Biff_Poindexter
Diamond Member
Tuberville praises $1.4 billion for broadband he voted against: Alabama GOP will ‘damn sure take credit,’ Doug Jones says
Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, was the only Alabama representative to vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by President Biden.
www.al.com
"Sen. Tommy Tuberville used a tweet to call attention to more than a billion dollars in federal aid to expand broadband access across Alabama. But he didn’t vote for the 2021 legislation that made it possible. Alabama is set to receive $1.4 billion from the federal infrastructure law to expand broadband access in the state as part of the Biden administration’s $40 billion plan to increase Internet access across the country. The announcement was made by Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, who was the only Alabama representative to vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by President Biden. None of the six Alabama Republicans in the House of Representatives voted for the bill.
On Tuesday morning, Tuberville trumpeted the funding in a tweet: "Broadband is vital for the success of our rural communities and for our entire economy. Great to see Alabama receive crucial funds to boost ongoing broadband efforts." However, Tuberville was not one of the 19 Republicans who voted in favor of the bill back in August 2021, which passed 69-30 in the Senate. Richard Shelby, then still Alabama’s senior U.S. Senator, also voted against it. Mitch Landrieu, senior advisor to the president and infrastructure law coordinator, said “It’s unfortunate that some voted no but still want the dough. If they had integrity, they’d applaud President Biden’s leadership for putting us on the path to provide reliable, affordable high-speed internet to every American.”
Tommy Tubbers may have been a lifelong football coach, but he is quickly learning the ropes as Senator with this brilliant move. Everyone knows you are supposed to take credit for the good outcomes of policies that are helping the people in your state - even if you voted against it and called it Marxist-Woke-Communism - because you know that most of your voters will have no idea you voted against or care. Many other GOP congressional members who opposed this bill are also taking credit for the benefits from the bill, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn to name a couple.
It is a win-win move because as long as you have no shame - like Ted Cruz most certainly does not have - then moves like this are pretty smart. It's almost like you don't have to take governing seriously because you can count on Democrats to deliver that infrastructure spending anyway and you can claim credit for it afterwards while pumping your chest about your "fiscal conservatism" by voting against that thing you said was so great.
