Voted 'No' But Took the 'Dough'

Thirteen House Republicans and 19 Senate Republicans voted to support and helped pass President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Bill.  Included in those who opposed the legislation were our congressional legislators John Kennedy, Clay Higgins, and Steve Scalise. Kennedy, who is known more for his witty, jovial quips rather than any noteworthy legislation actually benefiting Louisiana, quipped “The bill is 2,700 pages—twice as long as the Bible,” and “If you look up stupid stuff in the dictionary, there's a picture of this bill," in addressing  his reasons for voting against the bill.  Scalise, whose main objective in Congress now is serving as an obstructionist to all legislation proposed by President Biden, irrespective of whether or not it might benefit our state, was also quite vocal in his opposition to the legislation.  Now days it's difficult to tell if each truly had major concerns about this legislation, or if they simply sheepishly followed Donald Trump’s request to veto the bill.   It's problematic to differentiate between the two.

However, now that the money is flowing to states as promised, the Republicans who bashed the law are now taking credit for its initiatives.  And to no surprise, Scalise, Higgins and Kennedy are also now on board, touting the provided funding for our state.  Just recently, Scalise, in a news release, highlighted the $400 million in initiatives (made possible by the law) that will help mitigate flooding.  Higgins also applauded the more than $190 million in funding for waterway projects in his district. Both are now bragging as if they were instrumental in obtaining these funds.   And our state folks are buying it.

Additionally, Louisiana will now get over $6 billion for roads, bridges, broadband expansion, and coastal restoration during the first five years of the roll out. Sadly, I am sure it’s only a matter of time before one of these projects serves a backdrop for a photo op for Senator Kennedy.

But ironically, the one Louisiana representative that actually voted for this legislation, Bill Cassidy, has been labeled as a RINO, lambasted, and criticized by these same congressional colleagues because he defied former President Donald Trump’s edict to kill the bill.  Because Cassidy could see beyond petty political agendas, and has truly shown a desire to serve the people of Louisiana who elected him, he is being punished by his own party.

The hypocrisy of our political representatives at both the federal and state level never ceases to amaze me.  I often wonder what we could accomplish as a nation and state if our esteemed representatives didn’t “sell their souls” to political agendas, and, instead, really tried to benefit those that elected them.

But, then again, we keep electing these same folks over and over.