Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Gwen Moore has vowed that she will not give up her $174,000 congressional salary during the government shutdown.
A large number of members from the Wisconsin delegation who have either refused to draw their federal salary or who have pledged to donate their salary to charity: U.S. Senators Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) as well as Congressional Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI-03), Reid Ribble (R-WI-08) Tom Petri (R-WI-06), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI-05), Sean Duffy (R-WI-07) and Paul Ryan (R-WI-01).
However, Moore is standing firm — and collecting a paycheck.
“Approximately 800,000 federal government employees have either been forced into furlough leave or are working without pay.” she said in a statement obtained by TMJ4. “Federal government employees who rely on their paychecks to feed their families deserve a salary. That’s why I am coming to work every day and keeping both my district office in Milwaukee and my Washington, D.C. offices open and fully operational. I am speaking, voting and working diligently to help my constituents through the shutdown and speak on their behalf in Washington to reopen the government. I will not be donating or forgoing my salary.”
Quite how a congresswoman drawing a salary of $174,000 can be construed as standing with “federal government employees” who “rely on their paychecks to feed their families” is unclear. However, the Wisconsin Congressman is no stranger to mysterious statements.
Moore is the mother of Sowande A. Omokunde. According to the Wall Street Journal: “Moore’s son was among five Democratic presidential campaign operatives in Milwaukee charged with slashing the tires of vehicles rented by Republicans to take voters to the polls. She railed against the case, calling it revenge for her election, but her son pleaded no contest at the end of his trial in January 2006.”
That case was marked by the fact that Omokunde was in fact fingered for the crime by Opel Simmons. a Virginia Democratic operative, who told prosecutors that he saw the defendants wearing “Mission Impossible type gear” on their way to enact “Operation Elephant Takeover.”