Congressional Candidate Mo Brooks Says Griffith Crossed The Line With Mass Mailing Paid For By

March 1st, 2010

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA) — Mo Brooks, Republican candidate for Congress in the June primary, today said Parker Griffith’s recent mail piece to households in the Fifth Congressional District, printed and mailed at taxpayers’ expense (at a cost as high as $187,637 [*1, below]), underscores the arrogance of Washington incumbents. Mr. Brooks said the February mailer sent by Griffith crosses the line between voter information and electioneering.

“There’s a big difference in an informative, issues and events-oriented Congressional newsletter to the folks back home and a campaign puff piece,” Mr. Brooks said of Griffith’s mailer. “This mail piece, paid for by taxpayers and coming just three months before an election, all but openly advocates the re-election of Parker Griffith, and the voters won’t buy it.” Mr. Brooks added.

Griffith’s brochure features a quote from Ronald Reagan and misrepresents his votes on the Health Care Package, Stimulus Bills, and Cap & Trade (*2, below). In the very fine, smallest print found on the brochure, Griffith reveals, “This mailing is prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense.”

“I find it nothing short of arrogant that Parker Griffith would think voters aren’t sophisticated enough to see through his ploy to promote his campaign with our tax dollars. You can take Griffith out of the Democratic Party, but you can’t take the Democratic Party out of Griffith. During the 2009 4^th Quarter, Griffith billed taxpayers $85,787.69 for a similar political brochure that he sent to 45% of 5^th Congressional District households. Incredibly, Griffith’s 4^th Quarter political brochures cost taxpayers more than twice as much as that of Alabama’s four other Republican Congressmen combined.” Mr. Brooks added. (*1)

“How can anyone realistically expect Griffith to help cut budget deficits that threaten America’s future when Griffith is so willing to spend and waste taxpayer money on campaign brochures? We need leaders in Congress. Leadership means setting the example. Griffith’s example is wasteful spending. As your Congressman, I pledge to have zero mass mailings at taxpayer expense during any election year while I am in office.” Mr. Brooks added.

Mo Brooks is married to the former Martha Jenkins, and they have four children. Mo is a Madison County Commissioner and former state representative, district attorney and assistant district attorney.

*1. The U.S. House of Representatives’ “Statement for Disbursements” for the 4^th Quarter of 2009 states:

Parker Griffith billed taxpayers $85,787.69 for his 4^th Quarter mailer to 150,110 households (45.72% of all 5^th District Households).

In contrast, the 2009 4^th Quarter total for all other Alabama Republican Congressmen was $31,942.60: Robert Aderholt ($0), Spence Bachus ($2,667.77), Jo Bonner ($2,410.85), Mike Rogers ($26,863.98).

If Griffith’s February 2010 brochure was sent to all 328,325 households in the Alabama 5^th Congressional District, and if the cost per piece did not increase from the Fall 2009 piece, then the total taxpayer cost of Griffith’s February 2010 brochure was $187,637.

*2. Griffith misleads voters by not giving his complete voting record. Griffith voted for Government Run Health Care, Obama’s Stimulus Package, and the Cap & Trade Energy Tax before he voted against them.

Griffith Votes Supporting Passage of the Stimulus Bill:

Griffith voted for the Stimulus Bill on numerous procedural matters and, in particular, Griffith voted against every amendment to reduce the Stimulus Bill’s size. The votes are:
2009 House Roll Call Vote 34 (Griffith Votes For Stimulus Bill). This vote is to put the Stimulus Bill on the calendar for a vote. The vote passed 244-183 (Griffith voted “yes”; Republicans voted “no”)
2009 House Roll Call Vote 35 (Griffith Votes For Stimulus Bill). This vote advances the Stimulus Bill on the calendar for a vote. The vote passed 235-191 (Griffith voted “yes”; Republicans voted “no”).

2009 House Roll Call Vote 42 (Griffith Votes For Stimulus Bill and Against Reducing its Size). This vote was on the Neugebauer Amendment to strike $355 billion in funding for discretionary programs contained in the Stimulus Bill. The vote on the Amendment failed 302-134 (Griffith voted “no” (against the amendment); Republicans generally voted “yes”, for the amendment).>
2009 House Roll Call Vote 43 (Griffith Votes For Stimulus Bill and Against Reducing its Size). This vote was on the Flake Amendment to strike $800,000 in funding for Amtrak contained in the Stimulus Bill. The vote on the Amendment failed 320-116 (Griffith voted “no” (against the amendment); Republicans generally voted “yes”, for the amendment).

2009 House Roll Call Vote 44 (Griffith Votes For Stimulus Bill and Against Reducing its Size). This vote was on the Camp Amendment to strike an undefined amount of income tax “refunds” paid to people who don’t pay income taxes to (i.e. – wealth transfers from taxpayers to nontaxpayers). The vote on the Amendment failed 266-170 (Griffith voted “no” (against the amendment); Republicans voted “yes”, for the amendment)
Griffith Vote Supporting Passage of the Cap & Trade Energy Tax Increase:

Griffith voted “for” Cap & Trade by voting to kill the substitute, conservative energy policy proposed by Congressman Forbes (2009 Roll Call Vote 476). Griffith thereafter voted “against” Cap & Trade on final passage (2009 House Roll Call Vote 477). The Forbes Substitute that Griffith voted to kill promoted nuclear power and exploration of American coal, gas and oil reserves and did not call for any energy tax increases.

On the Will Anderson Show on WBHP (12/23/09 PodCast), Parker Griffith explained his conflicting votes by stating, “You can vote for a rule to bring a bill to the floor even though you are against the bill. You can bring it up for a vote because you want to see the bill defeated. (We advanced the bill) because we would like to see it defeated. . . . We expect the Senate to kill it.”

Editorial Comment: Griffith did not deny voting to help the Cap & Trade Tax Increase pass the House. Rather, Griffith stated he supported the Cap & Trade Tax Increase because he wanted the Senate to kill it. Maybe this doesn’t make sense in a Congressional world, but, in a real world, if you want to kill legislation, you vote against it. Not Griffith. He helps pass legislation so that others (the Senate) will kill it.

Griffith Vote Supporting Passage of Health Care:

Griffith voted “for” Government Run Health Care (H.R. 3962) by voting to kill the substitute, conservative health policy proposed by Congressman Boehner (2009 Roll Call Vote 885). After Griffith voted to help put H.R. 3962 in position for a final passage vote, Griffith voted against H.R. 3962 on final passage (2009 House Roll Call Vote 887).

The Boehner Substitute that Griffith helped kill “sought to create Universal Access Programs that expand and reform high-risk pools and reinsurance programs; sought to prevent insurers from unjustly canceling a policy or instituting annual or lifetime spending caps; sought to put in place medical liability reforms and give small businesses the power to pool together and offer health care at lower prices; sought to prohibit all Federal funds, whether they are authorized funds or appropriated funds, from being used to pay for abortions; and sought to create new incentives to save for future and long-term care needs by allowing qualified participants to use HSAs to pay premiums.”