THE CASE AGAINST LYNN JENKINS CHAPTER 31 - BUSINESS AS USUAL

This is Lynn Jenkins, she does not represent us

Lynn Jenkins is doing business as usual with AT&T, Inc. AT&T, Inc. is the former nationwide phone company broken up by federal Anti-Trust litigation. They were a monopoly, I suspect they'd really like to be one again. That's why it's a sure bet that if you're a Member of Congress they'll give you $5,000.


Lynn Jenkins didn't get $5,000 she got $11,500 from AT&T, Inc's PAC. Open Secrets reports that the average gift to a Member of Congress from AT&T, Inc. is $4,791 for Democrats and $5,973 for Republicans. What makes Lynn Jenkins such an attractive buy for this PAC?

Part of the corporate largesse being spread for Lynn Jenkins comes by virtue of her assignment to the House Financial Services Committee. That's not the number one recipient of AT&T, Inc's cash, but they're high on the list.

Energy and Commerce was first with $345,250. The Transportation Committee came in second getting $341,350. Third was Financial Services taking a combined $318,500. Number four or AT&T, Inc's hit parade of House Committees was Armed Services which raked in $258,275. Rounding out the top five was Agriculture harvesting $240,000.

AT&T is buying Members of Congress

Talk about the top five, here's another. The top five rankings [it takes 12 names because of ties] for Members of Congress taking AT&T, Inc.'s cash:

#1. Nevada's Democratic Senator Harry Reid, $29,550,  ranked #1


#2. Florida's Republican CANDIDATE Charlie Crist* $21,600, ranked #2


#3. Missouri's Republican Representative Roy Blunt $11,500, ranked #3


#4. Kansas' Republican Representative Lynn Jenkins $11,500, ranked #3


#5. California's Democratic Representative Jerry McNerney $11,500, ranked #3


#6. Texas' Republican Representative John Carter $11,000,  ranked #4


#7. Texas' Republican Representative Jeb Hensarling $11,000, ranked #4


#8. Maryland's Democratic Representative Steny Hoyer $11,000, ranked #4


#9. Ohio's Republican CANDIDATE Rob Portman* $11,000, ranked #4


#10. Virginia's Republican Representative Eric Cantor $10,500, ranked #5


#11. Massachusetts's Democratic CANDIDATE Martha Coakley* $10,500, ranked #5


#12. Georgia's Republican Representative Tom Price $10,500, ranked #5

*Governor Crist is running for the U.S. Senate as an Independent in Florida, Rob Portman is running for the vacated seat of Senator Voinovich in Ohio, and Martha Coakley lost to Senator Scott Brown in the special election to fill the seat of Senator Kennedy after his death.

An example of why AT&T is spending lots of cash on Congress is H.R. 3125, the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act. One way to ease the gnarling gridlock in D.C. is to lubricate our Representatives and Senators with money. H.R. 3125 required a 2/3 majority to pass the House on roll call 201. It passed by a margin of 394 to 18!

Open Secrets reports that AT&T, Inc. had 14 specific reports or issues with H.R.3125. To see the list of legislation AT&T, Inc. is interested in right now link to Open Secrets at http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/bills.php?id=D000000076. The data was compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Ma Bell made Big Bucks in Long Distance

AT&T, Inc. whom we used to call MA BELL, was purchased by SBC, formerly Southwest Bell, one of the baby bells FOR $16 BILLION. According to Open Secrets they want to become MA BROADBAND. Here is Open Secrets summary on AT&T, Inc.:

After being broken up in the mid-1980s in a landmark antitrust case, this telecommunications icon re-formed in 2005, and became the nation’s largest phone company when SBC Communications bought AT&T Corp. for $16 billion. As SBC, the company led the fight to allow the Baby Bells to enter the long-distance market, where they hope to offer profitable broadband Internet services. Cingular, which bought AT&T Wireless for $14 billion in 2004 and was part of SBC, is now in AT&T’s fold. Cingular -- ultimately renamed AT&T again -- is the leading U.S. wireless carrier, with more than 54 million subscribers. And AT&T’s growth continues. In 2006, AT&T agreed to buy southern Baby Bell BellSouth in a deal valued at more than $65 billion. Although the company has historically favored Republicans in its political giving, people and political action committees associated with AT&T have generally split their contributions between Democrats and the GOP since the 2008 election cycle.

If you are sick and tired of business as usual politics then you've got to be sick and tired of Lynn Jenkins.

It's time to take Congress back from the Fat Cats