February 23, 2011, - 12:47 pm
Pimp My Ride: Liberal Politician Soaks America Edition
Perhaps the title of this entry shouldn’t be “Pimp My Ride,” but “Pimp You Out for My Ride.” That’s exactly what City Councilmen of the People’s Republic of Washington, DC are doing. I guess poverty in Notheast and Southeast DC has already been cured. And Washington needs to get rid of the extra money somehow . . . like on some pimped out, fully loaded luxury SUVs.
Wash, DC Councilman Kwame Brown Pimps Taxpayers Out For His Ride
Is Washington, DC’s City Council running the District of Columbia . . . or is it stocking up for a hip-hop video shoot? Hard to tell. But what is very easy to tell is that, ultimately, American taxpayers–who subsidize Washington, DC big-time–are the ones actually footing the bill. You really have to read this to believe the utter chutzpah of Washington City Councilman Kwame Brown. And you have to ask yourself why the poor of Washington, DC are not rioting and demonstrating over this the way liberals in Wisconsin and elsewhere are rioting against Governors who want to balance budgets?
Taxpayers in the District of Columbia, which faces a budget shortfall of $400 million, have paid to lease two deluxe Lincoln Navigators for the head of the City Council at a cost of about $3800 a month.
After getting elected chairman of the D.C. City Council in November, Kwame Brown asked for a black Lincoln Navigator L, with a DVD player for the back seat, a power moonroof, polished aluminum wheels and an all-black interior.
When the Public Works Department delivered a black Navigator with a gray interior, Mr. Brown’s office told the city to send it back.
“He was just very clear he wanted black on black,” said Brown spokeswoman Traci Hughes. “It doesn’t show as much dirt and wear and tear.”
Public Works’ employees found a second Navigator in Coldwater, Mich. But Mr. Brown was disappointed to learn on delivery that the SUV had a tan-and-black interior. He decided to keep the car anyway and return the first one to the city.
And, of course, after he got caught, Brown is suddenly a friend of the taxpayer:
Mr. Brown said in a statement Tuesday that the cost of the two vehicles was “unacceptable.”
He returned the Navigator with the tan-and-black interior to the city on Tuesday. The city council chairman said he would reimburse the city for use of the vehicle, but not the first Navigator, which was returned to Public Works in December.
Mr. Brown, who was first elected to the council in 2004, said he would reimburse the city for use of the second Navigator after the city attorney general’s office completed a renegotiation of the lease agreement. . . .
His spokeswoman said Mr. Brown would use his personal car from now on.
Isn’t it interesting how Kwame Brown suddenly will live like everyone else and pay for his own car . . . now that he’s been exposed? Whatta saint.
Typical liberal. They whine about the poor and the homeless. But when it comes to actually helping the less fortunate, well . . . they’re too busy helping themselves to the money and perks that might have helped the poor and the homeless, etc. This dude isn’t even a “limousine liberal.” He’s a tax-funded-limousine liberal.
The Washington Post first reported the two Lincolns, citing city emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Traditionally, both the mayor and the council chairman receive their own leased vehicles. Other elected council members are allowed to use vehicles from a city motor pool.
Mayor Vincent Gray, a Democrat, stood by Mr. Brown as some city Republicans demanded the council chairman reimburse the city for both vehicles.
Mr. Gray, according to The Washington Post, has a city-leased Navigator, as well as a Lincoln Town Car leased for his security detail.
The Detroit City Council members have tax-paid free cars, too. The thing is, they’re already handsomely paid, at over $80,000 a year. Why should any City Council members of any city have taxpayer-funded cars?
If you want to go somewhere and/or drive to work, buy and pay for your own damn car. . . like everybody else. You are not royalty. You are elected officials.
Tags: cars, City Councilman, DC, Kwame Brown, Lincoln Navigator, Pimp My Ride, pimped-out SUV, SUV, SUVs, Washington
Some politicians, including – or perhaps especially – those from allegedly “aggrieved” backgrounds, enter office with a sense of entitlement. “It’s my turn now. And I’m getting what’s due me” seems to be the mindset. It’s what allows our current President to enjoy a night on the town (Broadway) which, after considering the security detail, the use of Air Force One, helicopters and limos, had to cost a million dollars at least. All paid for courtesy of the taxpayers. Or a week’s getaway with friends and family to the coast of Spain. (Yep. We paid for that too.)
Raymond in DC on February 23, 2011 at 1:31 pm