Whitman blames Jerry Brown for WelfareSpentOutOfStateGate

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Whitman uses Times report to hit Brown
October 5, 2010 | 10:34 am
GOP gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman is using this week's Times investigation -- revealing that millions of dollars in state welfare money was spent or withdrawn in Las Vegas, Hawaii and even on cruise ships off the coast of Florida -- as a springboard to attack her Democratic opponent, Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown.

Whitman's statement:

"Jerry Brown has been asleep at the switch in the fight against welfare fraud and the abuse of taxpayer's money. The LA Times has revealed that $69 million in welfare payments meant for impoverished families and children have been spent out-of-state in recent years at places like luxurious Hawaiian islands, Las Vegas casinos and cruise ships. This abuse of taxpayer dollars has happened right under Jerry Brown's nose. Brown has used taxpayer resources to run for office and shamelessly chase headlines. After multiple investigations into celebrity overdoses and children's bouncy houses, Brown's inability to police this type of wide-scale abuse is unacceptable. It's not enough for Brown to simply show up and grandstand after the taxpayer has been ripped off.

My approach to this type of abuse stands in sharp contrast to Jerry Brown's: I have outlined a plan to empower Californians with a grand jury to investigate and fight fraud in the welfare system and protect the taxpayers who are ultimately on the hook for Sacramento's failure to act."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/10/whitman-uses-times-report-to-hit-brown.html

[Fresh_Start]

1. why is brown responsible for what happened when there was a

GOP governor?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. You know that, and I know that, and everyone but Meg Whitman knows that

Now's as good a time as any to post the famous (infamous) Sklar Brothers comedy bit "Chopper 4."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij5Y4A0mR5w

:toast:

[gratuitous]

3. Meg Whitman proposes to spend how much?

There's no indication that any of this out-of-state spending was fraudulent, and it constitutes less than 1% of all benefits paid out during the period. But Inspector Meg Clouseau will get to the bottom of this! This is a woman who has spent nearly twice that much in less than one third the time on her vanity run for the governorship of California.

Oh well; outrage is very "in" now that the DFH's aren't protesting war crimes and crimes against humanity anymore.

[KamaAina]

4. "luxurious Hawaiian islands"?!

Earth to NutMeg, come in please: Real people live on those "luxurious" islands (hint: they're the ones who make your bed and serve your mai tais). And it so happens that a fair amount of them have relatives in the Western mainland states, including California, who just might have been visiting them back home. That would explain, for instance, why some of the offensive cards were used at big-box stores, which are seldom frequented by tourists, owing to them being mostly on the other sides of the various islands.

[dalaigh lllama]

5. Great comeback from Brown's campaign

{Article}Updated at 12:20 p.m.:
Brown campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford said Whitman's charges reflect ignorance of how state government operates. "Once again, Meg Whitman is showing how little she knows about how the system works," Clifford said. "The Department of Social Services investigates welfare cases, referring them to the attorney general for prosecution following an administrative process. Perhaps if Ms. Whitman wants to be governor, she should take a moment and learn what each branch of government does."