MN vote on AIG bonus bill splits along party lines

Posted at 3:01 PM on March 19, 2009 by Mike Mulcahy (1 Comments)

The U.S. House vote on the bill to collect big taxes on bonuses paid by AIG and other firms bailed out by taxpayers was 328-93. Minnesota's delegation voted 5 in favor and 3 against. All the state's Democrats were for the bill and all the Republicans voted no.

Overall, 243 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted for the bill. Six Democrats and 87 Republicans voted against it.

The Minnesota vote:

Democrats - Ellison, Y; McCollum, Y; Oberstar, Y; Peterson, Y; Walz, Y.

Republicans - Bachmann, N; Kline, N; Paulsen, N.

Comments (1)

I am an unembarrassed Klein and Bachmann fan, but I have to comment here: While the vote on the taxing the AIG executive bonuses was split, the attitude toward government authority to get the money back was not.

Klein and Bachmann both supported Paulsen's bill that would have blackmailed AIG into retracting the bonuses by denying them more bailout money until the bonus money was returned.

The Paulsen position is every bit as damning to the spirit of the Constitution, individual and economic liberty, as passing the tax bill. If the end result is government depriving specific individuals of specific sums of money due them by contract, does it make any difference how it is done?

Klein, Bachmann and Paulsen voted correctly when they cast "no" votes on taxing the AIG bonuses, but they have no moral high ground and deserve no kudos as long as they agree that government power can be used to correct a situation they personally might find objectionable.

In a free society, we are obligated at times to defend the right of others to do some things that are stupid, self-destructive, greedy and even morally reprehensible.

Posted by Craig Westover | March 20, 2009 10:39 AM

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