Why is Billy Long Joining a Missouri River Flooding Group in Congress?

When Billy Long got to Washington, he quickly threw the Tea Party under the bus. Not only did he skip the reading of the Constitution, he also said he had no time to join the Tea Party Caucus--the last hope to guide this Tea Party fraud Billy Long closer to Constitutional representation.



Remember, Long's excuse for not caucusing with the Tea Party is he didn't have the time. Strangely enough, Long has time to join a Missouri River flooding group.

The U.S. House of Representatives are following the Senate’s example in forming a Missouri River Working Group to address flooding issues in several states.

Missouri Congressmen Emanuel Cleaver, Jo Ann Emerson, Todd Akin, Lacy Clay, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Russ Carnahan, Vicky Hartzler, Sam Graves and Billy Long — all of Missouri’s congressional delegates — have signed on to join the group.

OK, so he's got time to address concerns of a river that doesn't flow through his district and hasn't flooded one acre of land in Southwest Missouri, a river that is over 100 miles away even at its closest. Considering, did we send Billy Long to represent Southwest Missouri or Missouri river towns and Congressional districts?

Furthermore, what expertise is Long going to contribute to the Missouri River flooding group. Wasn't he embarrassed enough when the Army Corps of Engineers put him in his place after he expressed his ignorance a couple months ago?

The Springfield News-Leader reports from a meeting with the US Corps of Engineers:

During the meeting with commissioners, Long said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan for when to release or hold back water is outdated and does not make sense.

"It's counterintuitive," he said. "We're not supposed to flood farmland in Arkansas, but we'll flood homes in Branson. At the same time, we're blowing up levees (on the Mississippi River) to flood farms in Missouri to save homes in Cairo, Ill."

Long was referring to the fact that lakes along the White River, such as Table Rock, help prevent flooding in downstream farming communities such as Newport and Georgetown, Ark.

However, a representative for the US Army Corps of Engineers said Congressman Long has no clue what he is talking about.

Laurie Driver, a spokesperson for the Corps' Little Rock District, said that the two situations are not comparable.

"There is a White River plan and there is a Mississippi River plan," she said. "It's comparing apples to oranges."

In addition, she pointed out that the destroyed Birds Point levee was placed there, following devastating 1927 floods, with the specific intent to destroy the levee if needed.

I guess it would make sense if the Missouri River flowed through the Seventh District, but it doesn't. Anyone get the feeling that Billy Long believes natural tragedies lead to good political pathos? Expect Billy Long inspecting flooding on the Missouri River pictures any day now.

Billy Long's district is the only district in Missouri that is not directly affected by Missouri River flooding. All the other districts either have the Missouri River flowing through them or border the Mississippi River, which the Missouri flows into.