It's just a little over a year since Joe Knollenberg and Trent Wisecup Were Mocked on Countdown

I was reviewing my YouTube account and came across my favorite video.

Tony Trupiano interviews Bruce Fealk about Joe Knollenberg controversy

On July 19, 2007, Bruce Fealk appeared on The Tony Trupiano Show and talked with Tony about Joe Knollenberg and the recent controversy regarding comments Bruce made regarding Congressman Knollenberg's votes on the Iraq war.

Scroll down to the Tony Trupiano Show for July 19. Click on the small play button on the left side of the page to play the interview. The interview starts after the news.

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.

Knollenberg Embroiled In Scandal

Joe Knollenberg is embroiled in a scandal that could end his career. His recent activities on CAFE standards appear to have been spurned by unlawful activities initiated by the Bush Administration.

Numerous papers, as well as the Detroit News, are reporting that Knollenberg is being investigated by the House Oversight Committee.

The Bush Administration used a government agency to lobby Congress. Specifically, EPA was accepting comments on a rulemaking to determine if they would allow California to move ahead with a state Climate Change rule that would reduce greenhouse gases.

(Conservatives like to say they are for state's rights -- unless of course they disagree with what the state wants to do. Hypocrisy has become the strongest plank in the Republican platform.)

Joe Knollenberg was oblivious to the EPA's rulemaking until Department of Transportation Officials contacted him to lobby him to oppose the rulemaking.

The other interesting thing will be to see just how much money Knollenberg has gotten from Corporate fat cats and sleazy lobbyists to do their bidding.

This isn't just a little local news story -- it is a big national story.
See the articles in the Washington Post, USAToday and another in USAToday, WTOP, OC Register, CBSnews, Boston Globe, and dozens and dozens more.


What this means is that Joe Knollenberg condoned the illicit behavior of DOT officials. In fact, Knollenberg not only condoned the behavior, he acquiesed to their request!

I haven't dug up the letter Knollenberg sent to EPA yet, but my guess is it will read almost identically to the script used by the DOT officials when they notified Knollenberg of the proposed rule.

So, not only did Knollenberg fail to notify officials that DOT had unlawfully lobbied him, but it is interesting to note that Knollenberg, who is trying (in vain) to pass himself off as supportive of the auto industry, was unaware of the rule making until someone told him about it??? This is a good example of how out of touch Joe Knollenberg is about issues that could impact the auto industry.

Surely, after having been in Congress for 14 years, Joe Knollenberg should know that it is unlawful for federal government officials to lobby Congress!!!

To Joe Knollenberg, this is just another in a litany of scandals. To the voters next year, this is the last straw.

Joe Knollenberg is a Law BREAKER not a Lawmaker.

75 More American Troops Killed

75 more U.S. Troops have died since Joe Knollenberg voted against a timetable to withdraw from Iraq.

75 more of our friends, neighbors, co-workers.

75 more mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers.

75 more sons and daughters.

75 more Americans have died since Joe Knollenberg voted against a timetable to withdraw from Iraq.

75 more Americans have died in just 3 weeks.

How many more have to die before Joe Knollenberg will actually do something to stop this slaughter?

Vote No On Joe!

Knollenberg Votes NO on Pay raise for Troops

Joe Knollenberg says he "supports the troops".

We can expect to see ads for his next campaign on how he "supports the troops".

Joe Knollenberg says he "supports the troops", but his voting record says otherwise.

Joe Knollenberg consistently votes AGAINST our troops.

Knollenberg thinks he should make nearly $170,000/yr (plus a full pension and free health care for life), but he voted against giving the troops a 3.5% pay raise. [HR 2207, Rollcall 336, 5/10/07]

Why does Joe Knollenberg say he supports the troops and then votes against them every single time?

It is time for us to vote against Joe Knollenberg. Vote No On JOE!

Joe Knollenberg: Wrong Again, Naturally

Joe Knollenberg just keeps giving George Bush whatever he wants. Knollenberg advocates giving Bush all the funding he wants for an indefinite occupation in Iraq.

Joe Knollenberg has opposed every attempt to impose timelines or benchmarks on the Iraqi's to force them to make political gains to strengthen their government.

Joe Knollenberg has opposed every attempt to mandate that the troops are fully equipped and fully trained. He has supported letting troops go to the front line without proper body armor and without appropriate armor on their vehicles. He has also voted against guaranteeing that only troops that have received appropriate training get shipped to Iraq.

But Joe Knollenberg is wrong. Very wrong. The majority of Americans do want timelines/benchmarks placed on the Iraqis and they want the troops to be fully funded and fully trained.

According to a new CNN poll, "57 percent want Congress to pass another bill with funding and timetables."

Slightly more Americans, 61%, support benchmarks instead of timetables.

Most refreshing is that the vast majority of Americans now realize that Bush and Knollenberg lied to get us into this war in the first place. According to CNN,

Fifty-four percent said they don't believe the Bush administration's assertion that the war is the "central front" in the war on terrorist groups that was launched after al Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

65% of Americans oppose the war altogether.

50% favor Congress passing legislation revoking the original authorization for the war which would require Bush to seek new authorization.

Joe Knollenberg is WRONG on Iraq.

Joe Knollenberg is WRONG for Oakland County.

Joe Knollenberg is WRONG.

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.