Kleeb challenges Johanns in Grand Island
Kleeb pokes at Johanns in final debate
BY DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 - 11:14:11 pm CDT
Kleeb seized upon this week’s report by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform detailing political trips by Bush administration Cabinet officers to help Republican candidates in the 2006 election.
As U.S. secretary of agriculture, Johanns attended 38 events recommended by the White House Office of Political Affairs headed by Karl Rove, according to the committee report.
Most of the travel costs for Rove-generated events were paid with federal funds, the report stated.
Answering a question posed by a panelist during the debate monitored on radio station KRGI’s Web site, Johanns said he believes it would be “a great idea” to ban the use of taxpayer funds by the White House for such activities.
Any trips that were political in nature were not paid for with Department of Agriculture tax funds, Johanns said.
“You had the opportunity to say this is wrong,” said Kleeb, the Democratic nominee.
“Why are we using taxpayer dollars for political purposes?”
