In a vote held late on a Friday, just as Congress was about to break for a month-long recess, the Senate approved a bill to shield firearms manufacturers, dealers and importers from lawsuits brought by victims of gun crimes.At least Voinovich got it right on this one. And the good news is that he didn't cry about it.
The bill was co-sponsored by Sens. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Kentucky Republicans Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning.
Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, was one of 31 senators to vote against it.
In a lengthy speech on the Senate floor, the former Greene County prosecutor lashed out at the bill, which would require gun victims to prove that a crime had been committed before they could bring a civil lawsuit against the firearms industry.
"This bill cuts to the core of civil liability law and guts it," DeWine said. "It is not my job to tell a victim that he or she does not have the right to go to the court and present a case to a judge or a jury. People in this country are supposed to have their day in court."
DeWine, yet again, shows us why he just doesn't get it.
John Boehner, now, he gets it:
Most Cincinnati area lawmakers were eager to brag about the millions of dollars they inserted into the $286 billion highway bill that passed Congress last week.Watch Mario's place over at Porkopolis for more on this nonsense. If we could clone John Boehner and run him in every Congressional race, we would be in a MUCH better place finacially in this country.
But not Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester.
Boehner, who was one of eight House members to vote against the measure, called the bill an "inefficient, top-down approach" that wastes taxpayer money.
He didn't request any money in the bill for local projects.
"A successful transportation program would include consultation and planning with local, county, state and federal officials," Boehner said. "In contrast, this 'highway' bill substitutes congressional pet projects for state and local priorities, and it does little to increase our nation's road capacity."
Boehner highlighted several of the 5,198 earmarks in the bill that he considered pork, including $2.5 million for "freeway landscaping" in California.
"This is fiscal discipline?" asked Boehner. "No wonder the federal budget is such a mess. We can't even force ourselves to spend highway money on highways."
