Those looking for dirt on Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) need look no further. TPM has obtained photographs taken by the local officials who recently shut down Stockman’s campaign office in Webster, Texas. And the images are dirty. And dusty. And grimy.
The story, to recap, was reported last month by The Houston Chronicle. According to the Chronicle, officials in Webster, Texas in November ordered the emergency closure of Stockman’s campaign headquarters, citing multiple safety violations. The newspaper reported that various campaign staffers and volunteers were working and sleeping in the office, located in a former a former motorcycle shop considered unsafe for habitation.
Stockman, who since the office closure has announced a Republican primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), spoke about the arrangement in an August 2012 profile in Human Events.
“Well, you’ll hear a lot of ‘Stockman was lucky’ and similar stuff — just don’t believe it,” Stockman told the conservative outlet. “I could not have done it without all the hard-working, grass-roots volunteers. Believe me, we had them — young conservatives who came into an old motorcycle shop, worked the precincts and made phone calls, slept on the floor, and ate MREs [Army rations] for their three meals. There’s nothing like volunteers who believe in a candidate and a cause.”
In response to a public records request from TPM, the city of Webster released photographs taken during an inspection of the property on Nov. 4. The images show a makeshift kitchen, a crumbling bathroom, a closet doubling as storage space for campaign signs, and beat up furniture. The refrigerator in the kitchen is decorated with bumper stickers, one of which appears to be Stockman’s infamous “If babies had guns they wouldn’t be aborted” sticker:
