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.

You can read the whole story there, or at the original WSJ page, but here’s the key parts

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jerry Lewis and seven fellow members of Congress jetted to Europe in July 2003 on official government business and dined in restaurants from Warsaw to Lisbon.

Instead of paying for the meals out of their government allowances, they were treated by a parade of defense contractors and lobbyists, most of which sent personnel to Europe to host the meals, according to foreign-service officials and the companies. The meals gave Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and others private access to legislators who control billions of dollars in government contracts.

…

One problem: The hitherto undisclosed free meals likely violated House rules and possibly federal law, experts on congressional ethics say. House rules, designed to prevent private interests from unduly influencing legislators’ work, bar members — with some exceptions — from accepting such meals on congressional trips abroad. [….]

The Lewis delegation traveled in late July and early August during Congress’s summer recess. In addition to Mr. Lewis, the Republicans in the delegation were Joe Barton of Texas, Ken Calvert of California, Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, John McHugh of New York and Adam Putnam of Florida. The Democrats were Mr. Mollohan of West Virginia and Lucille Roybal-Allard of California.

In response to written questions, a spokesman for Mr. Putnam says in an email that the lawmaker “didn’t know/remember who paid for the dinners,” but that he “fully complied with the regulations governing per diems.” [….]

Wow. He doesn’t remember who paid for his dinners, but he does remember following all the rules o the per diems. I’d like to see some more reporting on this issue… ahem. Ledger? Rufty? What happened to this story?

Well, we’ll have to do some investigative reporting of our own. Check back soon.

These are some of the best to get, because they bring together all the different strands of commentary and investigative reporting that have been applied to Putnam over the years. Best new local blog we’ve found out about this way: http://aikane.blogspot.com/  (Aikane Leo… presumably a pun on Alkaline Treo?)

You can read the full Adam Putnam archives over there by going here:

Aikane Leo Adam Putnam Archives 

I’ll be posting my favorite Flashback reporting entry in a few hours when I’ve had time to read all the great stuff over there.

We hope you’ll take advantage of it.  You can donate directly to our hosting company, ensuring that your $5 donation (or whatever you want to cough up) doesn’t go to anything besides keeping this website online (not that we’d ever spend it on anything else;)

We may have a blog-raiser sometime in the future to raise some cash to pay prospective investigative reporters who contribute to this website (somebody has do some investigative reporting, and it’s not going to be the Ledger)… but that’s for a future date.

For now, if you like this website and are glad we’re doing what we’re doing, or even if you don’t like this website, but still want to see us stay online for a while, please consider donating $5 to show your support.  Thanks!

“You will see fewer Americans in Iraq next June than last June,” he said, “as the Iraqi troops begin to take over.”

-Adam Putnam

Which next June is he talking about here?   June 2006.

The above quote is from a Ledger story written by Bill Rufty and published  November 29, 2005.  The remarks came while Adam Putnam was home in Polk County addressing the Tiger Bay Club.

It’s not a full 18 months since we were supposed to have “less troops” based on the predictions of Adam Putnam.  Instead we have an escalating War in Iraq, a military stretched to it’s fullest capacity, and an American Public completely and utterly tired of war.

Oh, and we have Adam Putnam still saying things in Iraq are rosy, and the war must go on.

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.

Thankfully, after many months of this type of rhetoric from Putnam and other GOP leaders, the American People have figured out what’s really going on (perhaps they knew all along).

Check out this story from the Washington Post:    Most in Poll Want War Funding Cut

Most Americans oppose fully funding President Bush’s $190 billion request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a sizable majority support an expansion of a children’s health insurance bill he has promised to veto, putting Bush and many congressional Republicans on the wrong side of public opinion on upcoming foreign and domestic policy battles.

The whole story is worth a read.  Among other things, the new poll shows that in every Congressional District in our country, including ours right here in Central Florida, the majority of voters not only want to see the war ended soon, but they want Congress to stop appropriating so much money for the war.

I just don’t see how Adam Putnam can keep blatently and openly voting against the wishes of his district.  It’s not like these are trivial issues… these are the biggest issues of our day.  The majority of our district (polling shows)

• are in favor of tougher environmental standards (Putnam is for looser standards)
• are in favor of bigger/better Government-run health care & against Medicare Part D (Putnam is against and for those two respectively)
• want the War in Iraq to end, and funding to be cut off (Putnam is one of the most vocal Congressmen against those two measures in DC)
• have lost confidence in George W. Bush (Putnam still considers him a close ally worth shilling for)
•  want to see S-CHIP to pass quickly (Putnam is almost single handidly keeping this life-saving, childrens’ health insurance bill from going through)

Only on a handful of wedge issues, does Putnam seem to be in-line with the people of our district (abortion, gun-control, flag-burning) and most of those are not issues the House has any big roll in these days.

Message To Adam:  Start Representing US!  

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.