Jim Oberstar is a Democrat congressman from Minnesota. One might be tempted to say that after spending 50 years in Washington – 14 years as a congressional staffer and the last 36 years as a congressman – he’s lost touch with his constituents.
Politico.com has the exceedingly odd details:
With a potentially competitive race developing back home in Minnesota’s 8th District, Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar collected a contribution from just one resident of the district between June 22 and Sept. 30, according to a federal election report filed Wednesday.
Jane Robbins of Pine City gave Oberstar $500 on Aug. 22.
Other than that, all of his contributions came from political action committees, Native American tribes or individual donors in other districts and states.
In all, the veteran Iron Range Democrat, first elected in 1974, collected just $233,102 in receipts over the time period. By comparison, fellow Minnesotan Michele Bachmann, a Republican firebrand, pulled in $5.4 million between July 1 and Sept. 30.
Nevertheless, no one can accuse Oberstar of not listening to his constituents as long as they remember that his constituents are PACs, lobbyists, Native American tribes and people from outside his district.
Source: Politico.com
