Herseth Sandlin Votes NO to More Cash for Clunkers

By Bob Ellis on July 31st, 2009

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)

Earlier today USA Today reported Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) would not support spending more billions of taxpayer dollars on the “Cash for Clunkers” scheme.

Cash for Clunkers, or the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), is intended to blow taxpayer money to bribe owners of cars that don’t match liberal fuel standards to trade in those cars for more fuel efficient ones.  This will ostensibly help save the planet from the evil menace of global warming caused by those diabolical SUVs and other gas-guzzlers.  The bribe involves $3,500-$4,500 of taxpayer cash to trade in your vehicle which will be scrapped.

The creators of this silly program bank rolled (or rather, taxpayer-rolled) the plan with $1 billion in public funds…which promptly ran out after a week.  Eco-spend liberals in the House rushed to dip into the taxpayer’s pockets today and quickly passed another $2 billion of largess.

Senator Claire McCaskill must have learned from the visits she has recently received from angry taxpayers, upset that she is squandering their money on so many things not authorized by the U.S. Constitution.  First they showed up a few weeks ago at her St. Louis office, only to have the doors locked and blinds shut on them.  Then just a few days ago one of her staffers attended a government health care town hall and was taken to task by more angry taxpayers.  They wanted to know why McCaskill was willing to force an inept, unconstitutional socialist plan on the American people but unwilling to put herself on the same socialized medicine program.  A military veteran also called her to account for breaking her oath of office to obey the Constitution.

It would appear McCaskill may just be facing the music:

She writes: “We simply cannot afford any more taxpayr $ to extend cash for clunkers. Idea was to prime the pump, not subsidize auto purchases forever.”

The USA Today article was updated this afternoon after the House vote was taken and an extra $2 billion was passed and listed 14 Democrats who voted against the measure.

South Dakotans who care about the Constitution and their property will be glad to know that Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) voted the right way and said “No” to this unconstitutional waste of money.

The House vote was 316-109, with only 14 Democrats voting no — including six conservative Blue Dogs. Dems voting no were: Brian Baird, Gabrielle Giffords, Collin Peterson, Jared Polis, Earl Blumenauer, Allen Boyd, Lloyd Doggett, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Ann Kirkpatrick, Jim Marshall, Harry Mitchell, Scott Murphy, Kurt Schrader, John Tierney.

Thanks, Rep. Herseth Sandlin, for doing the right thing!

Note: Reader comments are reviewed before publishing, and only salient comments that add to the topic will be published. Profanity is absolutely not allowed and will be summarily deleted. Spam, copied statements and other material not comprised of the reader’s own opinion will also be deleted.

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Categories: Commentary
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  • jesseyman
    sandlin you tell them no more cash for clunkers why waste our money . why does it seems like everything that is done to help tax payers is a joke and to really to help them selves?
  • davidsullivan
    Haggs,
    I'm interested in your comment that CARS is helping our economy. I will admit it makes for a very pretty picture for July auto sales but how does it work into our trade deficit and national debt? Remember, a large amount of the vehicles being purchased are foreign cars. We are borrowing money from other countries, the sale of bonds, to pay our citizens to go buy a car and there is a 65% chance it will be foreign! We are taking on greater debt as a country and as individuals, this is the purchase of a new car and the remainder must be paid, to help the manufacturing numbers of a different country. The US dollar can not take much more of this before it is worthless. Also, aren't most liberals normally going on about what a wasteful nation we are? This plan seems to be very wasteful. Why is it logical to destroy a working car and buy a new one? Oh and remember, all the fuel that the removal of the "gas guzzlers" will save, is being used in big trucks and construction equipment to crush them and haul them away.
  • Haggs
    Rep. Herseth Sandlin is really making me mad lately. First she helps the other Blue Dog traitors slow down our much needed health care reform. And now she votes no on a program that is helping the economy? I didn't vote for her last November so she could vote against this country's bext interests like a Republican.

    I hope she remembers that she's a Democrat and the Democratic Party is the party that actually cares about helping people.
  • We need government health care like an English Channel swimmer needs an anchor tied around his neck.

    At least she realized on some level that this program violates the Constitution (or it wasn't politically expedient for her to violate the Constitution so brazenly with an election coming up next year).

    Either way, I hope she keeps both the Constitution and the election in mind when the vote on government health care comes up.
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