Rep. Mark Kennedy, the Republicans' presumptive frontrunner, backed out of a forum with Hmong leaders in St. Paul this week after Democrats complained Monday that it would be a congressionally funded campaign event. Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat who represents St. Paul, threatened to complain to the House ethics committee, citing House rules that limit the use of congressional funds and staff time to support "duties to the district from which elected."Emphasis above is mine. You know what Betty, if they wanted you, they'd have asked for you. But they didn't, you fraud. Stop with the childish, playground-snitch tactics. By the way, when's the last time you spend 5 minutes in your district?
Kennedy, who represents a district northwest of the Twin Cities, announced Friday that he would hold a public forum in St. Paul to discuss his recent trip to a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand. Kennedy spokeswoman Anne Mason said his Washington office made a "verbiage error" in saying he would hold the meeting; in fact, she said, he had merely been invited to attend by Hmong leaders who briefed him before his State Department-sponsored tour of Asia.
That account was supported by Xa Vang of the Hmong American Mutual Assistance Association. "The Hmong people wanted to find out what he learned," Vang said. "If the congresswoman is not happy, we can choose a different site."
Xang Vang, whose group Hmong American Mutual Assistance Association had invited Kennedy to participate, said he was unhappy Kennedy was canceling. "The big fish fight with the big fish and we get the splash," he said.Wouldn't it be a nicer world if Betty's attitude was something along the lines of "Hey, Representative Kennedy went to Thailand, and the Hmong want to hear about it. Good for them. I hope it's a nice meeting and the coffee's good." Instead she has to revert to some cowardly territorial pissing exercise.
See, being a Democrat these days means you put the party ahead of everything. As a member of the Uber Correct, you place your own Senate dreams ahead of the interests of constituents. To hell with the concerns of the Hmong community, there's a Senate seat out there, right Betty?
1 comment:
From Kennedy's spokeswoman's own admission, the mistake was theirs. Betty McCollum was only responding to that "verbiage error" which, in fact, made it seem like an infringement on the rules had occurred.
Nobody likes a tattletale I guess, though, so forget about that guy I saw swiping the stereo out of your GTI... I'll never mention it again.
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