Knollenberg Gives D.C. Lobbyist Over $39,000 of Taxpayer Money

In another example of how Joe Knollenberg wastes your tax dollars, he has hired a Washington, D.C. lobbyist, Trent Wisecup, as his Chief of Staff -- even though all he is doing is running Knollenberg's re-election campaign -- and paid him $39,957 in just the first 3 months of the year!!!

Those useless glossy fliers you've been getting in the mail from Knollenberg -- also at taxpayer expense -- are work of this lobbyist.

Wisecup used to lobby for the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, his lobbying firm has bragged about how successful Wisecup was in convincing Congressman like Knollenberg to vote AGAINST SENIORS by prohibiting them from saving money by getting their prescriptions from Canada.

Notice how the flyers you have gotten from Knollenberg look almost identical to the flyers Wisecup used as a lobbyist.

It is bad enough that corrupt lobbyists have so much influence over Congress. Now they are using lobbyists to influence our choices in major elections. It doesn't get much sleazier than that.

This not only shows just how tied Knollenberg is with lobbyists, it brings Knollenberg's judgment into question.

How can you possibly trust anyone who spends nearly $40,000 of taxpayer money on a lobbyist.

And that $40,000 is just for the first 3 months of the year.

• 2 months work for the Appropriations Committee: $19,978.50 ($ 9,989.25/month)
  
• 3 months work for Knollenberg: $19,090.57 + $887.93 = $19,938.50 ($9,969.25/month)

That means we, as taxpayers, are paying this lobbyist $ 19, 958.50/month!!!

If Joe Knollenberg wants to hire a lobbyist, he should be honest about it and pay the lobbyist from campaign funds, not out of our tax dollars.

Joe Knollenberg is wasting $239,502/year
of taxpayer money on a lobbyist!!!

We cannot afford 2 more years of Joe Knollenberg.

Lou Dobbs Calls Knollenberg one of many Lame Ducks

While Joe Knollenberg is announcing his campaign for re-election, a Lou Dobbs editorial calls Congressman like Joe Knollenberg "Lame Ducks".

Dobbs notes:

With the electorate asserting a strong impulse to be independent, and with populism exerting a significant influence in the 2006 midterm elections, there is a possibility that all of those incumbents in the House and Senate may have to consider the possibility of actually having to represent their constituents and the popular will, rather than corporate America, socio-ethnic special interest groups and the tens of thousands of lobbyists who represent every interest but that of the common good and the nation.

Dobbs notes that Bush's approval ratings are at 29% giving Bush the highest approval rating (~90%) and one of the lowest in history (except for Truman, Carter, and Nixon).

With the war in Iraq raging endlessly, the White House involved in scandal after scandal, an FDA so involved in banning condoms around the world rather than protecting you or your pet from consuming poisons from China, jobs disappearing by the day, etc., we are due for an overhaul in Congress -- particularly to weed out the worst of them like Joe "Do Nothing" Knollenberg.

Knollenberg Brags About Wasting Taxpayer Money

In a page that could only be taken from the Karl Rove/George Bush campaign playbook, Joe "Do Nothing" Knollenberg is now taking what would generally be considered a weakness, i.e., wasting taxpayer dollars by the millions, and trying to play it as a strength by bragging about it.

What Is Joe Knollenberg Hiding?

So, although Knollenberg is now using his webpage to try to brag about his wasteful spending habits, he won't even respond to CNN's survey about his wasteful earmarks. Instead, he just cherry picks a few items and then tries to tell us how lucky we are that he is wasting our money like that.

The earmarks we know about are bad enough. What is it that he is trying to hide?


Joe Knollenberg Wastes Taxpayer Money Faster than George Bush

One of the items that Knollenberg is so proud about is the $1 million he is trying to get "for Oakland Community College, to "develop courses to help identify and attract businesses likely to do more hiring."

Notice that the money is to be spent to develop courses to identify businesses, rather than to do something useful like actually identifying and attracting businesses to Michigan!!

Or the $500,000 he spent on a model of a space ship -- even though the same model could be purchased at Target for $12.99.

It would be funny if it wasn't so sad and disturbing.


What The Voters Are Saying About Knollenberg & Earmarks
Once again we see Joe Knollenberg on the wrong side of an issue. While he is bragging about the good he is doing by wasting taxpayer money in Michigan (as opposed to wasting it just anywhere), the voters are outraged.

The Free Press ran an article on earmarks, and the online version contains some very insightful comments that show that the voters are not pleased with earmarks or Knollenberg:

o Comment from foofighter:

Do not re-elect any of these scumbags. We need fresh blood that isn't contaminated yet!

o Comments from TimeRanger:

"Reps. Joe Knollenberg, . . . pushing a $1-million earmark for Oakland Community College, to develop courses to help identify and attract businesses likely to do more hiring."

Huh? If the college doesn't know already, they should close their doors, NOW.

and

"...the winner was the Detroit Science Center and the $500,000 set aside two years ago to create a Space Science Discovery Lab...The earmark, sponsored by Knollenberg, provided money for an exhibit to get kids excited about careers in math, science and engineering. There will be a 1/10th-scale model of the Saturn V rocket and a model of the Martian landscape."

2 years ago and they haven't been able to go to a hobby shop, purchase a plastic model?

o Comment from paf:

It IS quite sickening watching our representatives fight over OUR money. I'd like to see them give it back to us and reduce our tax burden permanently!!!

o Comment from Luscious:

I'm a fiscal conservative and I don't want to hear . . . the vast majority of the Republicans open their filthy hypocritical mouths on spending.

The size of goverment grew at a larger rate under Bush and the Republicans than it had at any other time in decades.

They've lost the right to be taken seriously on fiscal discipline.

These losers didn't have any problem wasting taxpayer money when they controlled the purse strings.

Come November, . . if they are an incumbent vote them out. It's time to send these idiots on a permanent vacation.

So, it isn't just the folks at this blog who are fed up with Knollenberg. Knollenberg may be oblivious now, but he'll find out just how fed up the voters really are after he is fired in 2008.

Knollenberg Accepts Over $2.7 Million From Lobbyists

Joe Knollenberg Has Received Over $2.7 Million from Lobbyists and Special Interest Groups!!

That Joe Knollenberg is a lobbyist's best friend goes without saying.

After all, his Chief of Staff is a Washington, D.C. lobbyist.

A quick glance at the FEC records for campaign finance reveal that Joe Knollenberg has received $ 2,742,346 from lobbyists and special interest groups.

Yes. You read that right. Joe Knollenberg took over $ 2,742,346 from lobbyists and special interests. The picture may be ginned up, but the numbers are not. And those are just the dollars reported from committees. That doesn't even count the donations he gets from each individual lobbyist!!!!

Joe Knollenberg has accepted over $2.7 million in campaign donations from lobbyists and special interests!!

Joe Knollenberg is a Part of the Problem in Washington D.C.
We Need Someone Who Will be Part of the Solution.

Knollenberg Updated His Website (Finally) -- but STILL Doesn't List IRAQ As an Issue!

Joe Knollenberg finally updated his website.

Apparently he doesn't have much to say because it is now mostly pictures.

But more importantly, he STILL doesn't even list IRAQ as an "issue".

Other "problems" with his website:

Knollenberg supports privitizing Social Security (but doesn't mention that on his website)

• Knollenberg calls himself an "environmentalist" but can't point to a single "environmental" vote -- he votes for polluters, not the planet

• Unlike most Americans, Knollenberg OPPOSES universal healthcare (but he doesn't mention that on his website)

We will cover these and more in detail over the coming weeks.

Apparently Joe Knollenberg has an aversion to the truth.

Stay tuned.

We will give you the real story of Joe Knollenberg.

Then you can read how he spins it and see who you trust.