Democrat lawmakers from Michigan are making the news this week—for all the wrong reasons.
Democrat Rashida Tlaib, who was elected in November to become the US Congresswoman for Michigan’s 13th district, made news when she wrapped herself in a Palestinian flag to celebrate her victory in the November midterm election. She also made news when she wore a traditional Palestinian dress to her swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, where the Freshman congresswoman, who calls herself a “Palestinian-American” (even though the U.S. does not recognize Palestine as a nation) was sworn in on the Quran.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Tlaib attended an event held by MoveOn, a radical, leftist, George Soros funded organization, where she was caught on video relaying a conversation she had with her young son, where she told him not to worry about President Trump, because ” We’re gonna impeach the motherf**ker!”
Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib tells cheering crowd that Trump impeachment coming
“We’re going to go in and impeach the motherfucker” pic.twitter.com/oQJYqR78IA
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) January 4, 2019
Back in Michigan, Rep. Bettie Cook Scott, another Democrat lawmaker, who represents much of the same district as U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, is making news after it was discovered that the MI lawmaker stopped voting in June 2018, but continued to collect money from the state of MI for her travel expenses to and from the Capitol, even though she never voted.
According to MI Cap Confidential – Bettie Cook Scott stopped voting on bills during her final year as a Democratic legislator, but the Detroit state representative did not stop submitting mileage expenses incurred for trips to Lansing.
On her website, Cook Scott claims that her “campaign promises aren’t just hype” to get votes, but “a commitment to get results.”
Scott received $2,629 in mileage reimbursements in the final six months of her term as an elected state representative, despite not participating in a single roll call vote during that time. The House held 488 recorded roll call votes during those months and passed hundreds of bills. (Scott’s missed votes are listed here with a brief description of each measure.)
All members of the Michigan Legislature are allowed $10,800 per year to cover expenses incurred while “carrying out the responsibilities of state office.” The amount is set by a government office called the State Officers Compensation Commission, as authorized by the state constitution. The expenses are reimbursed without the legislator having to show evidence that any costs were actually incurred, according to the House Business Office.
The business office does check that mileage claims accurately reflect the distance from a lawmaker’s home to the Capitol, but it does not try to confirm whether the trips were actually made.
Scott, who received an annual salary of $71,685, represented Michigan’s 2nd House District, which includes Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park and parts of Detroit. The third-term representative was barred by term limits from seeking another House term, and in the August primary was defeated in her bid to win a state Senate seat.
The flyer below is from an “Obama Grassroots Walkers” event. Bettie Cook Scott for MI Senate is pictured in the middle, as part of the Democrat Party’s GOTV efforts. The radical Democrat Dana Nessel is now Michigan’s Attorney General, and Ian Conyers, son of the disgraced Rep. John Conyers, lost his primary bid to the Palestinian activist/US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D).
The last vote Scott cast was on June 12, on a bill prescribing rules for ocean-going ships in Michigan waters discharging ballast water. On that day, the House adjourned for a summer campaign break and did not cast another vote until September – after Scott has lost her Senate primary election. Although no House votes were held in July and August, records released by the Michigan House of Representative’s business office show Scott was still putting in requests for mileage reimbursements during those two summer months.
From July to December, records show Scott submitted reimbursement requests for a round trip of 210 miles every week until December. In that final month, Scott put in for one trip of 210 miles. In November, MIRS News reported that the Speaker of the House had directed the House Business Office to take over supervision of her office.
Cook has not responded to efforts to contact her. Overall, Scott missed 599 of a possible 1,045 votes in 2018.