Dallasnews.com – Longtime Dallas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships to four relatives and a top aide's two children since 2005, using foundation funds set aside for black lawmakers' causes.

The recipients were ineligible under anti-nepotism rules of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which provided the money. And all of the awards violated a foundation requirement that scholarship winners live or study in a caucus member's district.

Johnson, a Democrat, denied any favoritism when asked about the scholarships last week. Two days later, she acknowledged in a statement released by her office that she had violated the rules but said she had done so "unknowingly" and would work with the foundation to "rectify the financial situation."

Initially, she said, "I recognized the names when I saw them. And I knew that they had a need just like any other kid that would apply for one." Had there been more "very worthy applicants in my district," she added, "then I probably wouldn't have given it" to the relatives.

Given the fact that the money Rep. Johnson misappropriated was not taxpayer money it is unlikely this will come before the House Ethics Committee. It's also unlikely that the CBC will pursue criminal charges. So Johnson will simply return the money and things will be swept under the carpet.

We can only hope that the 30th district of Texas will find this behavior as deplorable as we do.

Original Source

Senator and House incumbents alike are beginning to understand just how deep and wide the American people's outrage runs.

Yahoo.com – Murkowski is the third senator to lose this year amid deep dissatisfaction with the Washington establishment. Bennett and Arlen Specter, D-Pa., were the others.

Good job Alaska. Now choose a Senator that will represent you.

Original Source

Rasmussen.com – Incumbent members of Congress don’t exactly get a vote of confidence from their constituents in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Just 27% of likely U.S. Voters think their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job, down six points from November of last year. Only 37% think their local congressional representative deserves reelection, compared to 42% who felt that way last fall.

In another poll, 37% of people are unsure where they are, what day it is, or what happened to their pants. Okay, not really. However, other than a serious drinking binge or an inappropriate sample size from Oklahoma, what else could account for such a high number of people who think their representatives are doing a fine job.

Don't get us wrong, we're happy the number is dropping. It means more people are waking up to the shenanigans of the political class. However, overall satisfaction with Congress is hovering in the teens. That means that 20%+ of the voting population is blaming the other representatives.

Based on extensive, in-depth research and analysis as well as double-blind taste tests, 1 and Done has come up with its categorization of this 20% and what causes them to think their representatives are worthy of keeping their jobs. Our findings are below with an error rate of +/- 30%. It shows the percentage of people who are satisfied with their representatives, but dissatisfied with the rest of Congress and their reason for this confusing position.

Survey Results:

Original Source

 

AP – Incumbents beware. Another lawmaker just bit the dust.

Democratic Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan lost her bid for an eighth term on Tuesday, the legal woes of her son Kwame, the former Detroit mayor, dragging her down in a year when fickle voters seem eager to fire longtime lawmakers.

She's the sixth — and the fourth in the House — to lose so far this year. And the frustrated electorate could deal others the same fate in primaries over the next two months, not to mention the general election in November, when nothing less than the balance of power in Washington will be at stake.

This is good news for a state that has had nothing but bad news. We can only hope that their new representative will listen to only one special interest group, the people of the 13th district of Michigan.

Original Source

Our country can be divided across many different lines, black and white, conservative and liberal, young and old, but the one division that gets very little attention is the division between the political class and everyone else. Within the political class, you have the two polarizing entities known as the Democratic and Republican parties. These two parties are not at opposite ends of the political spectrum, they are simply two sides of the same coin. They go to great lengths to market themselves as diametrically opposed and for the most part, unfortunately, it has worked. A larger percentage of Americans are consumed with endless debate over important, but ultimately irrelevant issues from wars to abortion to gay marriage. We call these wedge issues as they continue to drive a wedge between the fragmented elements of the non-political class. By keeping us occupied, they are able to continue to grow their base of power and make changes to the fundamental characteristics of our government.

You might ask, how do you call these issues irrelevant? They are irrelevant for two of reasons. First, many of these issues fall outside the scope of responsibility of the federal government. As such, it is irrelevant to debate them at the federal level. These issues, such as gay marriage, should be addressed by state and local governments. The second and maybe more discouraging reason they are irrelevant is because the political class has no interest in "solving" the issue. They would prefer a meandering path of non-resolution ensuring the ongoing distraction of American citizens. Keeping us angry and frustrated at each other and not at them is a powerful way to improve their chances of re-election.