Member of Congress, NOT PRINTED AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE, Lies? Exaggerations? Embellishments? Cancel The Election, Part II

This is a photo of Billy Long. He is an auctioneer. He is running for congress. He also can sing. And count. And talk really fast. He's a fast talker*TFJ photo/Natalie Preston



A few posts ago, observant bus riders noticed Long signed the CACW "No Pork Pledge" on 11/09/2009 as a "Member of Congress". Signing this pledge as a "Member of Congress" when clearly Long is NOT a member of congress (is this a lie or an 'embellishment'?) is just one of the many reasons why a lot of folks in the 7th District believe the auctioneer's place is best behind the auction podium and not the U.S. House of Representatives.

This lack of attention to details is also noticed in his responses to one of the few of the 'Jillion' of questionnaires/surveys he received that he chose to answer. Long's responses are just a reiteration of the talking points contained in the questions. Simple answers to complex situations. Sort of like "Fed Up".

There is also appears to be some duplicity going on here, too. There is a noticeable difference between Long's handwriting on the "No Pork Pledge" and the handwriting on the CAGW questionnaire Did someone other than Long write down the responses? Now maybe this person has a better handwriting that Long's and for the ease of deciphering thought it better that he or she write down the answers. Or maybe Long's campaign thought the writing sample would be analyzed.

Whatever. But usually when most people see a handwritten response to questions, the logical assumption is that the person answering the questions wrote down the answers.
You know, upon reflection, I think that happened here.

Now on to Part II of why the election is cancelled.

When a member of congress sends out a mailing that is political in nature and the mailing is not 'franked', there is usually a disclaimer at the bottom of the piece along the lines of this: NOT PRINTED AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE. House ethics rules require it.

Minority Leader John Boehner frequently send me mail. The return address is "John A. Boehner, United States Congressman, Republican Leader, Personal Business, "NOT PRINTED OR MAILED AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE"Someone might, upon seeing that the correspondence is from John Boehner, a United States Congressman, reach the conclusion that this mailing is official business and paid for by taxpayers. The house ethics committee, as noted above, requires the use of the disclaimer on all political mailings sent by members of congress.

So, then, is the auctioneer, by his use of the disclaimer "NOT PRINTED AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE" on his fundraising letter, sending a subliminal message to that section of the "electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening."

Is he hoping that the inclusion of the disclaimer will give him the illusion of being an incumbent?

Or is he just using an old auctioneer's trick of --not lying-- but exaggerating, you know like getting "jillions of surveys" and putting together "millions of deals".

That may be part of the game he plays when auctioning off foreclosed houses or dead peoples' stuff. However, the inclusion of those five words, "NOT PRINTED AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE", which is usually included on letters sent from congressmen for political purposes, is misleading and, unfortunately, becoming par for the course for the Long campaign.

Maybe our expectations are too high. He's an auctioneer for God's sake.
btw--in his letter, the auctioneer throws lawyers under the bus also.

My message is simple. We must send a true conservative to Congress who will stand up to special interest groups and "so" no to the career politicians, liberals, and lawyers who have devastated our great country. They have had their chance--it is time that the people get theirs.

*Auction chant (also known as "bid calling", "the auction cry", or simply "Auctioneering") is a rhythmic repetition of numbers and "filler words" spoken by an auctioneer in the process of conducting an auction.

The auction chant is a repetition of two numbers at a time which indicate the monetary amount involved with the sale of an item. The first number is the amount of money which is currently being offered by a bidder for a given item. The second number, which is the most repeated and frequently heard number in the "chant", is the bid that the auctioneer wishes to receive. This is the amount the next bidder will have to pay in order to buy the item for sale.

In between the numbers are "filler words" which are simple sayings, or rather a statement or an open-ended question, which connect the two numbers involved and help to bridge them together while also providing rhythm/smoothness to the chant.

It serves as a thinking point for both the auctioneer and the bidders. Typical filler words, which are taught at schools of auctioneering, are "dollar bid", "now", and "will ya' give me?".

The typically taught chant for beginning auctioneers using the following pattern: "One dollar bid, now two, now two, will ya' give me two? Two dollar bid, now three, now three, will ya' give me three?", and continues in this fashion until a winning bid is received.

Slurring filler words to make multi-part filler word phrases is a key element, giving the illusion that the auctioneer is talking fast, and thus creating more excitement and bidding anxiety among the bidding crowd.

Once an auctioneer becomes experienced in the auction profession, they usually develop their own style with regards to unique filler words, unique rhythm, and variable speed of delivering the chant.

Many chants are accompanied by the unique yelling of a ringman, who is an assistant to the auctioneer in the "auction ring". Ringmen are professionals who are often times auctioneers themselves. They assist in spotting bids and communicating essential information back to the auctioneer.