La Crosse to bill $50,000 for Bush campaign visit

[JoFerret]

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2004/05/14/news/00lead.txt

The city is going to bill the Bush/Cheney campaign nearly $50,000 for expenses incurred during the president's visit here for a rally last week.

The total includes charges for police officers and the use of a Municipal Transit Utility bus to take them and some Secret Service agents to help with security in Prairie du Chien, Wis.

La Crosse Mayor John Medinger said he wants to confer with the La Crosse Common Council to establish a consistent policy regarding charges for future visits by presidents and other dignitaries.

"I want this to be fair, and I do not want the people of La Crosse to subsidize any campaigns," he said. "If I drove in a police car to run for mayor, they would lock me up. All those people in Madison are charged with felonies because they used their offices for campaign-related activities. This has nothing to do with me not liking George Bush."

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[depakid]

1. Good luck collecting-

Bush/Cheney don't pay their bills to local governments and there's nothing the mayor can do about it.

[LittleApple81]

3. Is that legal? To go disrupt lives, cause expenses and then not pay? n/t

[havocmom]

4. In that case, local governments should just tell the Secret Service

to redirect traffic and herd protesters into their designated free speech zones :eyes: there own damned selves.

Forcing locals to pick up the tab for the security and traffic control required is forcing them to make campaign contributions. Not likely many municipal governments have expendable cash to throw down that rat hole.

[depakid]

5. A lot of people in Portland sure feel that way

Whenever Bush and Cheney show up for $2,000 a plate fundraisers, the city ends up footing a bill that sometimes exceeds $1 million dollars. Whenever the city has tried to bill for reimbursement, the adinistration basically thumbs its nose at us-

It's all the more insulting considering that local governments here are struggling just to provide the most basic services, thanks in no small part to Bush and the rest of the Republicans' irresponsible economic policies.

[havocmom]

6. Local politicians should just hang up when SS calls to announce

either Cheney or the shrub coming to pick up some loot. People should insist their local politicians do nothing to assist the bag men when they blow into town to pick up their protection money.

[Flagg]

2. They obviously remember their French roots