Niki Sullivan follows up on her blog post revealing Dino Rossi’s illegal funder, this time using her J-school sanctioned grownup voice in the print edition of the TNT: “Did group violate campaign rules at Rossi visit?”
The answer, of course, is yes:
But the prohibition is clear, according to Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a Chicago-based nonprofit that acts as a watchdog of other nonprofit organizations.
“They’re not allowed to be involved in partisan political activity, particularly involved in influencing an election. It sounds as if that’s what’s happening,” Borochoff said.
The nonprofit’s intent has no bearing, he said, adding that if a candidate is speaking, that constitutes political involvement.
Borochoff said the Christian group could be at risk of losing its nonprofit status – and the tax exemption it provides.
I suppose as a Christian organization the CBMC feels more obligated to follow the laws of God than the laws of man, but if so, they might want to reread the Ninth Commandment.
[Dwight] Mason, the local CBMC president who gave the prayer, initially told The News Tribune on Thursday that “no funds were solicited.” He also denied seeing any hints of fundraising.
“If there were envelopes there, they weren’t anything I had anything to do with,” he said.
But that was before Sullivan obtained an audio recording of the event in which Mason can be heard leading the group in prayer:
“Father, we are thankful of your care for us and thankful for this opportunity to hear Dino’s story and pray for him and his campaign…”
After the prayer, Mason told the crowd, “OK, at your table, this is not a fundraiser, although Dino did leave with us a couple envelopes there, and I’m sure he’d appreciate that.”
Oops. That’s not just a blatant violation of IRS rules, it’s what I think the Bible refers to as “bearing false witness.”
I don’t think Rossi faces any potential legal sanctions himself for his part in the illegal fundraiser, but as a candidate for governor it is fair to expect him to adhere to a higher standard in terms of respect for the law. 501(c)3 restrictions are Campaign Finance 101—Rossi and his staff must have known that they were treading on dangerous ground by soliciting funds from a religious organization, thus if he wants to live up to the ideals he professes, it is time for him to confess his sins and seek penance.
Cast out the CBMC moneychangers Dino, and return their ill-gotten donations. That is the only path toward redemption.
Brilliant! Take that Pooper!
Lossi is toast..
Not a fundraiser? Yet he says “although Dino did leave with us a couple envelopes there, and I’m sure he’d appreciate that”.
What did he think would end up in the envelopes? Love letters?
You’re asking a politician, particularly a Republican, to refuse money?
Hahahahahahahaha!
Goldy, ou la biblioteque?
What kind of ignorant children are these people?
“If I say it’s not a fundaraiser it’s not, and I can even talk about the ‘envelopes’ *wink* and it’s still OK. Damn laws getting in my way anyway!”
Who the fuck are these guys? It will be good to see them receive their just deserts.
Sure it is against the law, but don’t hold your breath waiting for the Bush administration to enforce the law or for Dino to return the money.
Good on ya Goldy.
Good Ol’ Goldy and his ever popular objectivity!
For someone who takes great pride in his irreligious personal philosophy, it’s pretty disingenuous of you to all of a sudden become a theologin pontificating on the sins of others.
Get your DD (Doctor of Divinity) from Pharisee State University, did you?
And your part-time job as final arbiter of IRS requlations? Next time some Democrat bops into a church pulpit on a Sunday and whoops it up for his/her campaign, may I count on you to be front and center demanding his/her crucifiction?
BTW…I find it curious that you made no mention of what a Gregoire bootlicker Niki Sullivan is.
Goldy, you are the king of tempests in teapots!
The Piper
“They’re not allowed to be involved in partisan political activity, particularly involved in influencing an election. It sounds as if that’s what’s happening,” Borochoff said.
“Father, we are thankful of your care for us and thankful for this opportunity to hear Dino’s story and pray for him and his campaign…”
I wonder what Jesus thinks of the flock calling on Him to intervene for the election of Dino.
Piper @8,
No, I got Bar Mitzvahed at Temple Beth David. And you shouldn’t need to graduate from divinity school to understand that lying is wrong.
In fact, I once cofounded a not-for-profit, and personally did all the paperwork for incorporation and applying for 501(c)3 status. So I’m somewhat familiar with the rules.
@10…Goldy…
If you have all that experience with 501(c)(3) entities, then where’s your outrage over the campaigning being done in liberal churches by Democratic candidates? A Sunday doesn’t go by but what we see BHO or HRC sermonizing from some pulpit with the smiling visages of that church’s pastoral staff and congregants prominently featured.
And I’ll bet the faithful are well supplied with a certain type of envelope.
In the meantime, that you are “Shocked, shocked” to find out that a candidate gets asked political questions in a non-political forum will certainly help me sleep better at night.
The Piper
And I’ll bet the faithful are well supplied with a certain type of envelope.
Let’s see the proof, buddy. Else you’re just pulling turds out of your ass.
@12…T…
I didn’t categorically say they were, I said I bet they were, which is speculation on my part.
Pretty much the same as saying I bet Goldy actually thinks about what he posts before he does it…again, speculation on my part.
BTW…I am still waiting for your analysis of the upcoming Belmont Stakes – what makes that race different from the KD and the Prekness such that so many horses who win the first two never seem able to close on Triple Crown perfection.
Serious question…I’m looking for expert opinion before I call my NYC sister to have her lay down some coin at her local OTB store. Big Brown to win? Or off to the glue factory?
The Piper
“Dino did leave with us a couple envelopes there, and I’m sure he’d appreciate that.”
That just smacks of the Soprano’s doesn’t it?
Of course, what else would you expect from the party the created the Culture of Corruption?
Democrats could tie him up in a lawsuit about his illegal fundraising as he attempts to run for office.
Might as well spend that money on something honest.
Funny I thought it was the Democrats with the following scandals:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.....ce_Scandal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_banking_scandal
Piper: The whole premise of the Protestant Revolution is that every man may interpret scripture as they please.
It’s a Diet Of Worms for you ,Piper, for being such an ignoramus. (Another reference that is over your head, skirt-wearing dildo.)
Piper, do you think ‘Brownie’ thinks that Goldy presides over tempestuous teapots?
Put your hand over a boiling teapot and tell me what you think.
Let’s see, Piper Scott is lecturing Goldy on accuracy and partisanship. Hmmm….
Do not bother Deeno any more. He’s a fine Christian man, which means he can do this stuff.
Or whatever.
@16 & 17…DR…
Your inability to distinguish between a tea pot and a tea kettle betray what must be life-long confusion on a whole host of things.
Any good Brit will tell you that you pour from the kettle into the pot and over the tea, then you put the put into the protective covering of a cozy in order to keep the water warm enough while the tea steeps.
No problem, BTW, throughout the entire process for you to hold your hand above the tea pot. At least while you are doing it, you would be kept out of mischief.
At least it’s nice to see you have access to a computer while institutionalized. Hope the therapy goes well.
And a point of the Reformation is that each believer may interpret scripture as the Holy Spirit directs, not as the church dictates, but that begs the question as to who is a believer and who is not. Without the supernaturally given ability to discern, it is – pun intended – Greek to you.
Those matchcover divinity school degrees aren’t worth much, are they?
The Piper
@20: “And a point of the Reformation is that each believer may interpret scripture as the Holy Spirit directs….”
Ah, then ALL things are permitted. Thanks for clearing that up, Grand Inquisitor.
@21…PTBAA…
Not at all…What scripture clearly teaches and the HS reinforces is unity among believers on essential matters of doctrine within which is left room for individual differences on non-essentials.
The use of alcohol, for example, isn’t forbidden per se, but the abuse of it clearly is. That some believe it’s not right for them to use it is a legitimate POV.
The Piper
8:
PoopiePants,
You just can’t stand it can you. Nice job shooting the messenger’s messenger.
Never mind that you are a shill for the Right. We all know you to be such a fair minded scribe.
Poopie, you are losing it rapidly. “It” is both your mind and the coming elections.
MLF
11:
Gee, I wonder who Pat Robertson is supporting this year? Or the Right Reverend Taggert? The Reverend Jonathan Falwell? How about Reverend Rod Parsley and my favorite, as a Jew watching from the sideline, Pastor John Hagee? Unless you believe these guys are telling their flocks to let go and let God? Do you believe that Poopie?
PoopieCrybabyPants, take your sanctimonious bullshit and cram it up your ass.
Amen!
@22: “Not at all…What scripture clearly teaches and the HS reinforces is unity among believers on essential matters of doctrine…”
I give you the Thirty Years War as a counterfactual, but your circular logic is indeed a “miracle” to behold.
@23…Carl…
If we do lose the coming election – and there is plenty of evidence to sugget that may happen – then I will luxuriate in all the gub’mint benefits at no cost to me that will be mine for not even the taking – that would be too much effort on my part.
The Big Rock Candy Mountain of FREE health care, FREE (meaning consequence free) giving up in Iraq and probably Afghanistan too, FREE love-fest with butchers in Iran, Syria, Cuba and other murderous dictatorships, FREE bashing of US allies like Israel and Columbia (like…who they gonna turn to, ya dig?), FREE destruction of our economy and way of life all in the amorphous pursuit of environmental purity, FREE ceding our lives and independence to those who will dictate to us where we shall live and how we shall move about and what we may do with our own property.
FREE…FREE…FREE…FREE…FREE…
We’ll soak the rich (meaning anyone with a job or anyone who thinks differently than we do)…We’ll confiscate obscene profits (meaning anything we think is obscene save porn, which is artistic free speech)…We’ll teach the world to sing in perfect harmony…We’ll defer to our betters in gub’mint and academia and we’ll happily assume our rightful place in the universe as serfs and peasants.
That about it?
The Piper
My view of Scripture means I could never vote for an infidel like Dino Rossi. He could care less about the poor, lies without conscience, thinks war is healthy and good, and I could go on.
Yup, The Piper has lost it. He’s officially unhinged and angry with his party. His talking points have become a projection of his own party’s failures – each and every one of them.
No cognitive argument exists here. Move along, nothing to see but a broken conservative whose dreams of a Permanent Republican Majority has become his personal nightmare.
@28…GBS…
Gosh! Is there a charge for this? Such piercing analysis and probative inquiry into my psyche!
But angy? Nah! How can a wingnut like me be angry when he gets to watch the clown circus at work here at HA?
How them floppy shoes workin’ out for ya?
The Piper
re 29: The swishing sound of your own size 15’s is clearly audible. Yes. You may squeeze the wheeze. (Another reference you have no hope of deciphering.)
It’s too current — only 30 years old.
So Pooper is doing his best to deflect – but the facts are Dino is a liar AND a cheater and we need to make sure someone files the complaints with the appropriate authorities to see some justice here.
Piper:
When you speak (or in this case; write) your mind is on parade for everyone to see.
The whining and complaining doesn’t come from a happy go-lucky person. No. Those are the rants of an angry, broken, depressed individual. It’s plain for all to see.
Ask Puddy, I do in fact have large feet and thus large shoes. I can see why someone like you wears a size 9 shoe.
You may want to try and work up the courage and ask a female, one that’s over 18, what it means when a man has large hands and large feet.
So, they work out quite nicely for me.
GBS @ 32 Large feet and hands huh? :)
26 There are several different kinds of “free”.
There’s “free, as in beer”, popular with the participants in the open-source software community. This actually started out as worker bees in high tech who all seemed to be cobbling together the same gimmicks and widgets, sharing the fruits of their efforts to make each others’ jobs easier. That what they’ve created is now being used by some big businesses to avoid having to pay high tribute to other big businesses is just sort of the way things turned out.
There’s free, as in the “freedom-is-on-the-march” rhetoric of the Bush administration. What that means appears to be more “free for some, at the expense of others”, especially people elsewhere in the world who look, speak, pray or smell different from the way we do. Also, there seems to be no problem trusting in future generations to pay for the excesses of the present. Maybe that’s why so many “conservatives” seem to want everyone to have lots and lots of children.
“Free health care”? Nah…nobody’s really talking about that. What we’re talking about is one way or another for everyone to share the expense of providing it for everyone, because having lots of sick Americans doesn’t do anybody any good. We sorta-kinda do that now…it’s called “medical insurance”. Piper, I assume you have some sort of medical policy. Do you really think it’s a horrible thing if someone else insured by the same company gets cancer and you don’t and your premiums reflect the cost of caring for that other person? If so, then you’re an asshole, but I’ll bet you really don’t, so never mind that.
We do have a problem, though, in that the privately-operated “system” of caregivers, facilities, drug companies and insurers has over the last 25 years done a spectacularly lousy job, largely due to massive profiteering at multiple levels. The “solution” thus far has been to declare an increasing number of Americans “unworthy” of health coverage. This is no more equitable or effective than the “rationing” that the right keeps screaming about, which for the most part is a lie anyway.
With all that in mind, I don’t have any trouble giving government a shot at facilitating the sharing of risk and the delivery of care. Will it work any better than what we have now? It’s unlikely it could manage to do any worse.
@ 33:
Size 13. };^-)
28 GBS, I beg to differ. Let’s cut Piper a little slack, and see if he figures a thing or two out on his own. Being forced by harsh reality to give up the misconceptions one has clung to for so long can be a painful process. You’d expect someone having a tooth extracted without anesthesia to holler. This is similar.
Getting back to the original subject…it would be interesting to know whether at the conclusion of the “non-fundraiser”, Mr. Rossi personally collected those envelopes and left with them. That would tend to resemble what supposedly was the basis of the case that the Justice Department made for throwing Don Seigelman in the slammer.
They’re lying about being Christians, too. Real Christians don’t vote for politicians who kick poor kids off Medicaid.
Hannah @ 33
My feet and hands are more average size, but I bet I live closer to you :) And I am more willing to believe that you are a real person :)
Richard Pope @ 39 :) I have a man (6’3″ bodybuilder with larger feet than GBS)
@38…RR…
Real Christians would see to it that no kid would have to be on Medicaid…It’s called providing for them.
The Piper
@39…RP…
Gross! Cruising for chicks among the HA Happy Hooligans???
Hannah’s response was perfect: she has a man.
Why would she need you?
Really…low rent!
The Piper
Piper @ 41
You’re not being serious, are you?
When the Republicans start acting with values and leadership to the common people, they will win elections again. When the Democrats start being corrupt and stop listening to the common people they will loose elections, again.
This activity of Dino Rossi and the Christian Businessmen’s Club is normally known as stealing.
That’s what you are doing you fake your tax status.
Not telling the truth about that means you are telling a lie.
All of the above is lawbreaking.
Taking money from people who lie and steal and break the laws is generally not the best way to win an election.
Oh. But they are all Christians! I forgot.
26:
Can there be any doubt about just exactly is in his pipe. I know how he got the nick name CRACKPIPER.
GOLDY: “No, I got Bar Mitzvahed at Temple Beth David. And you shouldn’t need to graduate from divinity school to understand that lying is wrong.”
Lying is always wrong, but being constantly cruel to someone, even if they are running for office, is evil.
Focusing on slamming the same person over and over – what are the chances that all of the accusations are true? Zero.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
So is anyone who has posted on this wall the slightest bit put off that the same day Christine Gregoire was also speaking to the VFW, which is also a 501(c)(3) group?