Henry Waxman, Zombie Congressman Spends Zombie Campaign Cash

What do politicians do with all the campaign money they have raised when they no longer run for office?

Pretty much whatever they want to.

What has Henry Waxman been doing with all his campaign cash?

Years after leaving office, ex-members of Congress still spend campaign money

“In their political afterlife, former politicians and their staffers are hoarding unspent campaign donations for years and using them to finance their lifestyles, advance new careers and pay family members,” the Times investigation found.

Wow! This is a problem. This article initially targeted Gary Miller, an Orange County Congressman from Diamond Bar who then moved into San Bernardino to represent the 31st Congressional district for one term before retiring for good.

“Their spending makes a mockery of one of the fundamental principles of America’s campaign finance laws: Donations must be spent only on politics, not politicians’ personal lives.”

I would have to agree. What is the proper process for an elected official who is no longer ... an elected official?

While federal law forbids the use of campaign dollars for personal expenses, in many cases, the zombie spending goes to charity or to active political candidates and causes.

And many people love listing themselves or their family as charities, of course.

To slay zombie accounts, Takano is sponsoring the “Let It Go” Act, which would require federal office holders and candidates to get rid of unspent campaign funds within six years of leaving office or running for election.

Introduced last March, the bill has yet to get out of the House administration committee. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Florida, signed on as a co-sponsor and the bill has the support of Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Florida, “so we’re optimistic that the legislation will continue picking up bipartisan support,” Takano spokesman Josh Weisz said.

I think I would support this bill, even if Takano is the first one to bring it up.

Former Southern California lawmakers with zombie accounts include Miller; Henry Waxman, a Democrat who represented part of Los Angeles and nearby cities for 30 years; Democrat and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis and Republican Howard “Buck” McKeon, who represented parts of L.A. and San Bernardino counties for more than two decades.

So, what's Henry Waxman been up to since he ran from Congress in 2014?

Waxman, who chaired the House energy and oversight committees, served in Congress from 1975 to January 2015. In 2016, his campaign spent $100,000 on Vanguard Charitable, a nonprofit grant-making organization.

Non-profit grant maker? Really? Who gets the grants?

The U.S. Capitol Historical Society got $47,070 from Waxman’s campaign in 2015. His campaign also gave money Democratic U.S. senators Bill Nelson of Florida, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan after Waxman left office.

OK ... so candidates get money from these zombie campaign warchests, too. I don't see a problem with that, I guess. But I do think that retiring elected officials should first offer to refund the donations to the donors.

Waxman is listed as the recipient of more than $78,000 in campaign spending since 2015. In a telephone interview, Waxman, who now heads a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm, said that money was reimbursement for donations he made from personal funds to charities and candidates.

These campaign committees should not get any more money, though. This is turning into money laundering.

“The reason I’ve done that is because I don’t want the campaign committee to write a bunch of small checks,” he said. “I charged donations to my credit card or I write my own check for them and the campaign reimburses me.”

Waxman said he sent his donors a letter offering to return their contributions when he decided not to seek re-election.

“I don’t know why it looks bad particularly to have a campaign committee open,” he said, adding he has no plans to run for public office.

He would say as much, now, wouldn't he? Henry Waxman was the epitome of the DC Swamp.

Waxman said he’ll keep spending the money in his account until it’s gone.

Final Reflection

So glad that Congressman Henry Waxman is gone for good. What a corrupto-crat who shoved Obamacare down everyone's throats. He didn't even have a problem with his fellow Democratic colleagues losing House seats over the legislation.

Now it's getting unraveled as we speak. Thank God for Trump!