Republican Scott Milne again condemned U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy’s ties to special interests Tuesday, making clear his campaign to unseat the Democrat will focus on linking him to the often-criticized chamber in which he serves.
“We simply cannot solve the many important issues facing Americans until we cut off the unhealthy influence of special interests and retire the career politicians who do their bidding,” Milne said at a Statehouse news conference.
Milne’s tone matched that of his campaign kickoff Saturday, in which he cast Leahy as a dealmaker who is improperly influenced by lobbyists.
The Pomfret Republican again spoke harshly of Leahy’s tenure Tuesday, referencing a recent VTDigger article that explored the relationship between the Vermont senator and the Motion Picture Association of America.
Leahy has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the MPAA over the years, and his daughter is a lobbyist for the organization. Milne also referenced a Seven Days report showing that Leahy — despite a claim to the contrary — has [received more than $33,000 in free travel from special interest groups]. The paid airfare includes a trip from Time Warner, a member of the MPAA.
“Sen. Leahy insists there is nothing to see here, but Vermonters cannot help to be taken aback by the tangled web of impropriety that, in Leahy’s world, passes for business as usual,” Milne said.
The Republican said his first act as senator would be to sponsor legislation imposing a “Leahy rule” banning any immediate family member of a senator or representative from lobbying Congress.
Today, under the 2007 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, the spouses of members are prohibited from lobbying anyone in the chamber where their husband or wife serves. Other family members, however, may lobby in the chamber but are prohibited from directly engaging their relative.
Leahy has rejected claims he is beholden to the entertainment industry and said his daughter has never acted to sway him on policy. While he has championed a number of bills supported by the MPAA, Leahy has pointed to issues where he has broken with the powerful group, including on the topic of net neutrality and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
In a statement Tuesday, Leahy spokesman Jay Tilton called Milne’s news conference a “stunt by a candidate who thinks his only path to the United States Senate is by attacking the integrity of Sen. Leahy and his family.”
“Mr. Milne has issued 12 press releases without offering any positions on the issues,” Tilton continued. “Vermonters rightfully expect more.”
Leahy continues to find support in Vermont, with a recent Emerson College poll showing him leading Milne 57 percent to 34 percent.
Asked about a number of issues in the U.S. Senate — from federal funding of Planned Parenthood to the prospect of greater military intervention in Syria — Milne offered no concrete answers and made clear that reform of the political culture in D.C. was at the core of his campaign.
Instead of engaging on the issue of whether to federally fund the fight against the Zika virus, Milne pointed to the Senate’s deadlock on the issue as an example of political shenanigans he would work to end.
He then suggested Leahy was stricken by a different ailment: “D.C. insider syndrome.”
“After 42 years in Washington you become sort of infected with some sort of a disease,” Milne said. “That’s the disease that I’m trying to get out of the United States Senate.”
