Staff for Rep. Reid Ribble (WI) — the freshman Republican last seen on the pages of TPM explaining how he can be a “distraction” to employers trying to connect with the unemployed — are pushing back hard on the notion that their boss cares more about the optics of a jobs fair than actually helping people find jobs.
Ribble held a jobs fair on Saturday, double-booking it with a $1000/host fundraiser 45 minutes away. But his staff say the fact that he left early doesn’t mean Ribble cares more about raising bucks for his own campaign than helping his down-on-their luck constituents, as Democrats suggest.
“Downplaying Congressman Ribble’s involvement in this job fair is completely uncalled for and represents the length people will go in order to score some cheap political points,” said Ashley Olson, a spokesperson for Ribble.
Olson said that Ribble arrived at the Saturday jobs fair “an hour before its scheduled start time to meet with participants,” and “stayed at the event for over three hours, visiting with attendees, answering questions and talking about his experience as a small business owner.”
The spokesperson pointed out that Saturday was the second jobs fair Ribble — who founded the House GOP Job Creators Caucus — has held since taking office, and Olson said her boss’ fairs have attracted “2,100 job seekers…many of whom made valuable connections with businesses in the district.”
“Bringing good-paying jobs to Wisconsin’s 8th District has been Congressman Ribble’s top priority in Congress and he will continue to host these events to make the job search a little bit easier for Wisconsin workers,” Olson said.
Democrats say they doubt Ribble’s commitment to jobs other than the one he’s running for next year.
“Congressman Ribble has made priorities clear: he cares more about protecting his job than helping Wisconsinites get back to work,” said Haley Morris, a spokesperson for the DCCC.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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