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I work as staff for Congressman Blumenauer and want to explain what happened yesterday when he could not talk about his endorsement of Barack Obama. It was not because he didn?t want to, but because he was told a matter of minutes before going on air that he could not answer questions about Obama from the location of a taxpayer-funded recording studio. In short, law requires that no campaign work be done from federal property.

It was frustrating behind the scenes, as Congressman Blumenauer believes in his endorsement and wanted to speak openly and publicly about it with his constituents. He obviously wants to comply with the law, and with too little time to confirm whether discussing his endorsement of Obama would violate federal law, he erred on the side of caution.

There was too little time to switch to a new studio, which is why he tried to step around the more political questions. I hope this sheds some light on what must have seemed confusing on air. The next time the Congressman visits OPB, he would be happy to discuss any topic ? including his endorsement of the Senator from Illinois.

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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