Republican Money Whoring

Today’s title addresses two different aspects of money sources for Richard Pombo’s re-election campaign. First, we’ll touch on the subject that’s at the top of the news cycle. President George W. Bush is in Stockton to raise money for Richard Pombo. The preparations have been… well, presidential. Here's how the Stockton Record describes it:

Stockton police for several weeks have devoted hundreds of hours to planning… ahead of President Bush's visit Tuesday.

You’d better believe it. The preparations have even included removing all trash receptacles and welding the manhole covers shut in Stockton. Then there’s the sharp-shooters and anti-riot squads that they’ll have patrolling the area of the fundraiser. Traffic? Oh, they’ll be conducting unannounced rolling blockades throughout Stockton this morning during rush hour to accommodate the presidential motorcade. And, you ask, for what?

Well, Bush will be appearing at a Pombo fundraiser at the bargain price of $250 per person. Now, we know that according to the latest Field poll, Bush's approval rating in California is only 29 percent. But wow. Even Dick Cheney, back in May, commanded $500 a person. Of course, according to the Stockton Record, only a few more than 100 people showed up to hang out with Cheney. Now, according to a local television station, 500 people are expected to attend the cut-rate Bush fundraiser. Let’s see. $250 — 500 people — that’s $125,000. Hmmm. I can’t help but wonder if the good people of Stockton aren’t paying more than $125,000 to run the logistical end of this “fundraiser.” After all, tomorrow, they're still going to have to unweld their manhole covers. Maybe Pombo should have cut Bush out of the equation, just charged Stocktonites a flat fee, and let the morning rush hour traffic flow unimpeded.


Of course, then, on the other money whoring front, we have Mark Foley, pedophile and former Republican Congressman. According to the Sac Bee, the central character in “Predatorgate” was a generous donor to Republican Congressional races:

Foley was a member of the House Republican leadership where he served as a deputy whip. Like most leaders, Foley not only kept his own campaign fund, he also maintained a leadership PAC and donated to candidates and to the party's congressional committee. Since he was elected in 1994, Foley has contributed $30,000 to congressional candidates from his own campaign funds. Since 1998, his PAC has distributed $149,000 to political candidates, according to Political Money Line, a nonpartisan organization that tracks political money.

Now, the Republican Congressional members who received these contributions have spent the last three days falling all over themselves to donate the Foley money to suitable charities. All except one.

His contributions to the NRCC were his single largest political donations. His most recent contribution to the party committee was in July for $100,000, according to Federal Election Commission documents. […]

But the National Republican Congressional Committee, which has received $550,000 from Foley since 1996, will keep its money, committee spokesman Carl Forti said.

"We will be using the money like every other contribution - to help elect Republicans across the country," Forti said.

So, the NRCC is spending Mark Foley’s money in Congressional campaigns across the country, including CA-11. According to the latest FEC filings for independent expenditures, the NRCC spent $5,400 of Mark Foley's money for anti-Jerry McNerney phone banking yesterday, along with another $20,805 of Mark Foley's money for anti-McNerney mailings. The total NRCC spending to date in CA-11 now stands at $450,263. Oh, and DCCC, still zero.

So, dear readers, who gets your vote for biggest whore in the CA-11 race?

Tags: CA-11, Richard Pombo, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Mark Foley, NRCC, DCCC, Jerry McNerney