Janelle Irwin Taylor
David Jolly wants members of Congress, including himself, to stop begging for money and get back to work. During a press conference Tuesday morning, the Pinellas County member of Congress announced a bill he’s proposing next week in the House that would forbid federally elected officials from directly soliciting campaign contributions.
That includes not only members of Congress, but also U.S. Senators, the President and Vice President. It would apply to any campaign contributions whether it was for in individual re-election bid or for a party-related committee.
“There’s a moment on election night … where you realize you have been given the honor of holding the public trust,” Jolly said. “Every time a member of Congress is doing something other than representing their community or fighting for their community or working on behalf of their community, they are violating that public trust.”
Jolly stood in front of about 40 constituents, each of whom had either benefitted from actions Jolly had taken in Congress or who had reached out to his office for one reason or another.
There were law enforcement officers who support Jolly’s Thin Blue Line Act that would increase penalties for those who commit crimes against police. Veterans who he’s helping by trying to improve a struggling Veteran’s Health Care Administration joined Jolly. A family whose adopted son was trapped overseas for months due to bureaucratic red tape joined Jolly with their son who Jolly helped them bring home.
“I will never get the Thin Blue Line Act enacted if I only work ten hours a week. I’ll never support the fishing industry if I only spend ten hours a week doing my job. I’ll never get VA healthcare solved and the benefits administration issue solved if I’m only working ten hours a week,” Jolly said.
The10 hours he’s referring to comes from an actual recommendation issued to freshman members of Congress by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. An enlarged graphic of a material in the group’s orientation packet flanked Jolly’s right. It listed new members of Congress’s top priority as logging call-time to fundraise. The time breakdown included four hours a day for raising funds.
“Understand what that means. First they’re not doing their job, but second, they’re not even in the office,” Jolly explained.
Federally elected officials are not allowed to participate in campaign activity, including fundraising, inside a government office.
“So those four hours of call time are four hours a day your elected official is not in their office, not doing their job, but with great audacity is across the street at party headquarters calling you and asking you for money,” Jolly continued.
Jolly’s plan isn’t likely to be met with open arms. Jolly, a Republican, said he hasn’t spoken with party leadership about the measure yet. Asked whether that’s a call he’s looking forward to having, Jolly laughed and implied it might not be the most pleasant conversation.
“I am concerned about pushback from a lot of people,” he said.
But Jolly also said he doesn’t care. It’s the right thing to do, he told reporters and a packed room full of staff and supporters. He plans to “blast” the proposal to his colleagues in Congress ahead of next week’s session beginning. He hopes to earn bipartisan support for the measure.
According to Jolly, he’s spoken with five colleagues about his plan – three Republicans and two Democrats. He said two of the Republicans seemed on board. Both Democrats initially showed support for the bill, but one dropped off for reasons Jolly said he didn’t know. Jolly wouldn’t say who the members were.
He hopes to gain 10 cosponsors to the bill.
In addition to the Stop Act, Jolly also announced Tuesday that he’d be imposing the rule on himself immediately. While he said he hopes whatever cosponsors emerge will do the same, he’s not asking that they do.
Reaction to Jolly’s announcement from candidates running against him for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Marco Rubio has been overwhelmingly negative.
“You’re not going to beat Patrick Murphy or Alan Grayson, and help keep the U.S. Senate in Republican hands by tying both hands behind your back,” said Ron DeSantis campaign manager Brad Herald. DeSantis is running against Jolly in the Republican Primary.
Another Republican challenger, Todd Wilcox, isn’t buying the bill either calling it “Washington hypocrisy.”
“Jolly’s new-found ethical code conveniently excludes hundreds of thousands of dollars he transferred from his last campaign. As a Washington insider and K Street lobbyist, David Jolly has been part of this problem for 20 years,” said campaign spokeswoman Erin Isaac. “If this isn’t just another political stunt, he should return every dollar he raised since being elected to Congress. Short of that, Jolly is just another professional politician who promises one thing and then does another.”
Jolly isn’t surprised by the claim that this bill is just a political stunt.
“Every political consultant in the country would tell me what I’m doing is foolish,” Jolly said. “People standing behind me would tell you this is absolutely the right thing to do.”
Those standing behind him erupted into a collective roar of applause and cheers.
He was also quick to point out that he’s taking a gamble by pledging to live by the terms laid out in his own bill.
“As of today I remain the front runner in the Unites States Senate race in the third largest state in the country, and I’m putting it all on the line, and I’m saying, my first priority, my first job, is representing the people of Pinellas County,” Jolly said.
The Democratic Party of Florida is also criticizing Jolly’s move. Spokesman Max Steele pointed out Jolly’s announcement came just days after launching a Super PAC.
“Does Jolly, who built his career as a D.C lobbyist by lining the pockets of elected officials with special interest dollars, truly expect Floridians to believe he’s suddenly discovered the influence of money in politics?” Steele said. “This disingenuous political stunt fails to take the necessary steps to bring about substantive campaign finance reform and is nothing more than an attempt to distract from a flagging Senate campaign.”
Jolly, however, said the Stop Act was intended as congressional reform, not as campaign finance reform. That, he said, is a complicated task to tackle rife with questions surrounding free political speech.
