Harrop: Time to oust Congress' political freeloaders
By Froma Harrop / syndicated columnist
Political freeloaders. They are to the left of us. They are to the right. These are politicians who grandstand, who vote against their constituents’ interests, knowing that their tougher colleagues will do the hard work.
Start with the right. Start with Marsha Blackburn, the U.S. senator from Tennessee. She idiotically called the infrastructure bill “the gateway to socialism” and, of course, voted against it. The measure passed with the support of 19 other Republican senators, all staring down threats by former President Trump to punish them.
Without the infrastructure bill, this country would not be investing $5 billion to install electric-vehicle chargers along American highways. Without more places to charge batteries, not many drivers would be buying electric vehicles.
And without buyers for electric vehicles, the Ford Motor Company would not be spending $5.6 billion to build new plants near Memphis, Tenn., to make electric pickup trucks and electric batteries to go in them. This will create 5,800 direct jobs. Add the battery factory Ford is partnering to build in neighboring Kentucky, and that’s 11,000 permanent new jobs; good jobs, too.
There’s little doubt that Blackburn will show up at the opening ceremonies to herald these grand economic prizes that she lacked the guts to support. Blackburn is a political freeloader as are all those Republicans who voted against the infrastructure bill but will now try to steal credit for the improved roads, bridges and high-speed internet access coming to their communities.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/harrop-time-to-oust-congress-political-freeloaders/