Archive for September, 2008
TC Palm
Jim Turner
September 25, 2008
The U.S. Marine Corps says an honorably discharged Iraq War veteran shown in Congressman Tim Mahoney’s recent campaign commercial violated federal law by appearing in uniform.
However, there will be no fine, nor will the Marine Corps ask Mahoney to remove the commercial. Instead, the Marine Corps will advise the vet to wear something besides his uniform if he’s going to appear in further campaign activities.
“The Marine Corps is always concerned when someone wears the USMC uniform in an unauthorized manner,” stated Capt. Carl B. Redding, media officer HQMC, The Pentagon. “As you know, the Marine Corps and the military in general remains neutral and does not endorse any candidate or political party.”
Though the honorably discharged veteran is not on active duty, there was no authority for the individual to wear the uniform in a political ad, Redding noted.
The commercial, titled “flag ceremony,” featured several people who identified themselves as veterans of different conflicts. Only one was in uniform.
Mahoney’s spokesman Marc Goldberg said the marine did nothing wrong, instead blaming District 16 Republican candidate Tom Rooney and the National Republican Congressional Committee for making the matter an issue.
“Tom Rooney and the NRCC should stop picking on an innocent veteran,” was the official statement from the Mahoney campaign. “They want to deprive a veteran of his right to free speech and assembly, the same right he put his life on the line to defend. Rooney’s time might be better served explaining why people should vote for someone who is so deep in the pockets of special interests.”
The NRCC noted this is not the first time Mahoney has made news over his use of a person in uniform. In July Mahoney had to apologize and agree to reimburse taxpayers when a mailing to honor “those who defend our freedom” featured an image of a former soldier of the Soviet Union’s Red Army.
“Tim Mahoney thinks that soldiers are to be used as props in campaign commercials and mailers,” said Ken Spain, NRCC press secretary. “Last time he attempted to do so by passing off a member of Josef Stalin’s Red Army as a United States veteran in one of his taxpayer-funded mailers, and now he is using a soldier in uniform to falsely proclaim that he understands their issues.”
Marine Corps rules on when a person, not on active duty, is authorized to wear a uniform:
(a) A member of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard may wear the uniform prescribed for the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, as the case may be.
(b) A member of the Naval Militia may wear the uniform prescribed for the Naval Militia.
(c) A retired officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may bear the title and wear the uniform of his retired grade.
(d) A person who is discharged honorably or under honorable conditions from the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may wear his uniform while going from the place of discharge to his home, within three months after his discharge.
(e) A person not on active duty who served honorably in time of war in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may bear the title, and, when authorized by regulations prescribed by the President, wear the uniform, of the highest grade held by him during that war.
(f) While portraying a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, an actor in a theatrical or motion-picture production may wear the uniform of that armed force if the portrayal does not tend to discredit that armed force.
(g) An officer or resident of a veterans’ home administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs may wear such uniform as the Secretary of the military department concerned may prescribe.
(h) While attending a course of military instruction conducted by the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, a civilian may wear the uniform prescribed by that armed force if the wear [wearing] of such uniform is specifically authorized under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the military department concerned.
(i) Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Air Force may prescribe, a citizen of a foreign country who graduates from an Air Force school may wear the appropriate aviation badges of the Air Force.
(j) A person in any of the following categories may wear the uniform prescribed for that category:
(1) Members of the Boy Scouts of America.
(2) Members of any other organization designated by the Secretary of a military department.
-U.S. Marine Corps
September 25th, 2008
Blocks House Ethics Investigation into Rangel’s Mounting Tax Scandal
Washington- Despite overwhelming evidence that Rep. Charlie Rangel may have broken multiple local, state and federal laws; and despite the fact that Rangel has violated House Ethics rules; and despite Rangel’s own admission that he failed to pay taxes for as many as twenty years, Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL) stubbornly voted against a House Resolution today that would have launched a much needed House Ethics Committee investigation to get to the truth of Rangel’s ethical dilemma (House Roll Call 609).
Mahoney’s defense of embattled Rangel, and his refusal to hold Rangel accountable for his actions, is further proof that Mahoney is more interested in defending the status quo in Washington than he is in being an independent voice for his district. Apparently the $21,000 that Tim Mahoney has received from Charlie Rangel’s campaign accounts was enough to buy Mahoney’s vote to give him an ethical pass.
Perhaps Mahoney doesn’t want to know the truth about Charlie Rangel and how many laws he’s violated while serving as Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, responsible for writing tax codes in the country, but Americans deserve better. Mahoney’s vote today only further alienates voters from their elected representatives by signaling that the rules Americans follow don’t apply to politicians in Washington.
“Tim Mahoney turned his back on an opportunity today to fulfill his promise to change the way business is done in Washington, and instead chose to embrace the same corrupt behavior he once campaigned against,” said NRCC Spokesman Ken Spain. “While the financial market is in peril, Tim Mahoney is voting to prop up an ethically-challenged Congressman who has not only circumvented the very tax hikes he has written, but who has admitted he is incapable of keeping his own financial house in order. Tim Mahoney hasn’t changed Washington because Washington has already changed him.”
September 21st, 2008
Roll Call
By Matthew Murray
September 18, 2008
These days, even wealthy Members of Congress are singing the economic blues.
According to court documents obtained by Roll Call, millionaire Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) wound up before a Washington, D.C., judge last year for bouncing a rent check on his Capitol Hill apartment, while Florida property records show that the freshman lawmaker’s South Florida district residence is a horse barn.
Court documents allege that Mahoney, an investment banker whose financial disclosure forms show he is worth at least $3.5 million, did not pay $1,500 in July 2007 for rent on his Capitol Hill apartment at 610 Third St. SE.
Friedman Real Estate, which filed the complaint on July 12, 2007, also sought $400 in late charges and a $50 “bounced check fee.” Court papers also show that the District government and postal service repeatedly tried to deliver court papers to the lawmaker’s residence near Garfield Park. Court notices addressed to Mahoney’s apartment were stamped “return to sender … vacant” by the U.S. Postal Service.
A judge for the Superior Court for the District of Columbia dismissed Mahoney’s case on Sept. 6, 2007, according to court documents.
Both the management company and its lawyers declined repeated requests to discuss the case, but Mahoney spokeswoman Leslie Pollner-Levey said the incident was simply a run-of-the-mill rental property dispute and that both parties have moved on.
“Congressman Mahoney and his landlord were able to sit down and the issue was resolved amicably,” Pollner-Levey said. “The Congressman has extended his lease and he continues to reside there.”
Pollner-Levey declined to provide Roll Call with details of the incident.
Meanwhile, back home, the Congressman and his family live in a typical suburban dwelling in Democratic Rep. Ron Klein’s adjacent district. Mahoney’s office confirmed that Florida voter rolls list his address at a horse barn located in his district.
His office said the barn includes an efficiency apartment and that the couple anticipates building “their dream home” on the farm once the family finally finds a buyer for their current house — a sale that is proving to be difficult.
“Congressman Mahoney takes a homestead exemption at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, which has been on the market for more than a year,” Pollner-Levey said. “He is registered to vote at [the horse farm], where he and his wife hope to build their dream home.”
Pollner-Levey also said that “the housing market is killing him” and suggested that the Mahoney family — perhaps like many of his constituents — is feeling the pinch of the sluggish economy.
“Florida has a really soft housing market right now and it’s been really hard to sell the house,” she said.
Florida secretary of state spokeswoman Jennifer Krell Davis told Roll Call on Wednesday that Mahoney’s use of two addresses doesn’t necessarily put him at odds with state law.
Still, the political implications can be costly.
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), whose Boca Raton-based district adjoins Mahoney’s, was the recent target of news reports showing his family likely lives full time in Maryland.
According to published reports, Wexler was registered to vote at the Florida home of his in-laws. There was just one problem: His wife’s parents live in a community that prohibits children — including the lawmaker’s — from living there.
Last week, the Palm Beach Post reported that the Wexlers had recently rented an apartment in the Boca Raton area.
“Residency is a very soft term in Florida law and is determined on a case-by-case basis,” Krell Davis said. “There’s not a silver bullet that says you’re a resident.”
Krell Davis also said that there is no requirement in Florida that Mahoney, Wexler or other federal lawmakers live or register to vote in their districts so long as they live in the state, although the ultimate arbiters are Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and others in House leadership.
“Residency for Congressional candidates requires that they are residents of the state, which is provided for by the U.S. Constitution,” Krell Davis said. “In the U.S. Constitution, it provides that the Congressional leadership is the final decider for the qualifications of a Congressional candidate.”
Mahoney is in a tough re-election battle with attorney Tom Rooney (R).
September 18th, 2008
On his first week back on Capitol Hill, after taking a five-week paid vacation, Democrat Tim Mahoney voted to block consideration of a comprehensive energy bill. Sticking to his ways of stonewalling on energy, Mahoney wrapped up his week in Washington by voting to take a three day weekend. When are Tim Mahoney and his Democrat colleagues going to get serious about energy reform and lowering gas prices for Floridians?
Tom Rooney has a comprehensive energy plan which will lower the price of gas and develop alternative fuels for the future. To read about Tom’s plan click here.
September 14th, 2008
“We are proud to endorse a distinguished Irish-American, Tom Rooney to be the next Republican Congressman from Florida’s 16th District,” said Jim Bomford, Chairman of the Florida Irish-American Republicans. “As a former U.S. Army captain and a criminal prosecutor, we have no doubt that Tom has what it takes to be a strong advocate for law enforcement and for our nation’s security.”
The Irish-American Republicans are a national organization established in 1994 to support the Republican Party and its principles among the 45 million strong Irish-American community. The IAR supports and promotes Irish Americans within the Republican Party, and GOP officials and candidates who work for issues of concern to Irish America, and the cause of peace and justice in Ireland.
Tom Rooney is a direct descendent of the Rooney family of Newry, County Down, Ireland. His grandfather Art Rooney, the son of Irish immigrants, rose to prominence as the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, becoming one of our countries most respected Irish-Americans. After college, Tom worked for Seamus Mallon, MP (SDLP) and Irish-American U.S. Senator Connie Mack. Today his family owns several traditional Irish Public Houses in South Florida.
September 14th, 2008
Dear Friend,
It’s like a run for the Super Bowl…
As someone who grew up in a football family, that is just one of the terms I use to describe running for office. Every day is another 4th down conversion that decides the future. But because of you we have the team in place to win!
Let me first thank you for all you did to help me win a trip to the General Election. Your generosity has overwhelmed Tara and me, and I will always be grateful for your support.
I believe that like any football game, the winning team must have the resources they need to field the best team capable to leading the way towards the goal line, and your continued support will go a long way to making sure we’re prepared for every blitz from the liberal Democrat machine.
Can I count on your support? Will you make a most generous contribution in the amount of $2,300, $1,000, $500, $250, or even $50 today?
With your help, we can bring our shared values to Washington: lowering taxes will help create jobs, defending our traditional Constitutional values must be a priority, securing our borders will keep us safer, and energy independence will help bring down gas prices and secure our future.
But right now, we all face an opponent who will have every liberal special interest tripping over themselves to support. With the backing of Nancy Pelosi and her team of liberals, Tim Mahoney will stop at nothing to win the November 4th General Election.
It’s fourth and five, we’re down by six, with 15 seconds left, on the ten yard line and the
Super Bowl is on the line…
In other words – I need your help.
Can I continue to count on your support? I would truly appreciate your most generous contribution of $2,300, $1,000, $500, $250, or even $50.
Thank you for taking the time to read this email and may God continue to bless this great country.
Sincerely,
Tom Rooney
September 10th, 2008
