Rep. Chip Cravaack won the midterm election for Minnesota in 2010, thanks in part to his extreme Teaparty platform. The newly elected congressman even voted for the Paul Ryan Teaparty backed budget, that will end medicare and replace it with a voucher program which seniors would be expected to use to satisfy their health needs.
But a little overlooked fact about Chip Cravaack is that he worked as a pilot for the Northwest Airlines as recently as 2007 and being a pilot means that you are a member of a Union, thus receiving the benefits of union negotiated salaries, vacations and ultimately, disability payments.
Recent financial records released by Cravaack showed that he received $92,273 in 2010 from disability payments he received from Northwest. At this very same time Cravaack was receiving his checks, he was campaigning in Minnesota promising to end “big government,” and often using the usual Republican talking points of bashing unions.
Oh, and by the way, Chip Cravaack is also a veteran, which means that in addition to his government provided health care in Congress, he also gets benefits from the VA, allowing him to go to any government-owned Veteran’s Administration facility in the nation and receive what he and the Tea party calls, “socialized medicine.
A “tea party” congressman who has gotten where he is in life with the help of unions and the government. My hand is not up either!
Honestly…this kind of stuff still amazes me. I don’t have enough hands to put up that would adequately show how surprised I am by human behavior like this.
Hypocrite.
To clarify, he would only receive such care from the VA that he qualifies for, not simply any care that he needs. He has to demonstrate that whatever disabilities he seeks care for were service related.
Rich, i was not aware of that. I thought any service member could go to any VA and get treated for anything. Which of course i advocate for. I personally think Chip Cravaack should be able to get healed when he is sick!
Chip has made it very clear he was and is still a union member. He still holds his union card and even attended the union picnic in Duluth last year. He does not bash unions. Anyone saying he does has not listened to him talk but rather figures he does simply because he has a R by his name.
Rich is correct you do have to have war related causes to go to the VA.
Chip is not a member of the Tea Party to my knowledge. He may have been endorsed by Tea Parties, but that is like saying anyone endorsed by the union is a union member.
so tim what was his platform then?