And what's more, TWO of his OWN GOP colleagues called him out on the House Floor for that act!
Kelsey, of Germantown, was pissed about the House Democratic leadership's decision to promote public investment by allowing each House member (Democratic OR Republican) to provide a list of worthy recipients for up to a total of $100,000.
Kelsey kept whining that this was pork, and then put a piece of bacon in an envelope before insulting his fellow House members by impugning their integrity:
"It smells quite frankly of cronyism; it smells of incumbency protection and even of buying votes. In the wake of Tennessee Waltz, who's to stop someone from receiving this money back as a kickback, as a campaign contribution or even in cash?"
That was enough for Curry Todd, Republican of Millington, who had HELPED Kelsey get elected. He stood up on the floor and, according to the CA, allowed as to how he would be happy to take Kelsey's allotment and give it to his education folks and his district. Then, he smacked Kelsey down with THIS: "And maybe you ought to look at giving back the PAC money (campaign contributions from political action committees) you got from the last election if you're concerned about everything that's going up here."
Then, Todd went on to say "I don't rise very often to disagree with my colleagues but my friend from Shelby County -- who I helped get elected and encouraged him to run -- but I don't support you grandstanding any more, trying to draw media attention to your stuff up here."
Also, Jim Coley, freshman Republican of Bartlett (whom, I might add, was ENDORSED in his Primary by your humble Cracker) stood up and said "I too am going to criticize my colleague from Shelby County. I think if he's sincere in talking about the wining and dining and other things that he has used as a platform up here, he needs to return every bit of the PAC money he's received since serving in the Tennessee General Assembly."
Thank you, Jim. it's time somebody took this little whiner to school about how the Legislature works. If Kelsey isn't bright enough to figure the difference between public investment and actual PORK (and it DOES exist), then he has no business in the General Assembly.
In the words of the great American orator, Bugs Bunny, what a maroon!
UPDATE: Kleinheider has a good take on all of this...
1 comment:
Glad that some Repigs had the balls to stand up. That doesn't happen very often.
That's the thing about "pork", it's in the eye of the beholder evidently. Republicans feel, as we witnessed in the Bush veto of the first spending bill, that "pork" is 500,000,000 for Veterans health care. Democrats feel that "pork" is money to put a Ten Commandments alter on public property.
Who's right? :)
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