As a person who graduated from Bemidji State University with a degree in political science I understand how a person can come to the conclusion that pushing a bill through Congress can be seen as being effective. However, I also know pushing a bill through Congress doesn't mean you are doing the people of your state or district any good. That is exactly the case of Congressman Nolan.
A great deal of attention has been directed toward Nolan's surge of support for mining and trade enforcement. He proposed two bills recently: Trade Enforcement Improvement Act of 2015 and Support Our Steelworkers Act of 2015. Neither of these bills has a cosponsor, according to govtracks.us, something Nolan bragged about in the recent Washington Post piece.
How is it this effective legislator can't get support behind two bills he claims are desperately needed for this area? Especially in a state which has almost all Democrats representing it. One would think the mining industry would be far better represented when the unions pay so much to elect Democrats but most know they are the beholden to so many groups with differing viewpoints. On one side there is the iron ore miners trying to keep their jobs and on the other side is the environmentalist killing every mining opportunity. So how can Nolan be so effective when he is getting pulled in different directions by his many masters?
It's time for people in Minnesota to wake up and stop thinking the Democrats care about everyone and everything. How can they say they care about iron ore miners, the timber industry and other natural resource jobs all the while they are taking money from the environmental groups?
Kenneth Toole
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Baxter
