Sunday, August 24, 2008

Kennedy Again Taking Credit for Things He Has Nothing to do With

Original Link: http://www.marylandrieu.com/news/press_releases?id=0010

Circulates news story that says he is under ethics investigation.

NEW ORLEANS -The Louisiana State Legislature this week passed earmark reform legislation that increases transparency in state spending despite John Neely Kennedy's politicization and near-sabotage of the important bill. The bill originally failed on June 10th in part because Kennedy and his associates turned the important legislation into a campaign issue, despite the fact that Kennedy has absolutely no control over bills debated in the state legislature, according to the bill's sponsor.

"Senator Landrieu supported and delivered legislation in the U.S. Senate that brought transparency to all dedicated federal spending," Landrieu campaign spokesman Scott Schneider said. "She has secured essential funding for the state while making serious progress in ensuring public scrutiny for federal appropriations. While all of the federal spending she secures is public, John Kennedy continues to ignore his own hypocrisy on this issue. As chairman of the state Bond Commission, he approved $325 million in earmarks for nongovernmental organizations.

"In fact, when the original reform legislation was up for debate in the state House of Representatives, Kennedy was nowhere to be found despite pledges to testify on the bill's behalf. If Kennedy can't even show up in the state capitol - where he works - how can Louisianians expect him to show up for essential votes in the U.S. Senate?

"John Kennedy had absolutely nothing to do with securing this essential reform for Louisiana, and according to the bill's author, actually prevented the bill from passing the first time. He should stop taking credit for things he doesn't control."

The Kennedy campaign today took a news story out of context in order to distort the truth and claim that Sen. Landrieu opposes earmark reform. In reality, Sen. Landrieu has not only supported earmark reform, but she's gotten in done in the Senate. Ironically, the Gambit Weekly story that the Kennedy campaign has circulated reports that "the Louisiana Board of Ethics may be looking into whether GOP state Treasurer John Kennedy is having state employees work on his campaign for the U.S. Senate."

"The Washington Republicans that got John Neely Kennedy into this Senate race are the same partisans who only four years ago said he was using state funds to further his political career," Schneider said. "He is again using the Treasurer's office to campaign for higher office."

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