That was the Chicago
Sun-Times headline
after Schock gave his farewell speech in Congress. Until a few days ago, Aaron
Schock was my representative to Congress. I’ve been reading superlatives about
Schock for years. His biography is
filled with amazing firsts: youngest person serving on a school board in
Illinois at age 19; youngest school board president in Illinois history;
youngest representative to the Illinois legislature at 23; youngest person in
Congress at 27. Not much more was told about what he had accomplished in these
offices, although he had been in the public spotlight for years.
The Republican Party loved
him. While still a candidate in his first Congressional election in 2008, he
was invited to speak at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, a unique honor. The National Republican
Congressional Committee chose Schock to chair their biggest fundraising event of 2014, their annual dinner in March. In June of
last year, Schock was named senior deputy whip in the House.
But his behavior in Congress
should have raised some questions about his maturity. From the beginning,
Schock was entranced with his own appearance. You can see many of the
photographs he had taken of himself without a shirt on Google. He was proud of
his abs, displayed prominently on the cover of Men’s Health
in June 2011.
Like most Republicans in
Congress, Schock decries big spending by government. But Schock himself is a
big spender. Although he has faced only token opposition since his first
Congressional election, winning three-quarters of the vote against no-name
Democrats in 2012 and 2014, he spent more
on his campaign than the average
Representative. In 2014, he spent $1.5 million, against $24,000 by his
opponent.
Some of this lavish spending
and the fundraising that supported it began to raise questions in 2014. His
hometown newspaper, the Peoria Journal Star, reported earlier this year about a
number of surprising Schock campaign expenses: about $126,000 in food and drinks (that’s $345 per day); $2600 on
campaign cufflinks; $1440 on “fundraising event entertainment” at a Baltimore
massage parlor. His campaign bought a new Chevy Tahoe last year for $73,000 and
another car, too. This is a rare practice among members of Congress, and the
cars were registered in his own name.
Another way that Schock stood
out was his penchant for flying on private aircraft. He, that is his campaign
or his office, spent over $70,000
over the past six years on private planes, more than the rest of the Illinois
congressional delegation combined. But he pretended otherwise. Eighteen months after President Obama
invited him aboard Air Force One in 2009, he told a
political rally, “I have to tell you that Air Force One is pretty nice. But
I’ve been flying commercial ever since.” Yet USA Today reports that he had
already spent $18,000 of taxpayer funds on private flights.
Everyone knows now about his
lavishly decorated office. While his taste has been criticized, much more
important was his neglect to pay for it. Until it became the stuff of
headlines, of course, when he claimed
an oversight and blamed his staff. It was only the most recent example of
Schock’s flaunting the rule that he was not allowed to accept any gift,
including food and beverage, exceeding $50 from any source. But Schock mainly used public funds to create his nest: according to USA Today,
they “discovered more than $100,000 worth of renovations and furniture expenses
Schock has billed to taxpayers in prior years, including hardwood floors,
marble counters and high-end furniture.”
Schock appears to believe
that he is special. When questions were raised about his office makeover, he said,
“Well, I've never been an old crusty white guy. I’m different.” His comings and
goings were so important that taxpayers and donors had to pay for his own personal photographer to record his high living.
His busy social schedule got
in the way of doing his job. During his 6 years in office, Schock missed more
than twice as many votes as the average representative.
In fact, Schock’s flamboyant
lifestyle, paid with public funds, attracted attention long ago. He was on the
“Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report” by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics and
Washington report for 2012 and 2013.
Oversights? Accounting
mistakes? According to the Chicago Tribune,
Schock requested reimbursement for driving 171,000 miles in his own car. But
when he traded it up for the Chevy Tahoe, it only had 81,000 miles on the
odometer. Right from the beginning of his Congressional career, in 2010 and
2011 he already claimed to have driven 96,000 miles.
In his final speech
in Congress, Schock still saw himself as someone special. He compared his life
to Abraham Lincoln’s, who also “faced as many defeats in his personal, business
and public life . . . . His continual perseverance in the face of these trials,
never giving up is something all of us Americans should be inspired by,
especially when going through a valley in life.” As the Peoria Journal Star wrote, Schock was a “caviar congressman in a meat-and-potatoes
district, a poster child for political excess”.
Aaron, you may have added another
record to your list: youngest ever to resign in scandal at 33. In your last speech, you should have said you’re sorry. You’re no
Honest Abe.
Steve Hochstadt
Jacksonville IL
Published in the Jacksonville
Journal-Courier, April 21, 2015
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