Blackwater Saves Jerk of the Year

Alan Grayson
Jerk and ingrate


Our old friend and 2009 Fousesquawk "Jerk of the Year" Alan Grayson (D-FL) is back in the news again, though he has tried not to be. It seems this month, Grayson found himself in Niger (for some strange reason). Lo and behold, he found himself in the middle of a coup attempt and had to be flown out of the country by some military contractor outfit called Xe Services (formerly known as Blackwater.)

But Wait!

Wasn't Blackwater and all those private contractors one of Grayson's prime targets?


"Uhh,......yeaaah".


That's right. So now, one would think that Grayson might want to say something nice about the people who saved his sorry behind, right?

Wrong.

Take a look at Grayson's website and see if you can find one word about the Niger incident. That's what I just did, and I can't find a word.

Nada.

So, being the ace investigator that I am, I found the search box and typed in "Niger". And lo and behold, here is what I found.....


http://grayson.house.gov/News/DocumentQuery.aspx?SearchPhrase=niger

Don't bother searching, "Blackwater" or "Xe Services". I already tried. Same result.

That's right; it seems our intrepid congressman doesn't even want the public to know that he was over in Niger this month carrying the flag of America in the middle of a revolution, running down back allies, dodging bullets, hopping over walls and barely escaping in a helicopter. How modest.


"The flight was arranged through the State Department," Todd Jurkowski, Grayson's spokesman, has confirmed to CNN. "The Congressman did not know, and frankly did not care, who owned the plane.” Later, Jurkowski provided more details in an e-mail confirming that Grayson was flown out of the country on a "Xe helicopter."

(Jurkowski?!?!?) You can't make this stuff up, folks.



Jurkowski was also asked whether the experience had changed Grayson's opinion about private military contractors. Jurkowski replied: "The Congressman does not deny that there is admirable work being done by some employees of private contractors. However, he stands by his criticism of companies who have been found to cheat the American people, defraud our government, and unnecessarily risk the lives of members of our military, all in the name of making a profit."

So there you have it. The 2009 Fousesquawk "Jerk of the Year" winner, whose press spokesman is named Jurkowski, is the early favorite to win the 2010 "Ingrate of the Year" award.

At which point, he'll hire a new press spokesman named Ingratski.