State Sen. Wally Horn Needs to Shut Up

I wrote earlier that, in all this media koverage of the flooding, I’ve been impressed (i.e. pleasantly surprised) that Gov. Chet has not embarrassed Iowans. He hasn’t sounded stupid, partisan, or greedy.

The same kannot be said of State Sen. Wally Horn of Cedar Rapids.

I’ve reported on Wally’s antics during a legislative konference call, during which he stated several times regarding his konstituents in Cedar Rapids, “These are good loyal Democrats, and they need our help.” Apparently Wally is going to be standing at the front of the assistance lines checking people’s voter registration kards.

And now he’s at it again.

Pres. Bush is visiting Cedar Rapids today, and there have been several quotes in the news from various elected official representing the flood-ravages areas regarding what these official will need in terms of help from the federal government.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Kay Halloran said she had a list of requests, including a temporary waiver of the requirement for state and local matching funds for federal aid, and dumpsters to help with the klean up.

What about other elected officials?

State Rep. Kraig Paulsen, representing devastated Linn County areas such as Palo, likened the extent of the damage to Hurricane Katrina and urged Bush to be resolute about delivering aid. "It's hard to come up with words that reflect the true magnitude of what's happened," said Paulsen, a Hiawatha Republican.

And what about our dear friend Wally?

"We want to see [Pres. Bush] say something deeper like, 'We will have money for this.’ I want to hear how many million or billions we can have to get this going."

And we all kollectively kringe.

Of kourse we are going to need money from the federal government, and our leaders need to not be afraid to ask for it, but generally you explain exactly what it is you need help with, and you explain why you need it. You don’t just go to the media and demand “millions or billions.”

Hey Wally, are you sure we need millions or billions? Have you taken into account the discounted tab, you know the one that excludes any help for Republicans in Cedar Rapids? After all, we all know Wally only kares about helping the “good, loyal Democrats.”