So, Jaime got her committee. The question: will she do anything with it?

It's been my position all along that our congresswoman, Jaime Herrera, has completely supported the CRC, the bridge replacement, light rail and tolls.

Her actions, to date, have accomplished absolutely nothing that changes any of this.  Her PUBLIC face on all of this is that she's looking out for us and trying to force some sort of vote.  She claims that she wants an utterly worthless, gerrymandered CTran district vote when, at a minimum, it should be for the entire project and the vote should be the entirety of Clark County since the entirety of Clark County will be expected to pay for this crap.  In fact, she's been smacked around by Tim Leave-it like he's been paying her for it... actions that should have resulted in the immediate death of this entire project as an abject lesson.

Herrera wants us to think she's somebody; her carefully crafted press release tells us:

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Herrera Beutler said Thursday in a news release. “We need a bill that strengthens our nation’s transportation system and creates jobs — both paramount priorities to Southwest Washington residents.”

(Yeah.  Like she actually "said" this.) Of course, she's dead wrong: the last thing we need is for GOVERNMENT to "create jobs," a euphemism for over-paid, taxpayer money-sucking union slime ripping us off.  That she calls such a scam a "priority" just tend sot show how ignorant this poor woman actually is... unless she's going full-blown democrat.

Actually, her getting this gig is not an honor.  After all, she's just going to be another back bencher, last in seniority out of 46 members, a woman who couldn't even get the Republicans on her committee to agree with her amendment... and how incompetent is that?

She was picked, more or less at random, and certainly not based on what she's actually DONE, because that equals precisely zip.

So, here's the question: now that she's been given this "tremendous honor," will she do anything with it?

No more then she has done, I'm thinking.

And that's precisely dick.

Gee... you suppose she'll have a townhall meeting about THIS?

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

When Tea Party Freshman Republicans betray us: bring back earmarks

Unbelievable hypocrisy.

I just finished reviewing a letter with signatures quite surprising (Both for who signed it... and who didn't sign it) wherein 65 REPUBLICAN freshmen House members, including members like Allen West (Who I have been a personal fan of since his rise) put their names to this missive... a letter requesting the return of earmarks.

Currently, House GOP rules state:

GOP rules state that “it is the policy of the House Republican Conference that no member shall request a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit or limited tariff benefit, as such terms have been described in the rules of the House.” House rules say a bill has to list all of the limited tariff benefits in it or carry a certification that there are no such benefits in it.

The "reasoning" of the hypocrites?

That’s where supporters think they’ve found a loophole. The benefits aren’t “limited,” they say, because they don’t specify a particular company. If that’s the case, the bill could move to the floor with a certification that it doesn’t include a “limited tariff benefit” — a nifty loophole just big enough to squeeze thousands of earmarks through.

This is the parsing of a genuine slimeball like Tim Leavitt or Steve Stuart.  The GOP was supposed to be better than that.

How many of these turn coats ran on a platform of opposing earmarks?

Who didn't sign the letter?

Our own Jaime Herrera.

How bizarre is that?  Herrera, who has shown her politics to be somewhat charitably "malleable."  But I reviewed every signature on the letter, a pdf located here, and hers is not on it.

I would have bet my dog it would have been there, and it wasn't.  I was, and am, stunned, that one of the least likely people I've ever known to take a principled stand would actually do so against the tide of the rest of her class.

There may well be hope for her yet.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

You ever wonder why we never see Jaime Herrera on national media but we frequently see Allen West?

I don't.  The reasons are obvious. It's unfortunate that we're stuck with a back-bencher in Congress who will never get anything done..

Allen West Schools Soledad O’Brien: ‘I don’t care’ what the Communist Party says

Posted by  The Right Scoop on April 19th, 2012 in Politics | 85 Comments

Allen West once again isn’t backing down, even when Soledad O’Brien tries to press him on his comments about the the CPC members having a commie ideology. She even quotes the Vice Chairman of the National Communist Party repudiating his comments, but West’s response to those remarks is the best part of this whole clip:

(via Newsbusters)

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

More idiocy from Herrera: Clark County Residents Support Light Rail Vote.

So, Jaime has figured out (as if she didn't know... hell, my Cavalier Spaniel knew) that we want a vote on loot rail.

We WANT a vote on ALL of this garbage... NOT just light rail... so did Herrera have to waste $31,000 of our taxpayer dollars for a campaign piece masquerading as a "mail survey" to figure that out?

If Herrera had a clue, she could make all funding for this project conditional on a county-wide vote.

No vote?

No funds.

So far, her half-hearted, amateurish efforts have accomplished absolutely nothing except to prove that her efforts are, well, half-hearted and amateurish.

One question: If Murray were to make this conditional, do you think SHE couldn't get it done?

Of course she could.

And now that Herrera finally "knows" what she already knew...

What is she going to DO about it?

My guess?

Absolutely nothing.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

So, Jaime has figured out (as if she didn't know... hell, my Cavalier Spaniel knew) that we want a vote on loot rail.

We WANT a vote on ALL of this garbage... NOT just light rail... so did Herrera have to waste $31,000 of our taxpayer dollars for a campaign piece masquerading as a "mail survey" to figure that out?

If Herrera had a clue, she could make all funding for this project conditional on a county-wide vote.

No vote?

No funds.

So far, her half-hearted, amateurish efforts have accomplished absolutely nothing except to prove that her efforts are, well, half-hearted and amateurish.

One question: If Murray were to make this conditional, do you think SHE couldn't get it done?

Of course she could.

And now that Herrera finally "knows" what she already knew...

What is she going to DO about it?

My guess?

Absolutely nothing.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

The difference between a real congressman and a fake.

This is Congressman, Ranger, battalion commander, war veteran, Allen West:

These are pictures from the cornerstone of what a congressman is SUPPOSED to do:

Hold unfettered town hall meetings around their district.

This is Junior Debutant, intern and low-level staffer Jaime Herrera at one of HER town hall meetings.


Any questions?

Cross posted on Clark County Politics.