(C) Minnesota Reformer
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Stauber boasts about Blatnik Bridge; internet reminds him he voted against it [1]
['J. Patrick Coolican', 'More From Author', '- January']
Date: 2024-01
U.S Rep. Pete Stauber, Republican of Minnesota’s 8th District, sought to take credit for the recent announcement by the Biden administration that the federal government will send $1 billion to help rebuild the Blatnik Bridge between Duluth and Superior, Wisconsin.
I’m proud to announce that Duluth, MN and Superior, WI have received over 1 billion in federal funding to help replace the Blatnik Bridge. This is a HUGE win for #MN08 and I was proud to advocate for these funds! Learn more HERE:
https://t.co/S6AZJ9zNw3 — Pete Stauber (@RepPeteStauber) January 22, 2024
As thousands of commenters and a “community note” attached to Stauber’s post pointed out, Stauber voted against the bill that made the funding possible.
Gov. Tim Walz weighed in: “I hate to talk politics when there’s good news to celebrate but this is too brazen to ignore. Mr. Stauber voted against every screw, steel beam, and concrete pier in this bridge.”
By Monday evening, 2.3 million people had viewed Stauber’s original post.
As Star Tribune editorial writer Jill Burcum pointed out, Stauber used tough words to explain his vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act when he voted against it in 2021.
“I will not be complicit in paving a destructive and irreversible path towards socialism. This massive spending package is not about real infrastructure, and instead will make businesses less competitive, outsource jobs, saddle American families and future generations with more debt and higher taxes, send inflation soaring to greater heights, and completely devastate our economy.”
Missing from the catalogue of horrors: The bill would also help rebuild the Blatnik Bridge.
Both Minnesota and Wisconsin have pledged $400 million each to finish the job, which will include roundabout interchanges and a multiuse path along the side, the Star Tribune reported.
President Joe Biden will join Walz at the bridge Thursday to highlight its importance. It serves more than 33,000 cars per day and carries nearly 265,000 trucks, moving $2.66 billion in domestic goods and $1.07 billion in international goods from 42 states and nine Canadian provinces, according to a statement from the Walz administration.
Former DFL state Rep. Jennifer Schultz of Duluth is launching her campaign for Congress Tuesday, in a rematch against Stauber, a former police officer. The once reliably Democratic 8th District has swung far to the right since the 2016 election, supporting former President Trump by more than 15 points that year and roughly the same in 2020.
By Monday night, Stauber had returned to X to post about another one of priorities: Killing wolves.
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[1] Url:
https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/ow-the-burn-stauber-boasts-blatnik-bridge-internet-reminds-him-he-voted-against-it/
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