Blum Comes Unhinged When Asked About His Broken Promise To Give Back His Salary

Blum insults local newspapers for doing their job and holding him accountable

Congressman Rod Blum is the biggest spender on taxpayer funded mass mailers in all of Congress and has been dismissive of keeping his own salary pledge. It’s obvious that he did not think anyone would notice or care. He was wrong.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Dubuque Telegraph Herald, and Des Moines Register have all published editorials questioning Blum’s spending. KCRG ran a segment titled: “Are you paying for Congressman Rod Blum’s reelection?” The Gazette and the Telegraph Herald also ran stories digging into his spending.

Blum has not handled the scrutiny well. First, he dismissed legitimate questions about a salary pledge that was still featured on his website at the time of the interview. Second, he laughed glibly about the thought of actually keeping his salary pledge when he is paying big bucks for an apartment in DC. Third, he lost his temper repeatedly during a Telegraph Herald editorial board interview.

The Anatomy of a Meltdown

EXHIBIT A: When asked about a promise that Rod Blum made (and apparently has not kept) to donate half of his salary he appears to lose his temper, saying:

“I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t care. End of story”

EXHIBIT B: In a televised interview, Rod Blum is asked again about his salary promise and excessive spending on taxpayer funded mailers. His responses (in between laughter):

“And I pay $3,200 a month for a 700 square foot apartment. I think I’d be severely in the hole. Now I believe in public service and I love this country, but there’s limits.”

“I’m not taking an oath of poverty [laughter] to serve the country.”

Watch the video

EXHIBIT C: During an interview with the Telegraph Herald editorial board, he comes unhinged over and over again:

• Accuses the Telegraph Herald of being “lapdogs for the Democratic Party” even though the editorial board endorsed him last cycle.
• Expands his media insults to the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Des Moines Register.
• Accuses a member of the editorial board of “looking at [him] funny.”

A full transcript of the audio that the Telegraph Herald editorial board released is available upon request.

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