When Utah’s Republican Renfield Jason Chaffetz is not lying about the Republican healthcare plan to kick millions of people off of their healthcare plans, he’s telling people in a thinly veiled racist way that “some people” need to choose between owning an iPhone and paying for their healthcare. Besides the mathematical incongruity of that sentiment, it is awfully hypocritical when one considers that Rep. Chaffetz has his smartphone’s data plan covered by his campaign PAC. To pile on how absolutely craven Rep. Chaffetz is, Computerworld.com is reporting that Chaffetz and/or his underlings spent around $3,000 at a Salt Lake City Apple store.
In five instances last year, Chaffetz, or one of his staff, used funds from the committee to pay for purchases at the Apple store in Salt Lake's City Creek Center. The amounts ranged from $32.01 to $1,550.08 -- totaling $2,866.81 -- with the purchases made between March 25 and Oct. 2.
Chaffetz's use of campaign funds to shop at the Apple store was not illegal or against House rules. Mobile phones, in fact, are specifically called out as allowable in guidelines published by the House Committee on Ethics. "It is permissible for a Member to acquire a 'handheld communications device' (e.g., a cell phone, a BlackBerry, or a combination cell phone/BlackBerry device, and associated communications services) with campaign funds, and to use the device on an unlimited basis on both campaign matters and official House matters," the guidelines state.
The point is not that Rep. Chaffetz has spent campaign funds on frivolous things. But to tell tens of millions of people that spending money on a device that you in turn are saying is essential to the day to day running of your job, is hypocritical.
