The shameless hypocrisy of legislators claiming credit for projects they voted AGAINST is not only dishonest, it’s disgusting. The latest example of that is U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Duluth.
On Jan. 25, Gov. Tim Walz and Lieutenant Gov. Peggy Flanagan joined Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and President Joe Biden at a press conference in a brewing company in Superior, Wis. They were there to share the good news that the 60-year-old Blatnik bridge connecting the cities of Duluth and Superior will be completely rebuilt at a cost of $1 billion in federal money – money appropriated by Congress as part of Biden’s 2021 “Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.” Biden also mentioned the $4 billion for other infrastructure projects planned for Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Rep. Pete Stauber voted repeatedly against that infrastructure bill, and yet just the other day he took credit for it, posting on “X” (formerly Twitter) the following:
“I’m proud to announce that Duluth, MN and Superior, WI have received over $1 billion in federal funding to help replace the Blatnik bridge. This is a HUGE win for #MN08 (Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District) and I was proud to advocate for these funds.”
Stauber would have told the truth if he had posted something like this:
“I’m disappointed that $1 billion in federal funding was approved to replace the Blatnik bridge. This is a HUGE loss for taxpayers, and I was proud to vote repeatedly against the bloated funding package that Biden proposed in 2021.”
Biden then posted this:
“Oh boy, I hate to talk politics when there’s good news to celebrate but this is too brazen to ignore. Mr. Stauber voted against every screw, steel beam and concrete pier in this bridge. Luckily POTUS (President of the United States) worked with Stauber’s colleagues and got it done without him.”
The pathetic eager scrambling by some legislators to take credit for bills they fought against and voted against is a new “low.” That has happened time and time again, especially in regard to projects made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. Such projects include bridges, roads, airports, water-treatment facilities, clean-energy initiatives and hundreds of other improvements that keep this country thriving and workers employed in decent-paying jobs.
As soon as ground is broken for a project at a celebratory ceremony, the naysaying legislators show up and in one way or another (usually on social media or on their own websites), crow with fake pride and bloated braggadocio about how THEY were so supportive – as if to claim that without THEM the project would never have been approved.
Liars, hypocrites, have you no shame?
