It’s good to know with whom your representatives in Washington ally themselves. Take Sen. Richard Burr and the thousands of unemployed folks in North Carolina whose finances are being destroyed by the Great Recession. Burr represents them, right? He’s in the Senate because he wants to do good things for this state’s citizens, right? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Guess again.
On Wednesday, the Senate finally passed a 30-day extension of unemployment benefits, 78-19. The vote came after a one-man filibuster by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) threatened to stop the extension. Bunning’s action, and his arrogance during the whole episode, made Republican leaders fearful of his potential impact on the GOP in November, and they had to scramble to change his mind. (For those who don’t know, it’s been widely reported that Bunning suffers from mental problems resembling the beginnings of dementia; concerns over Bunning’s mental stability and his increasing unpopularity in his home state led GOP leaders, particularly fellow Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell, to force him to retire at the end of his term in January 2011.)
So, back to Richard Burr. Who did Burr ally himself with in this unemployment benefits extension brawl? You guessed it — Sen. Jim Bunning. Burr was one of the 19 senators who voted against extending unemployment benefits, even though our state’s unemployment rate is even higher than the already-brutal national rate. Something to remember, and pass on, in November.
This article appears in Mar 2-8, 2010.
