Congressman Billy Long Contradicts Himself on Supporting the Military

Billy Long: Is he for the troops
or against them?

It appears Congressman Billy Long may not be paying attention the bills he is voting on. Long's primary reason he voted against the budget bill in the House this week was directed towards the military. The Springfield News-Leader reported the reason Long voted against keeping the government operating was because the troops weren't going to get paid.

"I voted against the one-week stop gap continuing resolution Friday night because it didn't fund the troops for the rest of the year and didn't cut enough spending. We need to quit using our fighting men and women as political pawns."

One of Long's spokespeople contradicted Long, showing the lack of leadership and organization within Long's congressional offices in the same News Leader article.

Bret Funk, spokesperson for Long, said the proposed resolution that will be voted on before Thursday is supposed to fund troops for the full year; Long favored a bill the House voted on earlier in the week that guaranteed funding for troops so they wouldn't be left as pawns in the budget negotiations.

Now it appears that perhaps Long, who never laced up a pair of combat boots, may have used the military as a crutch to defend his position. I wonder how sincere Long himself is about his commitment to the troops.

Long voted against the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 on Thursday. So what is it Billy? You either want to ensure the military gets funded or you don't. Long now looks guilty of using our military as pawns.