The Luxurious Life of Rob Andrews

Nine-term incumbent spends tens of thousands
on fancy restaurants, limousines,
and lavish gifts for campaign financiers

BARRINGTON – U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, a nine-term congressman who has spent the past 18 years as part of the Washington elite, has been living luxuriously thanks to the generosity of campaign contributors he subsequently rewarded with expensive gifts.

In a Federal Election Commission report covering operating expenditures made from December 2006 through April 2008, Rob Andrews’ wasteful spending was made public but never exposed to the voters – until now.

Over that period, Rob Andrews spent $55,577 at restaurants, bistros, and cafes – excluding fast food restaurants, convenience stores, and cafeteria dining on the Capitol. Despite having the ability to vote on critical fiscal issues in Congress, Rob Andrews wasted $908 at a single fondue restaurant.

It turns out Rob Andrews has a sweet tooth, too. How else can you explain his spending a preposterous $33,047 at Chocolate Heaven and $1,841 at Godiva? Of course, he claims that the tens of thousands he spent on chocolate were gifts for campaign financiers and campaign workers – as if that makes it any better! Of course, the chocolates were only a fraction of the total he spent on gifts for financiers and campaign workers: $77,152, including gifts at Tiffany & Co.

Over the years, Rob Andrews has been given considerable praise for not maintaining a residence in Washington, DC. Instead, Rob Andrews spent $52,797 at hotels, including $12,168 at the Beverly Hills Plaza Hotel!

It figures that Rob has to get to and from the fancy restaurants, hotels, and chocolatiers. So, when he doesn’t have his own gas-guzzling Ford Expedition at his fingertips, he spends $41,294 on limousine and car services!

One thing is clear: Rob Andrews cannot be trusted with our tax dollars down in Washington. A wild and irresponsible spender with his campaign dollars, he has shown no respect for “other people’s money” – especially ours. We have no choice but to question the fiscal responsibility and judgment of anyone who spends almost $35,000 on chocolates.

The median family income in New Jersey’s 1st Congressional District is just over $47,000 per year. Rob Andrews spent almost 20 percent more than the median family in his district earns in a year on fine dining alone.

The bottom line: Rob Andrews is out of touch with his constituents. It’s time to send him home.

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Paid for by Dale Glading for Congress.