Grayson Uses Constituent Taxes to pay for DVDS
Politico reports that Rep. Alan Grayson spent $73,000 of taxpayer money to send promotional DVDs of his work in congress to his constituents:
Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson's decision to mail thousands of DVDs – which essentially serve as a legislative highlight reel of his first term – to his Orlando-area constituents sparked a backlash late last week when those constituents realized that $73,000 of their tax dollars paid for it.
Now, on top of facing voter anger in November, Grayson faces a lawsuit.
Todd Long, one of seven Republicans vying for the GOP nomination to challenge Grayson in November, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court seeking an injunction to prevent Grayson from using any more taxpayer money on DVDs.
Long insists the lawsuit is anything but a publicity stunt, telling POLITICO, “We expect to win.”
“We also asked the judge to rule the spending unconstitutional, and make Grayson reimburse the Treasury with $73,000," said Long, a lawyer of 20 years who says he's “fighting back” against Grayson’s abuse of the Constitution.
The freshman Democrat mailed the DVDs to some 100,000 homes in Florida's 8th District – which he paid for with his congressional franking privilege, which allows members of Congress to use taxpayers funds to pay for outgoing mail.
Grayson argued that he was providing a valuable form of constituent service. “The people of Central Florida have a right to see what we are doing in Washington, D.C., whether or not the media chooses to air it,” he said in a statement. “That's what this mailing accomplishes.”
Long admitted that while his lawsuit is legitimate, there are “a lot of other advantages” to filing it.
“Obviously everybody wants to get involved with this, and we’ve gotten some good media exposure,” he said, adding that every TV station in the Orlando area reported on his lawsuit Tuesday night.
