Republicans run on the campaign platform “government doesn’t work.” Then they get elected, and prove it. And my ordeal of dealing with the Dep’t of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) under the misAdministration of Boy Blunder, covering John “Semper Never” Kline’s abuse of taxpayer dough in this “John Kline Franked Me!” saga, only further demonstrates the incompetence of government under Republican “leadership.” So, what’s the update, you might be wondering? It’s the e-mail just sent, to the VA’s Media “Spokesman”, Jim Benson, that is cut ‘n pasted here in the hopes that a little sunlight will help further the sordid story of Kline’s abuse of the Franking Privilege:

Mr. Benson – it is August 4th, and I do not have the hard copy of Congressman Kline’s RONA Request. You stated, below, that I would have it in “a few days.” As usual, this has not happened. Mr. Benson, there is a pattern here, and it’s not flattering to your office, or the VA. As a citizen/journalist and representative of a news media, I am disappointed in the difficulty of working with the VA; as a veteran and taxpayer, I am outraged.

According to the VA’s website, as a representative of the news media, the only fees I and/or the news media I write for are responsible for are copying, with the first 100 pages provided at no charge.

I will send a FOIA Request, for this question – “how many OTHER Names and Addresses, for zip codes not requested, were provided to Rep. Kline?”, since apparently your office doesn’t answer questions posed by citizen/journalists without one.

Tell me – will I need a FOIA to find out exactly how long you have been a “spokesman” in the Media Relations Department? Will I need a FOIA to find out how long Phil Budahn has been a “spokesman” in the Media Relations Department? The reason I ask these two questions is the current reporting that at the Justice Department, under Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson’s direction, ideology was more important than competence in hiring decisions – and I’m seriously beginning to wonder if it isn’t the same case, at the VA’s Media Relations Department.

The issue I am investigating and reporting on is serious; a Member of Congress appearing to have abused RONA for partisan political gain.

Why the VA doesn’t take this seriously, and the delaying tactics the VA has used (I first contacted the VA about this on or about June 10th – almost 2 months ago) will be reported and published on-line at www.MnBlue.com – along with the story of how many veterans (and at what cost to the taxpayers) in Congressman Kline’s district received what appears to be campaign propaganda; and how many veterans (and at what cost to the taxpayers) outside of Congressman Cline’s district received what appears to be campaign propaganda.

Tommy Johnson

Citizen/Journalist

(originally published at MnBlue.com)