Bailout Roll Call

How did your representative vote on the $700 billion bailout?

U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, Michael Capuano, Ed Markey, John Olver, Richard Neal, Jim McGovern and Niki Tsongas voted for the massive $700 billion plan that ultimately failed on a 228-205 vote.

Congressmen Stephen Lynch, William Delahunt and John Tierney bucked leadership by voting against the legislation.

All 10 of Massachusetts’ House members are Democrats.

The overall party breakdown on the bill was:

140 Democrats and 65 Republicans in favor.

95 Democrats and 133 Republicans against.

Olver Goes Double-Dipping

U.S. Representative John Olver (D-Amherst) has it made. He collects a nice congressional salary and he’s collecting a modest state pension. Life is good for Rep. Olver.

In these days of government penny-pinching, nonstop override requests and an overall sagging economy, nothing really angers the masses like a good, old-fashioned double-dipping hack.

And it turns out that a member of the Bay State congressional delegation is doing exactly that.

Not only is U.S. Rep. John Olver (D-Amherst) raking in a $165,000-a-year salary in Congress, he also takes home a $27,000 annual state pension, records show.

Olver, who has been in Congress since 1991, is a former state representative and senator who served 22 years on Beacon Hill. Before that he was a chemistry professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. His wife, Rose, is a professor at Amherst College.

State GOP spokesman Barney Keller said of Olver: “It’s fine if Congressman Olver wants to Double-Dip with a waffle cone, but it shouldn’t be O.K. for him to do it with taxpayer dollars.”

Olver, 72, did not return calls.

Nathan Bech, candidate for Congress running against Olver, said “if Olver wants to collect his pension, he should at least have the common decency to retire.”

From now, just take one dip and end it.

Rep. Olver Confuses Winston Churchill and Vito Corleone

Congressional candidate Nathan Bech reports that Congressman John Olver (MA-01) incorrectly attributed the quote “keep your friends close but your enemies closer” to Winston Churchill in a speech on Iran back in February.

U.S. Representative John W. Olver (D-Amherst) misidentified the author of the famous phrase “you keep your friends close but your enemies closer” in a February speech on Iran.  Olver attributed the quote to the late British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill.  The saying actually originated with fictional movie character Vito Coreleone, the mobster patriarch of Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” series.  Puzo did not publish his first book until 1969, four years after Churchill’s death.  The film that made the saying famous was not produced until 1972.  Puzo has said in interviews that the quote was loosely inspired by the writings of Chinese warrior Tsun Tzu.  Olver’s statement was captured on a video obtained by his opponent’s campaign. 

Olver’s statement elicited a strong response from challenger Nathan Bech (R-West Springfield).  “It seems John Olver owes Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro some credit for his foreign policy position. As someone who has fought alongside our Afghan and Iraqi allies, I have a problem with keeping our terrorist enemies closer than our real friends — the Iranian people.  Iran has a brutal regime that suppresses women, minorities and the press while killing American troops. Iranian-backed militias have killed religious leaders, peace activists, and Iraqi soldiers on Iraqi soil. Not only that, but their religious intolerance leads them to question the Holocaust and finance terrorism around the world.  To describe that at the level of a movie quote is beneath a member of the U.S. Congress”, said Bech.

…and yet, it’s such a common attitude of Democrats in congress.

Massachusetts Reps Against John Doe

It is a disgrace–but not a surprise–that only one of the Massachusetts Democrats in the House of Representatives voted in favor of all of us “John Does.”

House Republicans yesterday surprised Democrats with a procedural vote to protect public-transportation passengers from being sued if they report suspicious activity — the first step by lawmakers to protect “John Doe” airline travelers already targeted in such a lawsuit.

After a heated debate and calls for order, the motion to recommit the Democrats’ Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007 back to committee with instructions to add the protective language passed on a vote of 304-121.

All 121 of the “no” votes were cast by Democrats, while 199 Republicans and 105 Democrats voted in favor.

And who among our ten representatives voted for protecting “John Doe”? Again, not a surprise, it was Rep. Stephen Lynch representing the 9th District.

As for the rest of them, John Olver, Richard Neal, James McGovern, Barney Frank, Marty Meehan, John Tierney, Ed Markey, Michael Capuano, and Bill Delahunt…thanks for letting us know who you care about more than your constituents.

And go screw.

Delahunt, Frank, Markey, and Neal To Vote To Kill Cape Wind Project

For all the Democrats’ posturing about being pro-environment and for clean energy and all things green, when it comes to practicing what they preach, Massachusetts Democrats certainly don’t.

Four Massachusetts congressmen say they will vote for a measure that could kill the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm as the faceoff over the project intensifies on Capitol Hill.

U.S. Reps. William Delahunt, Barney Frank, Edward Markey and Richard Neal plan to vote for the provision, according to a survey of the state’s delegation by The Associated Press over the past several days. They say the state deserves a strong say in the approval process.

A fifth lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, is a probable “yes” vote. The rest of the 10-member House delegation was either undecided or refused comment.

U.S. Reps. Martin Meehan, John Tierney and James McGovern said they were still reviewing the measure. Reps. Stephen Lynch and John Olver declined comment on how they plan to vote.

The 130-turbine project proposed by Cape Wind Associates has stoked controversy for five years. Delahunt, who represents Cape Cod and is a leading project foe, brands it as a government giveaway because the project is exempt from competitive bidding rules.

Yeah, that’s why Delahunt opposes the project. Why can’t Democrats admit that when it comes to the environment they are hypocrites?