Tagged: Government Waste

Posted: August 16, 2012 at 7:26 pm

Rehberg the Censor

In a debate with Jon Tester this summer, Congressman Rehberg said “There should be nothing more free than political free speech,” the Missoulian reported.

Today, Dennis Rehberg is using Congressional staff to delete Facebook comments that are critical of him. Selectively censoring constituent critics is a fantastic use of taxpayer money.

Here is a screenshot before the censors leapt into action:

And here’s the after screenshot:

The Congressman’s press staffer had just posted their comment policy a couple of posts down, prior to immediately violating it.

Posted: January 13, 2011 at 5:43 pm

TEA Party Betrayed on Spending Cuts

With the first vote of the session, the Tea Party membership has been betrayed by the Helena Republican establishment. Tea Party members expected the new Legislature to fix the budget by cutting “government waste,” and repealing Health Care reform. Instead, Republicans started the session by making their first vote one to increase their own benefit package and increase their own budgets by some 30% with House Bill 1 that pays for the Legislature–while making cuts in committees to programs that benefit the rest of Montana.

Democrats in the legislature say it is wrong for the controlling party to increase funding for legislative benefits while the GOP started cutting state programs for the disabled and elderly. All Democrats voted against the R’s Cadillac legislative health insurance and benefits package and legislative budget increase.

And Governor Schweitzer also pointed out that it’s wrong for conservative Republicans who promised to cut government to then take taxpayer funds up to $1,000 for new personal laptop computers they get to keep. The cuts to programs that serve the elderly and Montanans with disabilities were unnecessary because the funds that were budgeted for these services are available in Schweitzer’s without increasing taxes–even with the tax cuts Schweitzer is proposing.

Republicans are going to disappoint the Tea Party members again and again, no question. What will Tea Party members do then?

Posted: December 18, 2010 at 9:17 am

T.E.A. Party’s Number One Earmarker Campaigns Against Earmarks on Taxpayer’s Dime

Here we see what looks like a pretty typical piece of sleazy campaign literature: An oversized, glossy, mailer touting the evils of earmarks. But the first problem is that it is from Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg, Citizens Against Government Waste’s Number One Porking Earmarker in Congress.

Now take a closer look. It’s not a piece of campaign literature, it’s a piece of congressional franking–paid for with our taxpayer dollars. Not only is it a clear violation of the spirit of the franking rules, if not the law itself, but it is the embodiment of wasteful government spending to campaign against wasteful spending on the taxpayers’ dime.

Indeed, Rehberg’s ethical indiscretions have been raising eyebrows and filling mailboxes for years. There’s a pretty blurry line between what is or is not a legitimate use of franking privilege, but just the message alone here makes this one cross it by a mile.

View both sides of FrankingPrivilege here.