Congressman Rokita routinely splurges on taxpayer-funded communications in run-up to election campaigns, AP reports; $1.1 million spent since 2011 “dwarfs” rest of IN delegation
INDIANAPOLIS – A new report detailing Congressman Rokita’s use of taxpayer money to promote his political career is just part of a larger pattern of similar behavior that has been growing since his tenure as Indiana’s secretary of state.
Yesterday, the Associated Press described how Congressman Rokita has spent nearly $3 million in taxpayer dollars over the last 12 years on radio ads, campaign mailers and other promotional materials to promote his political career while serving as Indiana’s secretary of state and as a member of Congress. The minimum of $1.1 million Congressman Rokita has spent on taxpayer-funded communications since 2011 “dwarfs” every other member of Indiana’s federal delegation and ranks him among the top spenders in Congress.
Throughout his career in elected office, Indiana Senate candidate Todd Rokita has used apocalyptic language to warn of “out-of-control” government spending… Yet whenever election season rolls around, the Republican congressman has been more than willing to shell out public dollars to tout his efforts in office, according to an analysis of public records by The Associated Press.
Congressman Rokita’s campaign-oriented official office has ramped up the practice again during his current Senate campaign. Recently, Congressman Rokita violated House rules when he spent $27,000 in taxpayer money promoting a veterans event in Kokomo on radio ads in Ohio, where the airwaves bled into GOP voter-rich counties near Fort Wayne.
While the details of the AP’s report are surprising, Congressman Rokita’s behavior isn’t. He’s been engaging in similar if not more extreme behavior since his tenure as secretary of state:
“Railing against excessive government spending while siphoning millions in taxpayer money to pay for political stunts is exactly the type of Washington hypocrisy that Congressman Rokita has practiced his entire career,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Congressman Rokita is the worst type of career politician: one who’s been in elected office for 16 years, and for just as long has been treating it as his own personal plaything to advance his political ambitions.”
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