The Irony Abounds
Today, I received a campaign mailer from Congressman Wayne Gilchrest. The authority line summed it up best: “This mailing was prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense”. Now I could go on about how inappropriate it is to use taxpayer funds for such a mailing especially when Gichrest is facing a potentially tough battle in both the primary and general elections. Instead, I am more outraged over the topic of Gilchrest’s correspondence. It reads, “Congressman Wayne Gilchrest working to control government spending”. Inside, it highlights the select few spending bills that Gilchrest has actually opposed in his time in Washington. Gilchrest boasts how his proposals have saved taxpayers $790 million “every year”. You don’t have to be mathematician to see to right through those fuzzy numbers.
One number I’d like to see is the cost burden on taxpayers for such a mailing. It’s irresponsible to waste tax dollars in this manner. It’s borderline criminal to use this method to help generate good, albeit misleading, publicity in the wake of a political battle. Of course, what else would we have expected from our career Congressman?
