Made In America Act Passes With Huge Bipartisan Majority... But Not With David Dreier's Vote

The House has been back in session for a couple days now, voting  on things like the Rhett Schiller Post Office in Waterford, Wisconsin (411-0) and agreeing to honor members of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard of the State of Oklahoma for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States since September 11, 2001 (378-0). But there was one vote yesterday that flushed out the most extremist of the kooks and nutjobs on the far edges of the right. (I bet Christine O'Donnell, Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, Ron Johnson, Pat Toomey and Joe Miller are regretting they'll missing out on this kind of stuff while dodging the press and avoiding debates back home.)

Speaker Pelosi brought up Marcy Kaptur's Congressional Made in America Promise Act (H.R. 2039). Basically it amends the Buy American Act to apply Buy American requirements to articles, materials, and supplies acquired for the use of any legislative branch office, including the House of Representatives and the Senate. Sounds like a no brainer-- sort of like agreeing to a post office name, right? Well, for most Members of Congress that's exactly what it was. Blue Dog Leonard Boswell put it like this:

I am proud to support this legislation which will require two major government bodies to lead by example and buy American. It is ridiculous that a visitor to the Capitol Gift Shop could be purchasing an umbrella or mug made in China instead of a souvenir made right here in the U.S. by American workers. These bills will leverage the purchasing power of the federal government to invest in American companies that produce American-made goods, hire American workers, and in turn fill and create American jobs... We must not reward corporations that outsource American jobs for cheaper labor abroad. I will continue to fight for legislation that reinvests and rebuilds America’s manufacturing industry to create jobs and a strong foundation for our nation’s economy.”

And the bill passed, of course. 371 Members voted for it but 35 right-wing ideologues from the bowels of the GOP decided the bill violated the spirit of their version of free enterprise and cast NO votes, kooks and clowns like Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ron Paul (R-TX), Steve King (R-IA), Mike Pence (R-IN), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Steve Kingston (R-GA), closet queen Trent Franks (R-AZ), and, obviously, Paul Broun (R-GA). But also among the cadre of dangerous anti-American extremists and fanatics were two southern California congressmen who go to some lengths to try to pass themselves off as vaguely mainstream, John Campbell and David Dreier. I reached the progressive Democratic small business owner running against Dreier, Russ Warner, and asked him why Dreier had thrown his lot in with the crackpots and fringe elements on this kind of a bread and butter bill that even his own ultraconservative party leaders voted for.

"His vote yesterday against the Buy American Act didn't surprise me. David Dreier is a hypocrite who says one thing and votes the totally opposite. He pretends to support the middle class, but all he cares about are the corporations and wealthy CEOs who have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign over the years and have helped make him the 20th richest member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He doesn't care about small businesses, the people of his district or the image of America. All he cares about is himself and the wealthy corporations that have kept him in power for nearly 30 years. I say-- enough!

"It's just another example showing that David Dreier supports free trade at any cost, even though it has meant the loss of tens of thousands of good-paying jobs for Americans and a growing trade deficit. As of late, Dreier has been pushing for "fast track" approval of a free trade agreement with South Korea, even though Seoul's strict vehicle standards would inhibit U.S. Imports and jeopardize U.S. jobs by eliminating import duties on Korean pick up trucks. South Korea imposes a partial ban on imports of U.S. Beef, which should be pulled back before we make any trade concessions of any kind.

"David Dreier has been pushing his free trade agenda for the nearly 30 years he's been in office. Look where it's gotten us. He doesn't care at all about the American worker. He's just interested in advancing the interests of the transnational corporations who count on him and his vote."

It's time to revitalize DumpDavidDreier.com!