Congressman tells angry constituents the idea that they pay his salary is bullcrap

[HAB911]

An Oklahoman congressman is under fire after he seemingly dismissed the notion that his constituents pay for him to go to Congress, calling the idea “bullcrap” in a viral video making the rounds on social media.

Markwayne Mullin, speaking at a town hall Tuesday in Jay, Oklahoma, was responding to a question from the audience when he responded to a claim that constituents pay for him to work in Congress.

“You say you pay for me to do this. Bullcrap. I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got there and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go,” said the 39-year-old Republican who represents Oklahoma’s second district, which covers much of the eastern part of the state.

When several audience members pushed back against this claim, Mullin went on, “I’m just saying this is a service for me, not a career, and I thank God this is not how I make my living.”


Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article144264444.html#storylink=cpy

[SummerSnow]

1. Ooh, so nasty to his constituents.

[Jim__]

2. He imagines that he pays his own salary and so he only has to represent his own interests.

My guess is that most of the 70% who voted for him last time will vote for him again. He could probably shoot one of his constituents on a main street in Tulsa at high noon and not lose a single vote.

The last couple of years has really made me question the efficacy of democracy.

[zipplewrath]

10. It's not democracy

I'm not trying to be pedantic here, it is not democracy that has brought us here. To a great extent it is just the opposite. The federal/republican/representative democracy that was created in the US was based upon a number of ideas, most of them anti-democratic by any measure. And that was intentional. They worried about government by mob-rule.

That was bad enough. But over the centuries, we've further messed with the system and now it's all out of whack. We changed the election of senators from state legislatures to popular vote. We froze the number of House members at 435, but each state still gets at least one representative, so it is no longer proportional. We added states of wildly different sizes and populations, and no adjustment to senate or house representation, which directly impacts the presidential election.

The system was intended to protect the minority, but it was never intended to empower it (Well, not the white male land owning portion anyway). As things stand now, a fraction of the population of the US can control the Senate. 8 states represent HALF of the population, but only have 1/3 of the senate votes. Conversely, 25 of the most unpopulated states can control the senate, yet have 17% of the population.

And then there is gerrymandering. This means that an even smaller minority can control power. They can get control of the House, controlling it with a minority of the population of both the state, and therefor the country.

The end result is that you get a population that feels, correctly, that the system doesn't work and doesn't respond to them. It breeds both a sense of helplessness and frustration and you end up here, with a populist whack job for a president, and a Congress that ignores the needs of the people.

And then there is Citizen's United...

[Jim__]

11. Mullins district is not gerrymandered.

It runs from the northern extent to the southern extent of eastern Oklahoma (CD 2):

[center][/center]

He gets 70% of the vote in that district. He is a democratically elected representative.

As to Citizen’s United, its effect supports my questioning of the efficacy of democracy. Citizen’s United undermines US democracy because a large number of voters are easily persuaded by flash-bam razzle-dazzle bombast.

[zipplewrath]

12. What's up with district 1?

Strange shape running straight north. What's that about?

[Blue_true]

13. To limit the big vote in Tulsa to just that region.

My guess the vote is heavy Democrat and if set up differently, could give Democrats two seats.

[Jim__]

16. It's the Tulsa area - no democrat even ran in that district in 2014 or 2016.

In 2012 the congressional vote was 32% for the Democratic candidate.

[msongs]

3. a true republican sharing the belief system of most of his voters. I got mine so screw everyone else

[Liberal In Texas]

4. Great minds etc....

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10028927023

[HAB911]

6. these assholes are shameless

[MineralMan]

5. Oh, man! If I were in that audience, I'd speak up and say,

"Well, Congressman Mullin, if you dislike that job so much, I suggest you resign tomorrow and we'll get someone else who gives a shit about constituents. How does that sound?"

[RedWedge]

7. Why does that culture have such weird names?

[HAB911]

8. I would bet money

he makes fun of African American names too

goobers will be goobers

[struggle4progress]

9. He needs to decide how much he's actually making

Back in 2013, when the House Ethics Committee was looking at him,

... his attorneys, Jan Baran and Rob Walker, ... said the Oklahoma Republican made only $95,000 in income ...

It would be hard to see how an income of that level could be considered as paying a $174K congressional salary, even before taking benefits into account

[Blue_true]

14. His family is using allowable accounting tricks to reduce taxes.

On a rough sketch, it seems the businesses made around $1.6-2 million before taxes, that would pay a $174,000 per year salary. He he can't consider himself a public servant, he should quit Congress.

[CottonBear]

15. Markwayne is apparently unfamiliar with the term "public servant."

What a fucking asshole. He doesn't even pretend to represent all of his constituents.

He should refuse a salary if he's so goddamn rich. Better yet, he should quit and go back to whatever hole he crawled out of.

[gratuitous]

17. Say, wouldn't this be a good time for a Democratic political rally in OK-2?

I understand that Rep. Mullin won a huge majority of the vote last time around, and that Oklahoma is a heavily Republican state. But I also submit that that is not an immutable political characteristic. Beginning with the 2018 election, how might things eventually come out differently with a viable Democratic candidate in OK-2? Getting one's brains beat in is never fun, but how about having Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton come to a rally in Jay, Oklahoma with a local candidate? Get a little local coverage without the Fox News filter. Talk up Democratic policies and programs and how they benefit Oklahomans. And promise to work for the people of the Second District rather than dismissing their concerns as bullcrap. Gotta work better than what Democrats are doing now.

Mullin would probably still pull 60% or more in 2018, but what if the RNCC had to spend a few dollars to defend his seat that it would rather spend elsewhere?

[gabeana]

18. In the comments sections

a lot of dipshits supporting the idiot

[UTUSN]

19. What's amazing is the ARROGANT IGNORANCE of this dude, Shrub, DRUMPF, et al.

It's gobsmacking that super rich spawn who have all the opportunities of education, travel, access to accomplished people - and yet are IGNORANT of the basics of our world.

It took Shrub squatting himself into the presidency to learn geography and some political dynamics via exercising war. And DRUMPF is the same.

The congresscritter in the O.P. is in the similar ignorant zone.

[superpatriotman]

20. Then quit, fuckface martyr

So sick of these assholes.

[Thor_MN]

21. If he doesn't get paid by taxpayers, then stop his congressional paychecks and benefits.

Let's see how quickly he decides that he does get paid by taxpayers