Last week, the News Journal published an article on the abuse of legislative perks by the GOP in the General Assembly. Among the revelations were that the GOP majority paid political consultants out of taxpayer funds, including one consultant who never showed up for work.
Today in a letter to the editor, House Minority Leader Dick Cathcart and House Minority Whip Dan Short offer their defense You can guess what the defense is going to be by the title of the letter: “Democrats used newspaper to launch partisan attacks”:
While House Democrats patted themselves on the back with one hand, they used the other to point an accusatory finger at House Republicans, claiming past leaders and former members had wrongly benefited from “perks.” What Democrats neglected to mention, and The News Journal failed to investigate, was that these alleged perks were decades-old policies that were applied equally to both Republican and Democrat lawmakers and their staffs. While in the minority, House Democrats traveled extensively and engaged in mass mailings to constituents at state expense.
…
Another aspect of article, while offering nothing more than rumor and innuendo as substantiation, accused House Republicans of temporarily hiring a “political consultant” as a state employee nearly two years ago. While House Republicans did hire a young man who had a strong public policy background, he left state employment two months after the end of the legislative session to pursue his interest in campaign work. Again, the article neglected to cite that the House Democrats’ current chief of staff is also the chairman of the New Castle County Democrat Party.
House Democrats claim they never mentioned all these alleged abuses because they were in the minority and powerless to stop them. Are we to believe that being in the minority rendered them mute? The News Journal has willingly let itself be used by House Democrats to engage in partisan politics. House Democrats could best serve the citizens of this state by focusing on the challenges of the present, rather than reconstructing the past for their political advantage and own aggrandizement.
So their excuses are the following: the librul media, Democrats do it too and Democrats are mean. Somehow, I don’t think this will get them out of hot water.