from the DumpMicheleBachmann blog:
DFL Press Release: Michele Bachmann: Officially Shameless
Michele Bachmann: Officially ShamelessBachmann, Now Opposed to Earmarks, Claims Credit for Earmark That She Voted AgainstSt. Paul, MN (May 8, 2008) Last week, Representative Michele Bachmann sent a full-color, taxpayer-funded mailer to her constituents in which, as part of explaining her stand against earmarks, she took credit for an earmark in her district — funding for St. Cloud Metro Bus — that she in fact voted against. The Minnesota DFL Party issued the following statement from Chair Brian Melendez:
“It’s official: Michele Bachmann is shameless. After railing for months against earmarks, she’s now claiming credit for an earmark for her district that she actually voted against.
“It’s bad enough that Bachmann has already told her constituents that she won’t fight for their needs in Washington. But now she is trying to have it both ways and fool her constituents. And she keeps forgetting to mention, as she reinvents herself as an advocate for earmark reform, that last year she voted against earmark reform. Fortunately, her two-faced crusade against earmarks isn’t fooling anyone.
“Most Minnesotans learned in kindergarten that you don’t take credit for work that you didn’t do. Bachmann ought to acquaint herself with those grade-school lessons before she shamelessly tries to pull another fast one on Minnesotans.”
Michele Bachmann — Now Officially Shameless:
In Full-Color, Taxpayer-Funded Mailer, Bachmann Boasts of Securing Earmark for St. Cloud Metro Bus. In her mailer, Bachmann said, “In my first year in the Congress, I requested local earmarks for my district and was fortunate to secure funding for important local projects, including $803,600 for St. Cloud Metro Bus.”
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Yet Bachmann Voted Against Own Earmark for St. Cloud; Also Voted Against Funding for I-35W Bridge Reconstruction, Northstar Commuter Rail. The appropriations bill for the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (H.R. 3074) included not only $195 million for reconstruction of the I-35W bridge and $55 million for the final construction phase of Northstar commuter rail, but funding for two earmarks for which Bachmann is listed as the sole House sponsor: $820,000 for St. Cloud Metro Bus and $500,000 for Highway 241 in St. Michael.
Despite Being Responsible for St. Cloud Metro Bus Earmark in Federal Transportation Bill, Bachmann Criticized Bill as “Excessive.” Despite being the sole sponsor of two earmarks in the transportation bill, for St. Cloud Metro Bus and Highway 241, Bachmann criticized the bill for containing “excessive, pork-barrel spending.”
Later, Bachmann Declared Refusal to Fight for Earmarks for District. “There are no standards, no transparency, no restraint,” she said. “It's clear the current system is broken beyond repair."
But in One of First Votes in Congress, Bachmann Voted Along Party Lines Against Earmark Reform. In one of her first votes in Congress, Bachmann voted against Title IV, Sec. 404 of H.Res. 6, which requires disclosure in writing of the identity of the sponsor and recipient of an earmark, disclosure of the purpose of the earmark, and a certification that neither the member of Congress sponsoring the earmark nor his or her spouse has a financial interest in the earmark. Title IV passed by a margin of 280-152; all the opponents were Republicans.
When DeSoto Bridge Suddenly Closed, Bachmann Still Refused to Seek Earmark for Reconstruction. “If there’s any federal money to be had , it would likely have to come in the form of a congressional earmark. In an August 2007 inspection, the bridge received a 57.3 sufficiency rating, and federal bridge program funds are typically only available for bridges with a score of 50 or lower … That could mean no federal dollars for the bridge unless U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann … requests them through the earmark process, said Jon Schadl, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar … ‘The question would be whether her conscience allows her to work for these funds for a critical need in her district,’ Schadl said. Bachmann did not respond to a request for comment.”
Bachmann: “The State Has All the Money They Need.” “Federal funding to replace the Minnesota Highway 23 DeSoto Bridge probably isn’t necessary, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann said Friday … ‘My understanding is there probably wont’ be a need for federal involvement,” said Bachmann … ‘It appears the state has all the money they need.’”
Bachmann Off the Hook: Earmark Not Needed Because State Transportation Bill to Pay Cost of Replacing DeSoto Bridge. “The Minnesota Department of Transportation will not seek congressional help finding money to replace the Minnesota Highway 23 DeSoto Bridge in St. Cloud. … The state has the necessary funds to replace the bridge, thanks to a $600 million bridge bonding pool of money funded by a gas tax surcharge. The surcharge was contained in a state transportation funding bill that passed this year over Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto.”
Yet Bachmann Criticized Fellow Republican for Voting to Override Pawlenty’s Veto of Transportation Bill. “Stripped of her leadership role, excoriated at her endorsing convention and ostracized within her caucus, Rep. Kathy Tingelstad, R-Andover, signaled an end to a 12-year legislative career on Monday … Tingelstad's departure is the first real casualty of the "Override Six" -- the small band of Republican legislators who bucked their party when they voted to overturn Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of the $6.6 billion state transportation bill last month. … Still fresh was the memory of last month's endorsing convention, where, Tingelstad said, both state Republican Party chairman Ron Carey and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann spoke out against those who failed to hew to the party line.”
Posted by lloydletta at 9:07 PM
http://dumpbachmann.blogspot.com/2008/05/dfl-press-release-michele-bachmann.html
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