Times-Union Raps Tedisco For Not Taking A Stand On The Stimulus

Earlier this week Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco went on for what seemed like hours (really five minutes) about how terrible the process was in how Congress passed the stimulus bill. He said he couldn't take a stand on it because it was a lot to read in a short amount of time, comparing it to another long book that was taking him more than a week to read. Perhaps he resembles George Bush a little, who also doesn't like to read things that are too long either. Well the Bush era is over and Americans are expecting a little bit more from their leaders these days. Being able to read and take a position on a bill (especially the most important piece of legislation our country has seen in a while) is essential when you are a Member of Congress and the Albany Times-Union is calling Jimmy out on his inability to say yea or nay:

That Mr. Tedisco would suggest that his position on what just might be the most contentious issue in Washington is a "hypothetical question" raises serious questions about his qualifications to serve in Congress. Economic policy couldn't be more critical in a congressional race.

Mr. Tedisco needs to understand that he's no longer in Albany, where he's the leader of the Republican minority in the state Assembly. Congress, he needs to learn, is a place where legislative debate tends to actually matter.

Scott Murphy, Mr. Tedisco's Democratic opponent, says he would have voted for the stimulus. So, which way, Mr. Tedisco? Up or down?

Is spending all this money — in a bold, some might say desperate, effort to keep the economy from plunging into a depression — a sensible way to create jobs and prevent more mortgage foreclosures?

If the issue here is Mr. Tedisco's unfamiliarity with what's a lengthy and complicated piece of legislation, he might start by reading it.

I couldn't have said it better myself. If Mr. Tedisco wants the honor and privilege to represent the 20th Congressional District of New York, he had better get a clue as to what is going on in the world outside of the State Capitol building.

Now, chances are he does have an opinion on it, but he is just too cowardly to come out and say it. Simply put, New Yorkers are heavily in favor of the stimulus bill and that probably puts him at odds with the most of the state. He's willfully stuck in the mud and muck created by the Republican Party's attempt to drown and starve the government and wishes to stay there.

Meanwhile, his opponent Scott Murphy is firmly behind President Obama and would have voted for the stimulus had he been in office at the time. Kristin Gillibrand did her very best to stand up for NY-20 and the candidate to fill her shoes is Mr. Murphy.