Since he took office following a special election nearly two years ago, U.S. Rep David Jolly (R—Indian Shores) hasn't been afraid to go against the grain in multiple instances. He voted against the infamous Ryan Budget barely weeks into his first term, and has called for his colleagues to work at least 40 hours a week like the rest of us instead of, say, calling it a day at 2:30 because martinis and monied donors are calling.
This week, Jolly is embarking on a media blitz in the wake of his filing a bill that would bar candidates from directly asking for money, something many members of Congress currently spend an astonishing amount of time doing, and have for years. Members of the U.S. House and Senate have long complained of having to raise $10,000 a day, every day, if they hope to hang on to their seats come the next election.
To Jolly, and probably most people who aren't in Congress or otherwise somehow benefiting from this way of doing things, this is not cool.
“We can’t have a part-time Congress in a full-time world,” Jolly said in a written statement. “Americans wonder why we haven’t defeated ISIS, secured our border, provided health care for veterans, or reduced the national debt. Here’s why. Too many in Congress are more focused on raising money than solving the problems people elected them to fix."
Jolly's bill, dubbed the Stop Act, would bar sitting members of Congress from directly asking for money. They're already forbidden from calling donors directly from any federal building, but they can fundraise to their little hearts' content from anywhere else. This just takes it one step further. And while members wouldn't be able to phone donors directly, they'd still be able to attend fundraisers, and others would be able to ask for money on their behalf.
"No member of Congress would be allowed to ask you for money," Jolly said in a video promoting the Stop Act (embedded below). "So they can focus on the job you sent them to do."
Of course, it's clear that, more likely than not, the bill doesn't have much of a chance, given that it'd drastically change the way Congress functions (or, more accurately, doesn't function).
Jolly is currently campaigning in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat Marco Rubio is vacating to run for president. He has polled well in that crowded race of late; his campaign notes that he's the frontrunner in a recent statewide survey. Critics, mostly in the form of internet commenters, have called his effort a campaign stunt, even though in filing this bill he's calling out members of his own party, including leadership, in the face of a Republican primary.
His opponents in the Senate race are Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, east coast Congressman Ron DeSantis and some dude named Todd Wilcox.
