Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson praised yesterday a new, $11 million project that will bring drinking water and sewage services to the Field of Dreams site at Dyersville.
She just forgot to mention one important thing about the project: Hinson voted against the funding.
The grant comes through the state’s Water Infrastructure Fund, established last year thanks to a major investment from President Joe Biden’s Rescue Plan, which was passed in March of 2021 without any Republican support. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced three projects last Friday, including water trails effort in Des Moines and a regional drinking water system in Sioux Center.
“This is an important initiative for families in Dyersville and the surrounding areas! Thank you, @IAGovernor, for investing in clean water solutions for Iowans,” Hinson tweeted on Tuesday.
This is an important initiative for families in Dyersville and surrounding areas! Thank you, @IAGovernor, for investing in clean water solutions for Iowans. https://t.co/fZicPBDcKx
— Ashley Hinson (@RepAshleyHinson) February 1, 2022
It is, of course, Reynolds’ prerogative to announce such project funding. The federal government tasked the states to spend this money, so even governors like Reynolds, who blasted the the Rescue Plan as a “blue state bailout,” can decide how to disburse the funds.
Iowa Republicans in recent years have sought to closely tie themselves to the Field of Dreams site and the nostalgia around it for political purposes.
But if Hinson had her way on the Rescue Plan vote, this source of Field of Dreams project funding wouldn’t be available right now.
It’s becoming a trend for the first-term congresswoman who once had to apologize in her campaign for plagiarizing news outlets and her opponents’ policy positions. Two weeks ago, Hinson drew national scorn for taking credit for a major locks and dams project on the Mississippi River—she voted against the infrastructure bill that funded it, even deriding it as “the biggest leap toward socialism this nation has ever seen” at the time. She later explained that she’d fight for local funding even if she voted against it.
At some point Hinson may need to answer the question, if you love what Biden’s legislation is doing for Iowa, why didn’t you just vote for it? Hypocritically taking credit and praising the impact of bills she voted against so she can have it both ways—grandstand against the other party while politically benefiting from their work—isn’t a look many Iowa voters like to see in their politicians.
by Pat Rynard
2/2/22