abuse of my animals” on July 23 in the U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va.

Riches alleges that Vick stole two white mixed pit bull dogs from his home in Holiday, Fla., and used them for dogfighting operations in Richmond, Va. The complaint goes on to allege that Vick sold the dogs on eBay and “used the proceeds to purchase missiles from the Iran government.”

The complaint also alleges that Vick would need those missiles because he pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda in February of this year.

“Michael Vick has to stop physically hurting my feelings and dashing my hopes,” Riches writes in the complaint.

Riches wants $63 billion dollars “backed by gold and silver “ delivered to the front gates to the Williamsburg Federal Correctional facility in South Carolina. Riches is an inmate at the facility serving out a wire fraud conviction.

FOXNews.com attempted to contact Vick, but neither he nor his spokesman could be reached for comment.
Vick’s attorneys, meanwhile, are negotiating a plea deal with federal prosecutors before new dogfighting charges are filed next week, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

We trust our Minnesota Congressional delegation, including and especially John Kline and Michele Bachmann, are working on getting to the bottom of this.

Earlier I insinuated that Rep. Michele Bachmann, sixth district Republican congresswoman from Minnesota, votes party line on everything.

Well, I was wrong, and must apologize.

It appears to Bachmann has finally seen the light and has stepped away from the hard, partisan conservative right of the Republican caucus in the House.

Bachmann did so by being one of only 22 Republicans to vote against the goofy dinner-hour motion to adjourn tonight.

We will have more more here at IDHA! as this story develops.

Debate has officially kicked off in the US House of Representatives about the 2007 Farm Bill. I don’t follow floor debate in the US House too often but I am already having a flashback to the rhetoric from Marty Seifert and Tim Pawlenty when the Minnesota legislature had under its consideration a proposal to include inflation in budget forecasting. Those two Republicans falsely characterized it as “budget increases on autopilot.”

This time, the Farm Bill would close a loophole which allows for corporate overseas tax shelters. The elimination of this loophole, which would create $4 billion of revenue, is falsely being referred to by Republicans such as a tax “increase.”

I liken it to being shorted on your paycheck and upon notifying to your boss/payroll clerk/HR/whatever being told you shouldn’t be entitled to a pay increase.

Ugh. And due to this provision, these Republicans, such as Agriculture committee ranking member Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), are intending to vote against the bill.

Nevertheless, Minnesota elected officials will get some spotlight, such as Agriculture committee chairman Collin Peterson, who has been heralded for his efforts to find compromise, and Tim Walz who is a member of the committee.

Based on a quote from this story yesterday, it doesn’t appear John Kline will support the bill.

Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., commended Peterson’s effort but had some reservations, including how a $4 billion increase to nutrition programs would be paid for.

“We have to see how these concerns are met,” Kline said in a statement.

I can only assume Michele Bachmann will vote against it because, well, she votes against everything so why even bother to find some real basis for that conclusion.

We will try and offer updates from time to time here at IDHA and of course Bluestem will continue to provide stellar coverage on this issue.

[UPDATE] Quick Farm Bill update (trying not to live blog as I will not hear the end of how “lame” live blogging C-SPAN is):

The controversial Ron Kind/Jeff Flake delete-everything amendment failed on a voice vote with a roll call vote to be taken later.

In opposition to the amendment, Tim Walz said it was well intentioned but doesn’t address the needs of his district, Minnesota’s 1st, which he described as one of the “richest pieces of agriculture land in the world.”

Walz, in his usual blunt tone, showed irritation at some of the rhetoric being presented in opposition to the bill.

“When I need advice about agriculture, I go to Kevin Paap at the Minnesota Farm Bureau, not the ideology at the Cato Institute.”

13 amendments were approved “en bloc” via voice vote with 17 more remaining. Final passage is expected to take place tomorrow. [/UPDATE]

[UPDATE 2] The Kind/Flake amendment fails 117-309. Looks like that will be all for the Farm Bill tonight.  I always laugh when the parliamentarian has to guide the Speaker Pro Temp through every little process and still has to ask “Now what?” into the microphone. [/Update 2]