Campaigning against Jersey City Mayor Healy. So much for law enforcement being on the said of the MAIG mayors eh? Look who paid for the ad.
Category: Politicians Suck
Who Knew?
There are apparently 75 votes in the House of Representatives for organizations that promote child prostitution. Â But I can’t get a repeal of the Hughes Amendment on the table because it’s too radical? Â Something is very very wrong in Washington. Â Apparently there are at least three Democrats in Pennsylvania’s delegation who think taxpayer money funding child prostitution rings is just peachy. Â They are Bob Brady, Mike Doyle, and Chakka Fattah. Â I am very glad no Republicans went along with this crap. Â I guess it’s easier to hold the anti-paedophilia coalition together with Mark Foley out of Congress.
This Is The Kind of Stuff I Mean
I have to sympathize with Representative Jean Schmidt (R-OH), faced with an upset constituent, who is pretty clearly taken in by the birther nonsense, presumably tries to get rid of her by whispering “I agree with you, but the courts don’t.” Â It’s one of the faults of politicians that they want everyone to like them. Â But that’s not an excuse for endorsing this kind of garbage.
I don’t like the guy any more than the birthers do. Â I took several days off from work, gave up weekends for two months to work gun shows, hit more than a few neighborhood in this county knocking on doors, went to area clubs, and made God knows how many phone calls to try to keep this guy from getting elected. Â And all this for John McCain, who a year prior I swore I would never vote for, let alone work to get elected. Â But we lost. Â Barack Obama is the legitimate President of the United States. Â Let’s concentrate on undoing that. Then we don’t have to worry about what’s on his birth certificate.
No Great Leap Forwards for Me, Thank You
Looks like the White House’s green jobs advisor has quite a past:
A declared “communist” during the 1990s, Jones once associated with a group that looked to Mao Zedong as an inspiration.
And here I am worried that right-wing fringe groups might turn away independents and moderate Democrats.
Manufacturing Confusion
Thirdpower points to some campaign flyers for candidates in Illinois that are basically trying to scare voters into thinking machine guns are legal in Illinois (they aren’t) and that clearly we need to ban them.
At best, Representative Kathy Ryg is completely ignorant about what she proposes to regulate, and at worst is lying and deliberately misleading her constituents.
A John Kerry Moment?
Everyone remembers these imagine from the 2004 election that some say ruined Kerry’s shot at the presidency. Looks like Obama is looking for his John Kerry moment now. And really, we were harder on Kerry than we should be have been, because Kerry actually was a hunter and a gun owner, he was just a gun owner and bird hunter who supports gun control. I doubt Obama has spent much time fishing, and I’d be surprised if he knew what to do with a fish if he caught it. This should prove to be awkward.
Arlen Specter Makes His Own Pat Toomey Ad
As constituents, we should be thankful that Arlen Specter has consented to gracing us with his presence:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TuG4du23dw[/youtube]
He forgets who it is he works for.
It’s a Shame They Can’t Make a Jet …
… that runs on hypocrisy. If they did, I think Congress really could solve our energy problems.
Jersey City Checkbook
The Latest on National Reciprocity
I called both Senators Casey & Specter. (If you follow my Twitter feed, you’ll have read my frustration & praise.) Shortly thereafter, our phone rang and it was a phone bank system. NRA ordered up a phone bank here in Pennsylvania calling for action for both Casey & Specter on the Thune/Vitter amendment.
If you haven’t called yet, call tonight and tomorrow morning!
Just because I know you guys will be interested, I’ll tell you about my fun exchange with Sen. Specter’s office. This isn’t word-for-word, but the information is all accurate.
Intern: Sen. Specter’s Office, please hold.
Bitter: *holding* *holding* *holding* *holding* Phone dies after 10 minutes on hold. *redialing from landline* busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy
Intern: Sen. Specter’s Office, please hold.
Bitter: Actually, you left me on hold so long before that my phone died. I’d rather not, thank you.
Intern: Uh…One second please.
Chipper Staffer: Sen. Specter’s Office, how can I help you?
Bitter: Can you tell me how the Senator plans to vote on the Thune Amendment for national reciprocity of concealed carry licenses?
Chipper Staffer: I’m sorry, the Senator hasn’t issued a statement on that topic yet.
Bitter: The vote is tomorrow.
Chipper Staffer: I can take a note for how you’d like him to vote.
Bitter: We’re two active NRA members, and we have been in touch with many sportsmen’s clubs around Bucks County about political issues. We want him to vote yes. If he does, regardless of political challenges he may be facing next year, it would make it more likely we can stand behind him.
Chipper Staffer: Okay, thanks!
Bitter: Um, I’d like a written response, please.
Not-Quite-as-Chipper Staffer: I’m sorry, we don’t offer written responses to phone calls. We just have no way to track them.
Bitter: I’m a constituent who happens to have done the Congressional internship thing a few years ago. I know you have software to do it. I know how it works.
Really-Not-as-Chipper Staffer: It’s office policy that we don’t respond to phone calls. You can mail us a letter if you want one.
Bitter: I’m a constituent, and the rest of my household would appreciate the courtesy of a response.
Definitely-No-Longer-Chipper Staffer: Look, it’s just office policy. We don’t respond to constituents who call. You’ll have to write in order to receive a written response.
Bitter: Thanks, I’ll make sure and let the other constituents know that. I appreciate the information.
Uh-Oh Staffer: Wait, I’m sorry, it really is just office policy. We just get so many phone calls. It’s very busy and we just don’t have time.
Really-Sneaky-Sounding Bitter: Well, thank you for the information about responses, I’ll make sure to share the information.
Unsure Staffer: Have a good day!?!?
I cannot believe that he set an office policy not to respond to constituents who call! The software I used when I did the internship was so easy to use. It didn’t take more than a couple of minutes to get the topic, ask if they had a bill number, get the up or down vote information, and take notes on the caller. At the end of the day, the information input from phone calls and letters was printed out, sorted, and handled as appropriate. If it was a simple “vote yes” kind of request, the staff had typically already done form letters on the relevant topics of the day for both sides. If they had, the letter was sent. If not, they would then create one. It’s really not that hard. Not to mention, it weeded out the constituent calls from the non-constituents.
On the contrary, when I called Sen. Bob Casey’s office, it was tough to get in touch. I tried DC, but the voicemail was full and there were busy signals. I tried his Philly office, but their phone line seemed to be acting up. I tried the Harrisburg office, and the staffer was friendly and helpful. She checked to make sure he hadn’t said anything on the topic during the afternoon, she said they didn’t have an easy process for responding by letter to phone calls, but she was more than happy to take my name and address to have someone get back to me. I told her that I appreciated it, and that it was a stark contrast to the other PA senator’s office. I also thanked her and also let her know that a member of our household was active in a large gun club, and hoped we looked forward to reporting good things about Senator Casey in the future. She also said she would look into the problems with the Philadelphia office phones. At the very least, that’s constituent service, even if I disagree with his vote.