Congress voted to override a veto from President Bush for the first time ever yesterday… but of course Adam Putnam wasn’t one of those voting in the overwhelming majority.

As any astute observer knows, in order to override a veto, it takes 2/3rds of the Congress and that means a large bipartisan majority.  In the case of the bill yesterday, the vote was more than just a large bipartisan majority… it was an overwhelming one ( the bill is an obscure but popular one related to water projects such as coastal redevelopment, drainage areas, levee construction, rivers & lakes, etc).

From the Washington Post article:

Yesterday’s 361 to 54 override tally was 90 votes more than the two-thirds needed, and was made up of the votes of 223 Democrats and 138 Republicans. Just 54 Republicans stuck with Bush.

361 to 54 !  That means the bill had the support of almost every single Democrat AND 2/3rds of the Republicans.

So was Putnam casting a loosing protest vote on behalf of the people of Florida? Sadly, no.
From the WP Article above:

“This is far too important for this nation and my state of Florida,” said Rep. John L. Mica, who led the Republican effort to override Bush’s veto.

That’s right, this bill is more important to the people of Florida than perhaps to any other state besides Louisiana!  Florida, afterall, has some of the most complicated water reclamation, levee, hurricane,  everglades, and similar type problems in the nation… it’s almost as if we’re below sea level and surrounded by major bodies of water.  And so the Republicans who lead the charge to make sure this Bipartisan bill passed:  they were Republicans from Florida & other Southeastern Gulf States!  This bill makes me feel like I’m on an old gameshow where the crowd shouts “how partisan is he???!” and the announcer holds up the bill and says “this partisan!” while Adam marks a big red “X” through it.

Thankfully, at least this time (unlike with the Childrens’ Health Care bill) Putnam wasn’t able to stop the veto override from going through.  But just because he failed at screwing up Florida’s federal water funding, doesn’t mean Putnam shouldn’t be held accountable for trying to F it up.

The final vote total is here.

This is just amazing.  Putnam knows that in DC unquestioning loyalty is how you get ahead.  And because of that he is going to continue choosing his BFF George Bush over anyone and everyone… and that inclues you, me, Polk County, and Florida.  

UPDATE:  Here’s some more info on the bill, from that same WP Article:

 The bill would authorize billions of dollars in coastal restoration, river navigation and dredging projects, levee construction and other Army Corps of Engineers public-works efforts. Seven years in the making, the measure took on particular political resonance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as Gulf Coast lawmakers secured nearly $2 billion in restoration and levee construction projects for the region. The bill would also continue projects such as the restoration of the Everglades and the dredging of the upper Mississippi River, while expanding oversight of the Army Corps.

It’s official, George Bush will veto S-CHIP, quietly, sometime tomorrow.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino confirmed that President Bush plans to veto the legislation “tomorrow or so.” When asked whether there will be a ceremony, Perino replied, “I would not anticipate that there would be any ceremony.” She added, “The President will probably veto it quietly.”

It’s not surprising that Bush is hoping no one notices his veto, which will deny health coverage to four million children. Over 70 percent of Americans support Congress’s proposed SCHIP increase.

(more info on S-CHIP & Adam Putnam here, and here and Putnam’s partisan twistings here.)

So What Will Putnam Do?

A strong turn-around, just a little pressure from their conference chair, and and the hold-out GOP house members will join with a bipartisan super majority of their colleagues and override the veto. (S-CHIP passed with a veto-proof majority in the Senate, but was a handful of votes short of 2/3 in the House). The handful of Dems who voted against it, plus a few swing GOP members will be switching their votes, which means as little as 4 or 5 more GOP defections would make this incredibly popular bill a law.

But Putnam has said he won’t do that. Why? So Bush’s veto can stand. It’s a little sickening.

Update: The dirty deed is done. Bush has vetoed health insurance for 10 million children, and it’s up to the Congress to override him.

 I’ve been going back and reading archives of the Lakeland Ledger, especially Bill Rufty, the main political writer. He leans to the conservative view point on most things, for sure, but I’m glad to see that sometimes he can also see through Putnam’s BS. This is a blog post he wrote a few months ago:

U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, say that the new high on the Dow Jones Industrial Average is all because of Reopublicans. (Gee, I thought it was because of investors).

But Putnam, chairman of the House Republican Conference, said it was Republican tax cuts when the GOP was in charge in Congress that has propelled the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 14,000 and closing at another record high:

“It’s no surprise the market’s on a good run right now - investors are feeling confident about the state of our economy and rightly so. Whether it’s more new jobs, a lower deficit, or a surging Dow, the benefits of pro-growth Republican policies are clear as day,” Putnam said in a press release.

“Republicans will continue to lead the way on fiscal responsibility by holding the line on spending and fighting to keep taxes low. In stark contrast, Democrats are setting the wrong fiscal priorities for our nation by passing one budget-busting spending bill after another,” the press release continued.

Say, remember last week when the Dow dropped 148 points? Not to rain on anyone’s parade with a shower of Keynesian economic theory, but what did that?

Two main problems with Adam’s assessment:

• The stock market is not the same as the economy.  One can do well while the other fails miserably.  They are related, but not at all the same.
• The economy is not so great, and has taken some major hits since Adam’s last rosy assessment.  Who should we blame for that Congressman Putnam?  Bill Clinton?  Nancy Pelosi?  Iran?

The truth is, Adam Putnam’s current job is to spin the truth until it looks completely different.  When it comes to the economy, Iraq, S-CHIP, or corruption in Washington… up is down, down is up, the GOP can do no wrong, and the Democrats are the Devil.  It doesn’t matter what the facts are, because in Putnam’s world Partisanship trumps Reality. 

Not suprisingly, it fell to Adam Putnam, as the chief partisan spokesman for the GOP House Conference, to defend their actions in trying to stop the S-CHIP bill. (more info on S-CHIP & Adam Putnam here, and here.)

This week he spoke, at a GOP press conference, defending the 1/3 of the House that voted against S-CHIP (the other 2/3rds, an overwhelming bipartisan majority, voted for the bill… as did 2/3rds of the Senate), and of course sticking up for his good buddy George W. Bush.

And, during a two week period where Congress debated war funding, passed literally hundreds of billions of dollars in spending, and the health insurance of literally millions of children… what issue does Adam Putnam think is the “most important” thing for our Congress to be worrying about?

Answer: A newspaper advertisement placed by the grass-roots organization MoveOn.org, which has over 3 million members, and ran the add only 1 day, in 1 newspaper, over 2 weeks ago.

If you can stomach the video, you can watch it here.

It’s times like this that I really sympathize with those people who think Congress is hopelessly messed-up.

Update:  Adam makes no mention of S-CHIP on his website, the last press release is from over 2 weeks ago, and it’s a commemoration of 9/11.   Speeking of priorities, it’s good to see Adam has his in order.  Health Insurance for Kids? Not worth a press release.  Iraq War?  Not worth a press release.  Moveon.org  add & exploiting the memory of 9/11 for partisan gain?  Priceless.

How bipartisan was this bill (that Adam just voted against?).

This Bipartisan.

That’s right, the U.S. Senate, where a Democrat can’t order a sandwich for lunch without a Republican filibustering… passed SCHIP with a veto-proof, 67 vote margin.

The 67-29 vote followed a series of speeches by Republican senators supporting the bill and urging Mr. Bush to reconsider his veto threat.

Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, one of 18 Republicans who voted for the bill, said the White House had shown “little if any willingness to come to the negotiating table.”

Republican opponents of the bill, like Senators Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and John Cornyn of Texas, said it would be a big step toward socialized medicine, would shift people from private insurance to a public program and would allow coverage for illegal immigrants and children in high-income families.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, said it was “intellectually dishonest” to make such “outlandish accusations.”

Mr. Bush has said the bill would move toward “government-run health care for every American.”

Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, said those fears were unfounded.

“What will move our country toward socialized medicine is not this bill, which focuses on poor children, but the lack of action to allow people in need to have access to private affordable health care,” Mr. Corker said.

And those are coming from extremely conservative Republicans. As I pointed out in my original post, this bill is extremely popular with everyone, Democrats and Republicans, and Independents. We all know our healthcare system is broken, when millions of little kids have no access to healthcare. This bill doesn’t even try to fix our healthcare system, it just puts a temporary patch on to keep those kids from getting too sick. And the only two people who seem to think that’s going too far, are Adam Putnam & George W. Bush.

UPDATE: Swing State Project adds Adam (and his buddy Gus Bilirakis, Ric Keller, Dave Weldon, John Mica, and Mario Diaz-Balart) to their S-CHIP Crum Bum Roll-Call. Adam, as the Dean of the Florida delegation, is literally the key person standing in the way of keeping S-CHIP from becoming law. All just to s Despicable.

UPDATE II:  My favorite quote from the above linked Crum Bum Roll-Call is this:

It always amazes me that Republicans are eager to put on their “fiscal conservative” hats when it comes to taking care of society’s most vulnerable constituencies, but are so willing to rubberstamp billions upon billions for an endless war in Iraq with no questions asked.

Adam is in the extreme minority on this vote.

Last night Putnam & 158 of his extreme-right-wing friends voted against the SCHIP renewal and expansion act. Thankfully, the bill still passed with a huge bipartisan majority of 265 votes.

CHIP (the Childrens Health Insurance Program) is bipartisan 1990s program that provided Medicare-style health insurance to poor kids who can’t otherwise get coverage.

SCHIP expansion isn’t just good policy, it’s popular too. Nearly 9 in 10 voters want to see the program expanded. And for good reason, it’s a program that saves tax-payer money by making sure children get preventative care (and thus end up costing the saftey-net system less in the long run). It’s also an extremely important program to keep kids in school (healthy kids learn better), out of crime (kids in school are kids not on the street)… and the obvious fairness issue whereby it’s not kids fault their parents don’t have healthcare coverage for them.

Adam Putnam also chooses George Bush over Florida
SCHIP has passed the Senate with a veto-proof majority, but George Bush has threatened to veto the program. Which means Bush’s last chance to keep his veto from being over-ridden is in the house. While the bill passed the house with a huge bipartisan majority, it was a handful of votes short of the 2/3rds needed to override the veto. This means that Putnam’s large opposition to the bill is perhaps the only roadblock to keeping SCHIP from being renewed / expanded.

Here are some key stats on Florida’s SCHIP health insurance:

Number of Florida kids enrolled in CHIP: 303,595
Number of Florida kids eligible for CHIP or Medicaid but not enrolled: 464,011
2008 Funds available to Florida under bipartisan bill: $529,299,416

So, let’s get this straight: Adam Putnam is leading the fight against insuring poor kids. Specifically, he voted against 750 thousand of those kids right here in Flrida, and he voted against a half billion dollars in funding Florida would have gotten to help pay for those kids.

Good job Adam. I hope you have good luck with your “Poison Kittens & Shoot Old People Act” scheduled for a vote sometime next week. It’s probably more popular than voting against SCHIP.

First…  what happened?  Media Matters for America (a non patisan media watchdog group) has the details…

In an August 2 Roll Call article, staff writer Susan Davis reported that Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) said “a positive report by [Gen. David] Petraeus [commander of U.S. forces in Iraq] could be politically difficult for Democrats.” The article then reported Rep. Adam Putnam’s (R-FL) description of Clyburn’s comments as “unconscionable” and noted that the “remarks have prompted lengthy responses on conservative blogs and talk radio.”

[Emphasis added].  But what did Clyborn really say?

Roll Call did not quote Clyburn directly, nor did Davis give any indication in the article that she attempted to contact Clyburn regarding Putnam’s attacks. What Clyburn, in fact, said is that a report by Petraeus that the military effort in Iraq “is working very, very well at this point; we would be foolish to back away from it” would cause “those 47 Blue Dogs … to want to stay the course, and if the Republicans were to remain united, as they have been, then it would be a problem for us.”

In other words, Clyburn did not say that good news from Iraq is bad news for Democrats, as Davis suggested through her paraphrase, but, rather, that a recommendation from Petraeus against withdrawal would impede Democrats’ efforts to garner support in Congress for legislation to begin withdrawal. Indeed, Clyburn added: “None of us want to see a bad result in Iraq. If we are going to get in position to yield a good result, I think Democrats want to see that.”

So here you have a leading Republican (Putnam) attacking a leading Democrat (Clyburn) using pretty heavy handed language like “unconscionable.”  Putnam essentially calls Clyborn

• someone who lacks a moral compass (ie, who says / does unconscionable things)
• a traitor (rooting for America’s defeat)
• a partisan Democrat who puts party above country (wanting bad news in Iraq because it would help Democrats strategically).

However, the entire statement was based on a blatant misrepresentation of the event, which Putnam knew or could have learned easily if he had tried even slightly to contact Rep. Clyburn’s office.  Instead, Adam Putnam serves as a knee-jerk partisan, attacking his fellow House member in the dirtiest of terms, and right out there in the media.

There are unconscionable things that happen in DC everyday.  One of them is the stalling of progress in our nation’s capitol because of overly partisan games like this one.  Putnam should save some of this vitriol for his own buddies next time.

This is officially day two of the Putnam Report, & all is well.  According to our analytics report, we had a burst in traffic yesterday up to about 75 readers (and about 200 hits).  That was up from 5 readers and about 30 hits the day before our official “launch.”

75 readers doesn’t sound like a lot, but for a local blog on its first day, that’s pretty good traffic.  If you’re one of our new readers, why not bookmark us, or add the Putnam Report to a blog-reader (like blogline).  It’s really easy to do, and subscribing to our RSS feed is a breeze!

In other news, though not a surprise, Adam Putnam voted AGAINST the SCHIP reauthorization.  Now, CHIP is the Children’s Health Insurance Program, basically it helps little kids who wouldn’t otherwise have health care, have coverage.  It is especially important for low income families w/ kids who end up with major accidents or illnesses (such as cancer, car accidents, etc).

Or to put it in even starker visual contrast, imagine the kids at your local Ronald McDonald house, or the pediatrics ward at your local hospital.  Then imagine if they kicked 2 or 3 kids out of each room for having parents too poor to afford the bill.  CHIP is the, incredibly popular, bipartisan, program from the 90s which keeps that from happening.

Adam Putnam voted against it. 

Voting against sick kids, for the sake of partisan games.  That’s our Congressman!

Here we go- ready, set, blast off!

Today is the official launch of the Putnam Report.

Read the press release here.

One of the founding principles of the Putnam Report is that Adam spends far too much time worrying about (and exacerbating) partisan politics in Washington DC, and far too little time actually fighting for us back home. As such, it was a pleasant surprise (or not too pleasant, depending on how you look at it) to see him give us this gift today:

Adam Putnam is a Republican congressman from Florida. He wants his colleagues to bash the Democrats over tax hikes and pork projects. He put together the list of points for House Republicans.

That’s NPR’s Marketplace describing our good buddy. The point essentially is this: when you hear words in the media like “bashing democrats” or “talking points” or really any other words that we in Florida associate with what’s wrong in Washington… Adam Putnam is not far behind. We’re going to shine the light on this.

Rep. Adam Putnam is well known for cris-crossing the United States raising money for Republican Congressmen and political hopefuls.  Almost any night of the week you can find him on CNN, Fox, or MSNBC, usually identified as the Republican Talking Head spreading partisan rhetoric to anyone who will listen.  He’s so good at these two partisan posts, that he was this year elected to the position of GOP Conference Chair, the highest ranking Republican political job in the House!

But who’s house is he in?  Who is Adam Putnam supposed to be fighting for, and who is he supposed to be fighting against?  The House of Representatives is the People’s House, and the people Putnam’s supposed to fight for are the people of our district, the people of South Central Florida.

Instead, Adam Putnam spends his time picking partisan fights with his opposition, defending fellow corrupt Republicans (as he infamously did on TV for Rep. Mark Foley in 2006), promoting the gridlock we see in Congress daily, and lowering our public discourse.

The Putnam Report aims to stop this travesty.  To force the man we elected to represent us, to - for once- represent us, we are going to shine the light on his votes, his statements, and his political posturing.  And, if Adam Putnam continues to pledge his allegiance to his party, and his DC-buddies, before the people of Florida, we will help support his replacement.  We can & will do no less.