Effed Up “Franking”
As U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett found out the hard way, people really, really, really don’t like “franking,” i.e. when elected officials send out self-promotional mail pieces on the taxpayer dime.
You can read more about the fallout from Barrett’s taxpayer-funded propaganda by clicking here – as well as the “serial franking” of U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, the nation’s arch offender when it comes to this sort of boondoggling.
So what’s our point? Why are we bringing this up today?
Well, apparently there are some new rules in Washington D.C. related to this annual waste of millions of dollars.
From Human Events:
Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), the secretary of the House Republican Conference and a former District Court Judge, is having his messages to constituents censored by Democrats on the Franking Commission. Republicans are no longer allowed to use the words “government run health care” in the communications to their constituents.
Carter received an email from the Franking Commission informing him of the censorship.
“It came to me from the Franking Commission and I have the email from the Franking Commission here if you’d like to see it,” Carter said. “We held a telephone town-hall… When you hold telephone town-halls you have a recorded message that introduces the town-hall and the subject matter you’re going to be talking about. You have to now submit that language to the Franking Commission.
“What we proposed as language was as follows, ‘House Democrats unveiled a government-run health care plan,’” Carter said. “Our response from Franking was, ‘You cannot use that language. You must use, ‘The House majority unveiled a public option health care plan,’ which is Pelosi-speak or ‘just last week the House majority unveiled a health care plan which I believe will cost taxpayers…’”
Obviously, this is B.S. censorship, as the Human Events story notes.
But that’s not the point …
The point is that in any economic climate, it is simply not the job of the taxpayers to subsidize political mailings.
Seriously, whether you are for or against “government-run health care” (a.k.a. socialized medicine), if you want to send out a piece of mail making hay on the issue, you damn well better pay for it out of your political account.
Anything else is inexcusable.
Comments
By Ha, Okay. on July 27th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Gresham Barrett holds no candle to Ol’ Henry Brown. Brown is old and tired with nothing say so he floods your mailbox with franked mail. The Democrats can beat him with a half conscious candidate.
By mansejolly on July 27th, 2009 at 11:40 am
@ Ha, Okay,
Linda Ketner disagress.
By Darth on July 27th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
So boy chic, how aobut hte House franking commissariat that has little problem with these abuses, but demands to stifle the organziational chart of Obamacare, the Pelosi (s)edition?
By SCCON on July 27th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
FITS is more concerned with the relatively tiny amount of money wasted on franking than with the Democrats’ totalitarian attempt to highjack the oversight process to serve a political agenda. Of course, the costs (both direct and indirect) of the Democratic healthcare proposal utterly dwarf into obscurity the supposed waste committed under the auspices of the franking privilege.
Good grief. Talk about turning a story on its head.
By Toyota Kawaski on July 27th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Yes Darling Nicki we will be your female dog.We already are a slave for the voucher crowd so being your bitch will be easy.
By Virginia Haltiwanger on July 27th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
I read FITS often and usually agree with your perspectives, but you will seriously go to extraordinary (and kind of pathetic) lengths to drag Gresham Barrett’s name through the mud. It’s unflattering…
By FITSNews on July 27th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Gresham Barrett dragging the taxpayers through the mud is unflattering.
If he stops, so will we.
-FITS
By Trip on July 28th, 2009 at 12:20 am
This is a seriously laughable article. You’re actually Anti-Franking Privilege? What’s next, an article against the robes judges wear? The ties cops have on? Jesus Christ, Will.
By liz on July 28th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Barrett is laughable. He’s a farce and I’ll say it to his face given one opportunity.
Obamacare… well it would be the first time in the history of health insurance to have competition in the market.
ALL ALL ALL ALL ALL ALL insurance companies fall indirectly under the umbrella of the one company in America who is ” too big to fail”.
FIDELITY MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH owns Cigna, Aetna, Humana, Universal American, Wellpoint, BCBS, and the list goes on and on and on…
FITS doesn’t have the room for me to list each company…. but rest assured just as the banks are owned by Fidelity Management and Research… that the health insurance and the disability insurance companies are all owned by Fidelity Management and Research.
So do you want a choice or this ” unfree and unfair ” market called capitalism which solely belongs to FMR- Fidelity Management and Research.
PEOPLE WAKE UP
By anti-DeMint lovin' on July 28th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I bet DeMint is guilty too