January 20, 2022 12:35 PM UTC

Cool Story, But YOU VOTED AGAINST THAT

• 12 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: It looks like Boebert already did it, taking credit for $77.5 million in federal grants “benefiting CO-03”.

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Last summer we wrote about federal funding “earmarks,” also known as “Member Designated Projects” and “Community Project Funding Requests,” that included an oft-quoted graphic showing how Republicans in Colorado’s congressional delegation were responsible for all of $0 in federal funding returning to our state…

Despite the fact that most Republican Members of Congress — including everyone from Colorado — has been vocally opposed to supporting “earmarks” of any kind, that hasn’t stopped many of them from taking credit for the very projects they voted against in Congress. Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Boulderish) has been pretty good about pointing out this, uh, inconsistency whenever it shows up. Neguse picked up on another case of bullshittery just this week:

She voted against it. https://t.co/Zur2l7grtc

— Joe Neguse (@JoeNeguse) January 19, 2022

The Huffington Post caught the same story, including a fairly absurd comment from a Republican staffer:

In a press release issued by her office on Wednesday, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) touted “game-changing” funding of $829 million announced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that is aimed toward modernizing locks and dams on the Mississippi River, which borders her Eastern Iowa district.

But back in November, before the $1.2 trillion measure passed into law, Hinson called the bill “a raw deal for Iowans” and “spending at its worst.” She also objected to the fact that the bill had been linked with the passage of the Build Back Better Act, the Democratic social spending and climate legislation that has now stalled in the Senate.

“Congresswoman Hinson opposed the infrastructure package because it was tied to trillions of other spending in the House,” Sophie Seid, a spokeswoman for the congresswoman, said in a statement to HuffPost. “Since the bill was signed into law, this money was going to be spent regardless. If there’s federal money on the table she is, of course, going to do everything she can to make sure it is reinvested in Iowa.” [Pols emphasis]

Well, see…she actually opposed the bill. But, hey, whatever! Why not take credit if it’s going to happen anyway?

Texas Republican Rep. Kay Granger tried a similar tactic on Wednesday, praising funding for flood control efforts that she also voted against. The odds are pretty good that Colorado Reps. Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert, Ken Buck, and/or Doug Lamborn will be doing the same thing very soon.