Paul Broun’s budget boondoggle is the talk of the town today.
Personally, I think it’s all a bit overblown. Politically and symbolically, it’s a big issue, especially for a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative. But in the midst of a trillion-dollar war, is a $5,000 big-screen television really going to bankrupt the federal treasury?
What bothers me as a taxpayer is how difficult it is to get records of such spending.
Unlike campaign finance disclosures, the government does not put Statements of Disbursements of the House, as the obscure documents are known, on the Internets. And the two- to four-volume quarterly document is so big and tedious that no outside group bothers to scan and post it. Disbursements are published several weeks after the end of a quarter, and to read them, one has to physically go to Washington, D.C. and read the actual book. Copies are sent to a few large libraries, like the University of Georgia’s, but lag months behind. Oh, and open records laws don’t apply to Congress, so I can’t FOIA receipts.
In other words, there is no way I can tell you for sure how Broun is spending his budget, and I will have to fly to Washington to look it up when it is finally published in about three weeks.
I pressed Team Broun on it, but they refuse to put this issue to bed by simply telling me how much they’ve spent, on what and how much they have left. When I asked the same questions in April, Broun’s chief of staff chewed me out on the phone for even asking.
I don’t know why they’re so touchy - are they buying booze? strippers? - but we’ll find out next month.
A Schaefer slip-up
The Athens link to the 50th Senate District race is tenuous – incumbent Nancy Schaefer briefly made the 10th Congressional District GOP primary a three-way affair – but it’s such a good race that we’re going to talk about it here anyway.
Habersham Commission Chairman Jim Butterworth is in a runoff with Schaefer. Butterworth left his post to run for Schaefer’s seat after Schaefer ditched it to run for Congress. Schaefer dropped out, blaming her husband’s health, then tried to take back her old seat. Butterworth said forget it.
The latest is that Gov. Sonny Perdue slammed Schaefer for implying in a mailer that he had endorsed her.
“If I were up there, I could be a little offended if the governor was trying to tell me how to elect my legislative representative,” Perdue said, according to Insider Advantage.
Team Butterworth immediately jumped on it.
"Northeast Georgia needs jobs, lower taxes, and real leadership,” campaign manager Dan Gasaway said. “Unfortunately, all we have received from Schaefer is a long line disappointing political stunts designed to distract us from her failures. This last minute mailer full of supposed endorsements is yet another example of why it's time for a change."
Bottom line: Schaefer is toast. Butterworth led 42-38 in the primary, and incumbents who don’t have big leads going into runoffs don’t often end up winning.
Learning the language
Alex DeGolia, Barack Obama’s Northeast Georgia regional field director, is a young man who hails from Palo Alto, Calif., but he’s quickly adapting to our Southern ways. Most impressively, at a recent Clarke County Democratic Committee meeting, DeGolia correctly pronounced Taliaferro County three times.
- Blake Aued's blog
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Blake, The legislative resources center will send you your own personal copy of the Statement of Disbursements for FREE! Just call them at (202) 226-5200.
Thanks, but that's not the
Thanks, but that's not the point. I should not have to wait weeks or months for the government to publish a book and mail it to me to find how my tax dollars are being spent.
Really?
Why not?
Why don't you get an accounting of some of the Halliburton in Iraq? Those are 4 and 5 years old.
Schaefer is Toast
Blake you will be 15-2 on the night of August 5.
Broun's budget is a way overblown issue
This Broun office budget thing really is a non-issue. He's spent half his budget, and we're more than halfway through the calendar year. If this was April, then it would be a problem.
"Is very bad, to steal Jobu's rum. Is VERY bad."
Overblown by those who are afraid of Broun losing to Saxon
Plain and simple, Broun's continued reticence on this matter speaks volumes of this doctor's distinct hypocrisy and contempt for the voters of the 10th district.
PS I hope Nancy the bad witch of the North returns home to Toccoa but run-offs are the only thing less predictable than primaries and often go counter to prevailing punditry. I can only hope the voters from the hills of Habersham turn out in droves, but often it is those that can assemble the zealots that turn out in run offs, and Schaefer's supporters would vote during a nuclear holocaust
~ Dan Matthews
Ole Jacob, Eli, E. Tenanbaum
Ole Jacob, Eli, E. Tenanbaum is still at it over the AJC. Did Bobby Saxon kill his family or something?
Maybe he just really hates
Maybe he just really hates the actual Saxons??
Not me.
Thats my buddy Eli down in Dunwoody.
He is much more fortunate than us 10th district folk. He has a democratic candidate in his district that is really working to get elected. He has put more money in the bank in less than his first 3 months than all of the other democratic candidates combined...for their entire campaigns. (for those keeping count...Saxon's campaign is a year old and Jones raised more than 3 times as much money in his first 3 months.)
Just making the clarification.
I am not here to slam any candidates or promote them. My guy lost on the 15th and Dr. Broun got re-elected. I can only hope that he stops this silly no-ear mark tirade he has taken on.
Knew you couldn't stay away
Knew you couldn't stay away :)
Fortunate one?
It ain't me.
I'm not breathing Dunwoody fumes.
or waiting in traffic for hours to go anywhere.
Dan Matthews
Sex, drugs, and rock and roll
I have to agree with Blake.
I don't really see what the stew is all about. As I understand it, a congressman is given a certain amount of money for operating his office, and he can pretty much spend it as he likes within very broad guidelines.
Unless he is evicted from the Capital, or wherever it is Congressman have their offices, it just seem like that big a deal.
As far as Blake's dudgeon over not getting an up to date report, I wonder how up to date a report it would be possible to produce. I have no idea how the money is actually transferred, but with 435 Congressmen spending money on innumerable items all over the country, the bookkeeping and reconciliation must be a nightmare.
That was their argument
Maybe it's true. I have no way of knowing. But that doesn't stop me from whining about it.
Jeff, you bury your career one post at a time
You reveal your true self more with each boring post. Jeff - now working for Jones - if I met you in Macon I would be very glad show you the way out of the Democratic Party. I can make it my mission in life to be sure you do not infect any other Democratic Georgia campaigns if that is how you want to play. You made an offer to stop insulting us with your fired fund raiser failings and wailings, but you can never leave well enough alone, can you? As it is I will be glad to let Dr. Dean know about your slash and burn tactics in several campaigns I have found out about. That is not even getting Jane Kidd involved either (yet).
Look, I have been fired and failed with some of the greatest intentioned candidates and campaigns, and you can do one of two things: remain angry or grow from the experience. I would again strongly suggest you use your considerable talents to better results than posting flaming assaults on people who were paying you too much to do too little.
Mr. Matthews,
I do not know what it will take to get you to believe that I am really Jacob. Call me JD if you like.
Leave Jeff out of this.
Also,...I am curious about this one thing. When was he fired?
He quit in February because Saxon would not listen to him. Birchby left earlier this month because Saxon can not afford to pay him...because he refused to listen to his finance director.
Even Birchby has attested to Jeff's character. I only posted after reading somebody say that Eli was me. I would be careful about making assumptions, Mr. Matthews.
Perhaps I should call Mr. Saxon. If he is blaming his former finance director for his own shortcomings he needs briefed about a few things. Glas and Birchby are going to be around for a while...Saxon will be gone after November. There is no point in working to "bury" the Saxon campaign. there are other campaigns to work for and much more money to be earned over a life time than to spoil it over some ignorant redneck from Jackson county.
Jeff, cease and desist and I will do the same
I do not have the answers to your questions. Sure I am as guilty as you about making assumptions. As long as we are navigating the muddied gray area that is cyberspace, we flop around and cast dispersions on each others' character. I do not wish to engage or further amp up the name calling contest, but as long as you continue to defame Major Saxon, I will call you out every time. Stop with the name calling and it will stop on this end. You can write and post and do whatever you want, but until we see proof of your personage, you are Jeff to me. Fired or quit, it's now that he has split. Let's bury the hatchet and move on to more germane and important topics. We have established your pseudonym is just that, and fine, you can hide in cyberspace behind your chosen disguise. Dude, I have much bigger fish to fry than you. So how do you have such a wealth of information about Saxon, or Jones, or Birchby? I understand how you have such information about yourself. Basically as long as we are in the public sector, it is no-holds-barred. I wish to remain above board and proper, but as long as you continue to denigrate our nominee for the 10th district Congressional race, I will respond in kind. You have a real simple choice, back away from the keyboard, choose another board to post on, go to a political junkie's recovery group, watch CSPAN, go to the state meeting today, you have some fine analytical skills but do you really thing we are going to not react to your over-the-top ranting and ravings about Bobby Saxon? Especially this week when Dr. Paul Broun burned out his congressional budget.
Dan Matthews
Fair enough.
I said earlier that I would stop posting because Bobby's former finance director does not want his name in any form of media.
The "wealth" of information is purely from the FEC and the couple of times that I have had conversations with Saxon's former FD. The stuff on Birchby...all I know is that Jeff stands by his side and that George has posted on Blake's blog a couple of times, and he emailed me a few months ago. Campaigns are private sector, not public. Fired or quit is a big deal. If he quit and Saxon is saying that he was fired, Michael Thurmond will not be taking Saxon's side when labor complaints are brought up before the election. It will not be by me, it is not my deal. That is between Glas and Saxon.
There is tons of info on all of the candidates available on the FEC website. Things were a lot more difficult in the 90's when the internets were not as sophisticated, but transparency has definitely been improved.
Everything from the contributors to a campaign and their contribution history to disbursements of funds tell a business manager all they need to know about a campaign. Where is the money coming from? Campaign Finance Law has really tied the hands of campaigns in the past 30 years, god I am aging myself. In the late 60s and early 70s, you could get away with anything. Then limits got into play, and the industry professionalized. Now you have to raise from your friends and family. When you go through a campaign's disclosure and none of the contributors have a contribution history...chances are that they are friends and family. There are only a few things money should be spent on, and those names are readily available. When contributors have a history, that typically means that the campaign being observed has a little traction. I have gone through all of GA's campaigns...and mentioned the one campaign with traction. It is no wealth of info...it is FEC Form 3. The first piece of info vetted by the unions, pacs, and parties. It will state whether a poll has been conducted and how big of a poll, it will state the solvency of the campaign.
Personally, I am spending most of my time trying to help Jim Marshall. He is being threatened by Goddard and is having some problems with a few unions. With the primaries over, we need to all pick one race to get behind. The mistake was made in '06 when the "players" spread their money and everybody lost. That is why a target list is so important. We might, and it is a long shot, pick up one seat in GA...but without helping Marshall, we may very well lose that seat. A net gain of 0. That is probably the case no matter what we choose, but keeping a sitting congressman is more valuable than losing him and gaining a freshman.
Other topics? Dr. Broun? It is his right to spend his congressional budget the way he chooses. Every congressman gets a budget, some are bigger than others, and they can spend it on mail, radio, staff, etc. Politically, Broun did a something very smart, albeit unethical. There are no rules that prohibit this kind of conduct though...perhaps there should be. Things could be worse though. Broun could be a party leader or a ranking member of a committee...then he would have twice the budget and we would have twice as much mail. You are right though. I do need to stop this ranting and raving. I am sure it is boring all of you and it is making my blood pressure rise. I just hate when candidates try to use me. Saxon could have just given me the AFL-CIO line on immigration reform and I would have been happy, but he kept trying to step around giving me an answer. He obviously gave the right answer at the candidate screening...but it is hard to let go. We all probably have one issue that we get upset over...especially when politics are being played with it.
Jeff, Jacob, JD, Eli, I
Jeff, Jacob, JD, Eli,
I think calling Bobby would be a perfect plan! Good suggestion! Better yet, I think you should personally go to him and tell him what you think, since you have so much animosity towards him. You seem so confident in believing that we, the people in the 10th District, including Bobby, are all ignorant rednecks, I am sure he can round of a few of his "redneck, ignorant" supporters that would only begin to make your blood pressure rise. We just completely love idiotic and coward people like you who hide behind a computer and down people. You make me sick!! The worst part about it is that Saxon and other military men in this district go risk their lives for insignificant people like you...you aren't worth it!! Go back to you where you came from before we get a few other bloggers to do a little more damage to your reputation. Oh wait, you have already taken care of that yourself. You can't fool us on the AJC or any other place you decide to blog, so I suggest you just all together go away!! Dan gave it to you easy, but we rednecks don't have to play by the "political rules". Whether or not Bobby Saxon wins this election or not, he will always continue to be an honorable man you will never be. Just remember when you think this will be the last of Saxon...you were the one that thought Fleming was going to be a hero to the 10th district. Wrong again, LOSER!
Aloysius has Resigned
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/brouns-chief-of-staff-quits-amid-bud...
Well, apparently Broun's chief of staff can't stand the heat. He turned in a resignation earlier this week.
On the bright side, Aloysius's resignation trims Broun's quarterly budget by $37,500. Now if he can find another $275,000 worth of cuts he'll be set for the rest of the year.
It is the anti-terrorism act-- are they really watching?
What happened to the ABH story?
The link is broken.