When Congressmen Behave Badly
My local congresscritter is a Democrat by the name of David Scott. Scott’s 13th District is one of the more creatively gerrymandered in Georgia (and that’s saying something). It was engineered to ensure a heavily Democratic majority (polling 62%-37% for John Kerry in 2004, when Georgia as a whole went for George W. Bush 58%-41%), with most of the district’s population centered in Clayton County, which is just south of the city of Atlanta. The rest of the district stretches around the I-285 Perimeter’s west side, finally tapering off up here in Smyrna. To continue the 2004 comparison, Smyrna precincts registered 21,972 votes for Bush to 7,834 for Kerry.
Congressman Scott is rarely seen in these parts; if it weren’t for a billboard he puts up next to the Chick-Fil-A every couple of years, I probably wouldn’t even know what he looks like. The best I can tell, Scott hasn’t held a public meeting here in Cobb County since 2008 — at least that’s what Scott staffer Michael Andel indicated when I emailed Scott’s office last summer asking when he planned to hold a recess town hall. After making a jerk of himself at a meeting in Douglas County, Scott scheduled exactly one “health care” event that summer, which was held in his home base of Clayton County and heavily attended by supportive AFSCME and SEIU members.
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A few days after my emails with Andel, Scott turned up in the news thanks to a spray-painted swastika on his Smyrna branch office (about a mile from my house), which generated several Scott-friendly column-inches in the Democratic-friendly media, particularly the local Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The AJC apparently didn’t have the time to ask how Scott managed to have the defaced sign professionally replaced in a matter of hours, almost as if he’d had one ready in case of just such an emergency. Since then he’s scarcely been heard of at all — with the exception of numerous taxpayer-funded franked mailings, of course.
That is, until a couple of weeks ago. That was when Scott and his wife Alfredia decided to go after a group of their neighbors for starting up a community garden. According to the AJC, residents of Inman Park (an intown Atlanta neighborhood) had set up a garden not unlike the ones being promoted by Michelle Obama (you may have heard of her). The prospective gardeners raised over 150 petition signatures, and more than 50 people had reserved spots to grow vegetables or flowers or what have you.
Well, this sounds like more of the same. What else to our elected officials want anymore but power, money & to be re-elected? This guy is just a small example of what is wrong with our politicians. They look out for themselves 1st, their party 2nd & the lobbyists 3rd. The people? Hey, we’re not even on the radar…
A series of events designed to showcase Scott’s temper for public display would seem to be in order. I saw the earlier video on YouTube, I think, and wouldn’t mind forwarding the URL of a second to friends if one or more were to appear.
Sounds like a Congressional seat ripe for picking.
I learned something today. I’m embarrassed to admit that I has no idea how lose the residency requirements are for members of Congress.
http://uspolitics.about.com/b/2008/11/03/about-residency-requirements-for-congress.htm
There really is a professional political class and very few (any?) members of Congress who represent their districts. Can we have term limits now? Please?
Sounds like he’s just another elected official that needs to GO.
The garden will be impacting the view from his front porch, eh? Sounds as if your local congresscritter has taken a page out of the late and unlamented Ted Kennedy’s book vis-a-vis the proposed windfarm project that would’ve impacted his view of the ocean. Oh those Democrats, once known as the party of the working man, now just the party of working it to their own advantage.
At least Inman Park is between Scott’s “real” south-side district and the little north-side appendage where you reside. Maybe he’ll make an accidental right hand turn one day and end up back in his district, that is, the other half of the district he is supposed to represent.
Remember that it was the Republicans in Georgia who gerrymandered the bejesus out of the district maps — to solidify their dominance and, wherever possible, drive a wedge between black and white Democrat candidates (several black Democrats colluded with the Republicans to enhance their own power). Both parties play this ugly little game, and then constituents pay the price.
That’s why GOOOH would be a positive change and help the members of the district choose their rep instead of having to put up with what the parties give them. Check it out. http://www.goooh.com
Democrats are against gardens? The next thing you know, they’ll try to ban fishing.
Oh, wait a minute…
sounds like a typical liberal- “of course all this stuff is good, just not in MY neighborhood!” The Creative Loafing magazine mentioned used to be here in Greenville, too.Eventually disappeared.Mostly far-left rants and liberal bs. Good for lining a birdcage or wrapping dead fish, but not much else.
Just for grins, the pro-garden people should start referencing and quoting Michelle Obama at every public venue. Put this fecal fragment (Scott) on the opposing side of the president’s wife. The trick with democrats is always to have the more convincing victimhood story.
Will –
Thank you for this update on Rep Scott. He’s my representative too! I think he will remain our representative for a long time. When we first moved to this district (before redistricting, I guess), our representative was John Lewis. While Lewis is also far too liberal for me, he put his life on the line for civil rights and, for that, he is a man to be respected. As for Rep. Scott– not so much.
Yeah, I remember a certain Democrat senator who liked green energy but did not want windmills interfering with his view.
David Scott is my congressman as well. He has an office just a few blocks from my house in Smyrna. He is certainly someone else that I will be voting against. As for John Lewis, I think that he lost all credit a few years ago when he did a commercial along with Shirley Franklin and Andrew Young for someone running for Fulton County Commission Chairman. In it, they compared voting for Republicans to having dogs and water hoses being turned on you. They said to vote for the democrat candidate, because your very life may depend on it. So I would be hard pressed to say that I respect any of them after that.
MB:
What I find sad is that you even consider things like commercials in your voting decisions. http://www.starvethemachine.net
Wouldn’t it be interesting to know if he and his wife have, over the past years, been voting in the 13th District while not living in the 13th. District? Don’t Congressmen and their families who don’t live in their own districts want to vote for the family congressional member or are there “special” rules for this?
So you’re saying all politics isn’t local? bill’s point is spot on. Look for the victim card and play it, play it, play it to the hilt. And then vote the idjit into retirement. Oh, this is Atlanta, isn’t it?
10. bill:
Bill is right on the mark. The garden people should clame the KKK is against gardens too.
@ Fever.
I didn’t say that I took the commercials into consideration when making my decision on who to vote for. It’s just an example of the character of John Lewis et al.
The douchebaggery of affirmative action pinheads like Scott know no bounds…..
term limits…
Perhaps that would cut down of the feeling of entitlement that we have in washington, even local politics…it won’t happen, but it would be an answer
yeah we know…not in my neighborhood…
I live near this jerk’s district and the only true description of him is black racist. He along with most of the “Elected” officials in the greater Atlanta area, are more interested in the color of your skin rather than the content of your character. The recent mayoral election came down to the color of the victor’s skin and not his platform. The only white candidate won 48% of the vote in the initial election against 4 or 5 black candidates but lost 52 to 48 in the runoff election. Isn’t it strange that not one % of the black vote went to the one white candidate? He could not hold his office if he had to represent educated voters of any color but he is a permanent fixture due to gerrymandering.
There’s a new candidate for the 13th, Mike Murphy. Check him out. He would truly represent the folks in the 13th and also he lives there. What a concept!
Well, here in Iowa, our wonderful Senator Harkin does “great” job of representing us while residing in Barbados. At least Scott actually lives in the United States.
Interesting. Inman Park is full of people who would get into this community garden idea. Bet they hate their neighbor Scott.
In the typical situation where a person like this, especially a person with connections, you’d expect the individual to contact those officials who could do something about this. These individuals would include the local mayor, city councilmen, perhaps the county Board of Supervisors or a state legislator. As a last resort, you’d call your Congressman, which wouldn’t work because he *is* the…oh, wait, he represents another district. I hope for his sake he doesn’t live in a Republican’s district!
As for the residency requirements, I’m not shocked that they’re loose, as far as the Federal Government is concerned. I’d expect that each state has slightly different rules as to what Congressmen are required to do residency-wise. My guess is he knows the rules, and is skating around the edge of them…or maybe he’s taking a page out of Charlie Rangel’s rulebook, and has just decided the rules are for the little people. Be interesting to see if anything comes of this.
When I was a politically active Democrat, I had reason to interact with both Lewis and Scott. Lewis was my representative, and I knew about his sacrifices during the civil rights movement. Scott was in many ways one of the more approachable and thoughtful state legislators I met. I was surprised to read this article, which is not to say that I don’t believe it.
What happens to people? I was hands-down shocked when I heard John Lewis’ hate-filled and utterly inappropriate screed against people like me — white people in his district who were not voting for his (ethically challenged) candidate — when it aired on the radio. He literally equated me, and my neighbors, to Klansmen. He’s lost his way — and he lost my vote. There was a time when Lewis could be relied upon to sidestep — or even press against — a Cynthia McKinney or Al Sharpton type. Now he seems to be finding his relevance only in the politics of racial accusation, which is a shame. Ugly stuff. But he’s the one who chose that message, which seems to grow more shrill, not less, despite the reality of status, privilege, and power.
I think that he lost all credit a few years ago when he did a commercial along with Shirley Franklin and Andrew Young for someone running for Fulton County Commission Chairman. In it, they compared voting for Republicans to having dogs and water hoses being turned on you.