THE US REPORT

Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) stepped aside on Tuesday, and the self-declared ‘fire-breathing liberal’ said after resigning from Congress, he will be heading up the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation. Some conservatives are wondering if Wexler’s decision relates to Gov. Charlie Crist’s call for a statewide grand jury to investigate corruption in Florida. Wexler has had problems before; they were not widely reported as Democrats continued a politically militant march to absolute control of the government. The congressman not only had campaign finance issues, allegedly filing 25 amended FEC reports, he also faced questions about his residency from GOP and independent opponents in the 2008 elections. Gateway Pundit said Wexler “allegedly” filed those amended reports in a one week period in 2008. After the elections, Wexler's issues were submerged in information overload, but questions still remain.

Edward Lynch, an independent businessman opposing Wexler, also claimed Wexler was not a resident of Florida. The Sun-Sentinel (S. Florida) said, “Wexler is Florida's only member of Congress who does not own a home in his congressional district. The Democratic congressman has admitted the only house he owns is in Maryland and that he uses his in-laws' home in a senior-only community in Delray Beach to meet residency requirements.” Wexler sold his Florida home around 1997, moving his wife and 3 children to Maryland.

Wexler also had quirks in his finances. The Palm Beach Post reported: “Although Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler hasn't owned a home in Florida for more than a decade, his campaign held a second mortgage until this year on a West Palm Beach house that's now in foreclosure…The $150,000 mortgage was collateral to secure a real estate investment by Wexler's cash-flush campaign, said Eric Johnson, who is Wexler's congressional chief of staff and also a consultant to his campaign.”  Extensive details published in The Post story make the foreclosure one of the strangest stories in election history when it comes to campaign finances.

Whether Wexler is resigning because of Crist’s announcement or because other facts regarding his campaign finances and residency could possibly come to light is anyone’s guess. Wexler was an influential supporter of President Barack Obama during the presidential campain. And like Obama, Wexler has a big-spending-big-government record, with a lifetime fiscal conservative rating of 8 percent, according to Citizens Against Government Waste [Government Waste Watch, Fall, 2009: pg. 11]. According to CAGW, his 2008 rating was even more dismal, assessed at 5 percent.

Wexler represented District 19, a neoliberal Democrat constituency who apparently didn’t care about his campaign finances or residency.

Wexler’s resignation puts yet another question mark on a  Democratic Congress and administration plagued by ethics problems with representatives like Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and some of Obama’s appointees like Van Jones, the green jobs czar who resigned recently because of inflammatory political rhetoric.