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Congressman Jo Bonner (R – Mobile) speaks about his vote on the TARP legislation, not running for Governor, the tanker contract, visiting the Obama White House and more in Lagniappe Magazine out today. An excerpt:
I don’t think there’s anything that could have occurred that could have done more to unite the Republican Party and conservatives in general than having a very liberal, big government president and Congress put in power.
You know again, we were dealing with – we meaning House Republicans – the lingering effects of the culture of corruption, the campaign of 2006 that was so successful run by Rahm Emanuel to remind people why they were disenfranchised, disenchanted. They were frustrated, they were mad, they were angry at Republicans and we had given them a lot of reasons.
Throw in an unpopular president, who the media was just hounding everyday. And then throw in the financial meltdown that occurred and in many respects, the bloodbath that we took on Nov. 4 could have been a lot worse.
Having said that, I had the opportunity to sit on the front row of the presidential inaugural stand by virtue of the fact that I’m the ranking member now of the Ethics Committee and when you look out and you see literally a sea of people stretched from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial as far as the eye could see and you felt the electricity and you felt the euphoria.
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bonner is a great public servant. bonner and sessions are the best 2 folks we have in the congressional delegation. we need more like them…..the country needs more like them.
Nice job Lagniappe – hopefully we will be seeing a lot more of Congressman Bonner in the future
Bonner must be feeling wistful about passing on a race where the Republican field is weak and both leading Dems have major vulnerabilities in the general. He is emerging as the obvious heir apparent to Shelby at least on the R side.
I couldn’t help but notice Bonner’s comment:
“I don’t think there’s anything that could have occurred that could have done more to unite the Republican Party and conservatives in general than having a very liberal, big government president and Congress put in power.”
First, I’m not sure a “united” Republican Party or conservative base really exists. If it does, it either is existing under the radar or possibly we are witnessing the second-coming of the “silent majority.”
Second, I guess the big difference is the current “big government president and Congress” is labeled as liberal. This would be juxtaposed to the “big government president and Congress” previously controlled by conservatives (including four years with Rep. Bonner and his own vote for the TARP I plan, which to his defense he voted for before voting against TARP II, the omnibus, and the stimulus bill).
good job Bonner.