Oh, Henry

SOUTH CAROLINA CONGRESSMAN IS CAMPAIGNING ON YOUR DIME

FITSNews – December 28, 2007 – We’ve always thought that U.S. Rep. Henry Brown would be a lot more interesting if he changed his name … and grew a personality. For example, maybe he could start referring to himself as Rep. Shama Lama Dingdong … or take up break dancing.

As it is, however, Rep. Brown is slightly less exciting than staring at an unpainted wall, or waiting for water to boil.

Brown’s “personality deficit disorder” is no doubt why he felt compelled to send his Congressional District so much taxpayer-funded mail last year – 1.2 million pieces, to be precise, which ranks him atop all U.S. House members according to an AP analysis.

Brown’s mass mailings cost taxpayers $171,286, and the overall cost of his “franked” mail was $177,705. “Franking,” as much as it may sound like something a pedderass would do, actually refers to the Congressional privilege of sending mail without postage. Unless of course Rep. Barney Frank does it, in which case you never know.

Regarding his taxpayer-funded self-promotion, Brown told the AP:

… many new constituents may not know who to contact when they need help, and my office uses franked mail as a way to connect with them. It is important for constituents to know who their representative in Congress is, and equally important for me to know who they are so I can best represent them in Washington.

Uh-huh.

All told, U.S. House members spent $20.3 million last year stroking their own egos with your money, using the “franking privilege” and other taxpayer-funded mass mailings to brag about new bridges and other pork they were able to secure for their district.

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