Political Elitism Is Still Alive and Well In Washington D.C.

We have often talked about how good/great life is if you are a member of Congress:

• They are paid more than three times the amount of what a typical American household makes in a year.
• Most politicians are far wealthier after they leave office than when they entered office.
• They get a life time pension after just serving a few years in office while the vast majority of Americans never get a pension no matter how long they work.
• They get top medical care and a whole variety of other perks.
• They have large staffs to cater to their every whim.
• They get multiple vacations a year, cleverly disguised as “recesses,” including a whopping five weeks off in the summer.
• And best of all, they do not have to do anything productive for these perks and wages, since our recent history shows that over the past decades our public schools still under educate our kids, we have a crumbling infrastructure throughout the nation, our borders still leak, we have no overarching national energy strategy, we have no overarching immigration plan, poverty is still significant across the country, etc.

What a great life if you can get it. But a certain Congressman has taken this elitism and greed to a whole new level according to a recent Politico article by John Bresnahan and Rachael Baden which concerned Todd Rokita, an Indiana Congressman. 

If you are his chauffeur when the Congressman visits his home district you better be prepared since Politico got its hands on an eight page memo that outlines the responsibilities of that chauffeur when driving around the Congressman:

• You have to empty his trash.
• You have to have hand sanitizer and gum always available.
• You cannot have “unnecessary conversation” while driving the Congressman around.
• You have to hand him a cup of black coffee when picking him up.
• You have to act as a physical barrier if anyone approaches him.
• You have to avoid sudden acceleration and braking while driving the Congressman around, with “The goal is to provide as smooth a ride as possible.” 
• You are expected to transport his toothbrush and toothpaste.
• You also have to stock and carry around the 20 item supply box that his staff calls “the football,” which carries gum, hand sanitizer, business cards, bottled water, napkins, throat lozenges, s stapler with staple remover, Post-it notes, Shout wipes, and Kleenex.
• The car should always have a hangar available and the chauffeur should never allow the Congressman to be photographed with a drink in his hand.
• When the Congressman enters the car the chauffeur is to ask him if he has his phone and wallet.
• According to Politico, “Drivers are expected to know when each event was approved in Rokita’s scheduling office, whether reporters will be there and the best locations for interviews, as well as the layout of each event and where Rokita will be standing.”
• When picking up the Congressman the car needs to be properly positioned so that it is easy for the Congressman to enter and for the car to leave as quickly as possible.
• The driver has to make sure that any idling cars are far enough away from the Congressman’s house so that fumes do not get close or inside the house.
• The Congressman should be informed of any sudden turns and sudden stops while in the car, as if a driver knows ahead of time there will be a sudden stop coming up.
• Things really get wild for the driver when the Congressman is gadflying about in public, functions that I would think would be part of his communications and PR staff, not his car driver: “Staffing Rokita's events seems to be a task made for Superman. Drivers are expected to collect contact information from “as many people as possible” and ensure the information is “quickly entered into the relevant databases.” At the same time, they're supposed to be taking pictures for social media, “notes of all interactions” Rokita has with constituents, identifying reporters and sending Rokita’s communications director a summary of exchanges he has with the press.”
• From a health perspective, the chauffeur is expected to keep the Congressman hydrated: “When you arrive at the event, get Todd a non-alcoholic drink that he can carry with him as he visits (water, diet soda, and coffee are best),” the manual reads.
• And in a blow against democracy, the chauffeur is expected to help keep contact with reporters and journalists to a minimum.

Pathetic elitism if you ask me. How much taxpayer wealth was spent putting together a detailed, single spaced, eight page document on how to drive a Congressman around town? 

And if he is a member of Congress that 1) needs to have someone else make sure he has enough gum around, 2) needs someone else to remind him to bring his wallet and phone, 3) needs someone else to manage his reporter contact time, 4) needs someone else to serve him a cup of coffee, 5) needs someone else to tote his toothbrush and toothpaste around, and 6) needs someone to actually warn him about a sudden curve or stop, then I am not quite sure he is not the right person to fix our schools, fix our infrastructure, fix our energy plans, fix our leaky borders, fix Social Security, fix Medicare and Medicaid, and fix the dire financial state of the country’s fiscal condition.

If you cannot remember to bring your wallet, if you cannot remember to bring your cell phone, if you are too lazy to get your own pack of gum, if you are not smart enough to manage your own time with reporters, then you probably need to leave and let someone else take your spot. You are obviously worried about the wrong set of priorities.

The entire document can be viewed at:

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3933393-Scan.html#document/p6/a368855

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