IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The Des Moines Register is out today with an editorial highlighting the self-serving and wasteful spending practices of Congressman Blum. Key sections:
… Blum’s spending, which totaled $425,365, was the highest of all 446 members of the House who served during some part of 2015, and was more than the combined total of Iowa’s three other congressmen.
Franked mail must discuss policy, legislation, constituent services and federal programs, but they can do so in a way that is blatantly self-promotional, which is why their use comes into question so often. One of Blum’s mailings, for example, was a brochure labeled “Congressman Rod Blum: Unwavering leadership. Keeping America safe.” It’s basically a self-serving piece extolling the virtues of Rod Blum.
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Editorial: Revise congressional rules on mass mailings
Des Moines Register
Rep. Rod Blum, a Republican from Dubuque, spent more taxpayer money on mailings and other forms of mass communication last year than any other member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
As Erin Jordan of the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported, Blum’s spending, which totaled $425,365, was the highest of all 446 members of the House who served during some part of 2015, and was more than the combined total of Iowa’s three other congressmen.
The Gazette’s analysis shows that in 2015, Blum spent more than $330,000 on unsolicited mailings, plus $92,000 on mass communications such as paid advertisements and automated phone calls. By comparison, Rep. Steve King of Kiron and Rep. Dave Loebsack of Iowa City spent nothing at all on mass mailings last year, while David Young of Van Meter spent less than $18,000.
Blum’s spokesman says the congressman is “committed to communicating directly with his constituents,” but the problem with that explanation should be clear to anyone with the job title of communications director: Unsolicited mass mailings and advertisements are the very definition of indirect communication.
Not only are they aimed at a broad sector of the population, they’re also basically a form of one-way communication. They’re engineered to send a message, not to facilitate a dialogue.
Members of Congress are allowed to send out publicly financed mailings that don’t directly solicit campaign contributions or votes, and aren’t mailed out within 90 days of an election. Franked mail must discuss policy, legislation, constituent services and federal programs, but they can do so in a way that is blatantly self-promotional, which is why their use comes into question so often. One of Blum’s mailings, for example, was a brochure labeled “Congressman Rod Blum: Unwavering leadership. Keeping America safe.” It’s basically a self-serving piece extolling the virtues of Rod Blum.