Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Cleaver says he hopes the Kansas City WWI Museum gets the national nod soon. Perhaps before the year is out.
At today Veterans Day ceremonies at the museum, Cleaver says he’s pushing congress to designate the Kansas City facility as THE national WW I monument for the nation.
Right now, the Liberty Memorial is the only museum in the nation that dedicated solely to the First World War.
Cleaver says he’s working on getting a House Resolution, 7243, passed in the lame duck congressional session that’s about to begin. That resolution would designate the WWI Museum in KC as the nation’s WWI monument. Sounds easy enough.
No so fast. There is a Texas Congressman, Ted Poe (R-Beaumont) who wants to get another WWI monument placed on the National Mall.
A Texas political newsletter and website called ‘Capitol Annex” has written about this lately. In fact they quote Cleaver on the matter:
“ If the World War I monument is established in Washington, it essentially takes the Liberty Memorial off the map,” said Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, who sponsored the bill in the House. “What are they going to take next? Gates Barbecue?”
After that post, one of Rep. Poe’s constits chimed in on the Capitaol Annex Web site:
“Just a slight correction. Poe represents Beaumont but is not from Beaumont. He is from Kingwoodor Humble or somewhere there in Harris County. It’s bad enough he represents Beaumont. It also, unfortunately, is not unusual for Poe to make a big deal out of something that doesn’t have much to do with his district. Hence, he has spent more time on Lou Dobbs or Fox railing about the border problems in El Pasothan he has dealing with troubles veterans have in his own district. He is one of those politicians whom the most dangerous place one might be is between him and a television camera. Granted, during my last visit to DC, the World War I memorial was in sad shape but by no means does it require a Ted Poe makeover. If anything, our congressional district needs a makeover which would include the absence of Ted Poe. Unfortunately, that won’t happen this election. Whew, I haven’t vented like that in awhile about my congressman.
So Gov, you’re not the only guy who doesn’t like Congress.
Why could this be a big deal? Because the 100th Anniversary of the start of WWI is in 2014. The Museum and the city are aiming toward being the center of that commemoration. At least here in the US. And the National Monument designation could be a step in making that happen, as well as getting federal funding for the impressive Kansas City museum.
Remember, it’s HR 7243. It may be bundled in with some other non-controversial items and stuffed into the 2008 Lame Duck
