Democrat Bill Enyart Proud To Vote Against Military Chaplains

Over the weekend, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article where Congressman Bill Enyart discussed his proudest moment since being elected in 2012. What was it? Being the only NO vote on a measure that would have allowed military chaplains to do their jobs during the government shutdown last year.

Yes, you read that right. The freshman Congressman is defying all logic and highlighting one of the worst and most embarrassing votes he has taken in the last year and a half. While every other member voting that day supported the measure, Enyart was the only politician to vote NO.

So folks as wide ranging from Jan Schakowsky to Michele Bachmann all realized this was a good piece of legislation, but Bill Enyart was the only one to vote NO showing what a partisan politician he has become in Washington.

From the Post-Dispatch:

His proudest moment? When he was the single “no” vote on a measure that would allow chaplains to go on military bases during the government shutdown last fall, but without pay.

Enyart thought it a symbolic vote to avoid images of chaplains being turned away from military bases or being arrested trying to enter them during the shutdown. Democratic leaders pleaded with him to change his vote. He felt the chaplains should have been paid, their offices opened and heated, even if the federal government was shut down. “If you are going to pass a piece of legislation, then let’s pass a piece of legislation that means something,” he said.

“My phones blew up,” Enyart said, with callers telling him, “you are voting against chaplains, you are against God.”

“I know better than anybody else in this Congress what chaplains do,” he thought at the time, having commanded 37 in the Illinois Guard. “And by God, you people are not helping them. That vote, more than anything else, expressed my frustration.”

While I am sure everyone is glad Enyart was able to express his frustration, voting against military chaplains is just wrong.

NRCC Statement:“Congressman Bill Enyart’s vote against military chaplains during the government shutdown shows just how flawed his judgment has become since being sent to Congress. The last thing we need in Washington is another partisan politician and Enyart is proving to be the ultimate partisan more concerned with himself than the families of Southern Illinois.”– Katie Prill, NRCC Spokeswoman