In an editorial this past weekend, the Bangor Daily News slammed Congressman Bruce Poliquin for failing to stand up for good-paying Maine jobs while grandstanding on the issue of re-authorizing the Ex-Im Bank.
“It’s not every day a congressman has the chance to advocate for a simple policy measure directly connected to something important to any congressman: the preservation of jobs in his district. But U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin had that chance, and he blew it.” (emphasis added)
For months, Poliquin and his House Republican allies refused to re-authorize the Ex-Im Bank’s charter, a lapse that put 80 good paying jobs at the GE plant in Bangor at risk of being sent overseas.
Instead, Poliquin hurled baseless attacks and made excuses for blocking the bank’s reauthorization. The editorial took direct aim at discrediting Poliquin’s claims and revealed his opposition as part of a larger conservative agenda led by his House Republican party bosses.
And while Poliquin finally reversed course at the very last minute after mounting pressure and bad headlines, the editorial ridicules Poliquin for his role in undermining the ability for U.S. companies to do business overseas.
“… He [Poliquin] was a willing participant in Republican efforts to undermine the Ex-Im Bank’s credibility and make its normally apolitical reauthorization a political spectacle. Such efforts have put the bank’s future — and by extension, its ability to help U.S. exporters of all sizes — in doubt.”
What about those good paying jobs in Maine? Despite the House passing re-authorization of the bank last week, GE announced that the plans to relocate the Bangor-based jobs elsewhere would not change.
Read the full editorial: https://bangordailynews.com/2015/11/01/opinion/editorials/poliquin-ultimately-voted-the-right-way-after-risking-ex-im-banks-future/