Remember Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI)? The former Real World star and freshman representative landed in some hot water earlier this year when he grumbled that his family of seven is struggling on his $174,000 Congressional salary.
It’s a story he has tried to sweep under the rug but keeps coming back to haunt him as he prepares to run for a second term. And now it’s back again.
The latest “er, is it hot in here or is it just that thing I said once?” moment came with this story from the Wausau Daily Herald, the daily paper for one of the largest cities in Duffy’s Seventh Congressional District.
Here’s a taste:
Marathon County households are trying to make due with about $10,000 less a year than they had a decade ago, according to census data released Thursday.
Layoffs, pay freezes, furloughs and the evolving nature of central Wisconsin’s economy have taken their toll on the county, where unemployment remains above 7 percent and decline in median household income is greater than the state average, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday.
And so, once again, we all get to tabulate just how much more than the average family in his district Duffy takes home every year thanks to their tax dollars. Democrats were quick to whip out their calculators.
“Marathon County’s median household income dropped from $59,114 in 1999 to $49,356 in 2010. Sean Duffy makes $174,000 as a Congressman, or three and a half times what most families in Marathon County make,” reads a release from the Marathon County Democratic Party.
The still-suffering economy is a big problem for every incumbent running for office next year — from President Obama on down. But for Duffy, who’s already come under fire for taking home a comparatively huge check versus those he represents, the listing economy in his district is a double-whammy.
To wit:
“To say that I’m worried that Congressman Duffy doesn’t understand what families are going through here in central Wisconsin would be an understatement,” Marathon Democratic chair Jeff Johnson said in a statement. “When he said to citizens at a town hall earlier this year that he ‘struggles’ on his $174,000 congressional salary, it just told me that he isn’t where we all need him to be in understanding what we’re going through economically.”
Update:
On Wednesday, Sean Duffy’s office sent along this response from Chief Of Staff Brandon Moody:
“Congressman Duffy already admitted way back in February to a poor choice of words. But his actions on congressional pay are pretty clear – he has sponsored legislation to cut his own salary and he’s already voted to cut his own budget by 20%. Still, Democrats continue to lie about him, and you continue to print their press releases verbatim and call it news.”
