How pathetic is Rep. Dave “I’m an economist!” Brat (Far-right R, VA-07)? Other than his constant extremism and buffoonery, how about the fact that he refuses to hold town hall meetings with his constituents, and that even when he does so, he basically outsources it to one of his colleagues…from Tennessee???
Below, check out the audio/video of Brat’s Veterans Town Hall this past Friday, his first in over a year, in which Brat spoke for approximately 4 minutes, while Rep. Phil Roe (Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and author of the VA Mission Act) spoke for approximately 45 minutes. Also note that during the Q&A, Rep. Roe answered every question in depth, while Brat merely chimed in with an occasional sentence for fewer than half of the audience’s questions.
There’s a good reason, of course, why Brat outsourced his veterans town hall to Rep. Roe: because, unlike Brat himself, Rep. Roe actually knows something about veterans issues. As for Brat, he’s introduced a grand total of three bills pertaining to the VA: 1) HR 3197 (“would prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs, in carrying out research within the Veterans Health Administration, from purchasing, breeding, transporting, housing, feeding, maintaining, disposing of, or experimenting on dogs as part of the conduct of any study that causes significant pain or distress”); 2) HR 2835 (“would amend the Small Business Act to waive the guarantee fee for loans of not more than $150,000 provided to veterans and spouses of veterans under the Export Working Capital, International Trade, and Export Express programs”); and 3) HR 2693 (” would designate the arboretum at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, as the Phyllis E. Galanti Arboretum”). Note that while these may be perfectly fine bills, they don’t exactly scream “knowledge of veterans issues.” So again, no wonder that Brat outsourced his veterans town hall – the first town hall he’s held in over a year! – to one of his colleagues. Pathetic.
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