Yesterday the WA State Dems filed an FEC report alleging “serious violations” in Rep. Dave Reichert’s third quarter campaign finance report. Amongst other things, Democrats complained that it is impossible to figure out how much money Reichert raised from President Bush’s August visit because of how totally fucked up the accounting was, to which Reichert chief of staff Mike Shields responded:
“There is a fictional idea that somehow you can glean how much an event raised” by looking at an FEC report filed by the Reichert Washington Victory Committee.
Yeah… it’s totally unreasonable to expect to “glean how much an event raised” by looking at an FEC report of the, um, money the event raised. If this is how our campaign finance and disclosure laws work these days, the “fiction” is that we actually have any campaign finance and disclosure laws at all.
But Shields wasn’t finished. When asked how much he now believes the event raised, Shields prevaricated:
“I have given estimates that turned out to be wrong, so I am not doing that anymore.”
Well, he might try actually telling the truth, but then, I’m not “a veteran political operative” like Shields is, so what do I know?
Shorter Mike Shields:
The amount we got out of Dubya’s visit was embarassingly low. Even our best attempt at creative reporting was a complete failure.
From an excerpt posted on Scott McClellan’s (former Bush spokesman) publisher’s Web site and discovered by Editor and Publisher:
“The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.
“There was one problem. It was not true.
“I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president’s chief of staff, and the president himself.”
@2
Operation “Tie-Scott-McClellan-to-MoveOn” has begun…
He probably has no fucking idea, but I would guess that any event headlined by Chimpface is a loss leader these days.
Roger @ 4 — There are probably some pledges they are still trying to collect, and some over-limit contributions they are trying to bring into compliance, but I would guess they have a fairly precise idea how much was raised at the joint event, and in the trip overall.
There may also be lingering issues over division of the expenses and/or/spoils … perhaps because the trip proceeds in total don’t cover the disbursements expected and planned on by various recipients.
This really shouldn’t be so hard. You hold the fundraiser, you take in the money through the required by law joint account, you disburse part of it to each participant in the joint account, and you report those numbers.
If money was erroneously made out directly to one participant you correct the problem by refunding it and having it correctly made out to the joint account. Then you refile the report. Neither of these things have occurred.
The fact that 3 months after the event Mike Shields is still having to estimate at all is a farce. The exact amounts should be know – after all they only had less than 50 people contribute. If I were Dave Reichert I’d fire him for complete and utter incompetence.
And Dino wants to be Gov’nor – but he and his staff can’t file FEC reports, can’t keep track of the money coming in and lie about the money and then offer excuses as to why they can’t figure out how much they have.
How are we supposed to trust him with the taxpayers (our) money??? How does he ever expect to run the state? How can anyone ever vote for this buffoon?
Let’s see:
Pledges received to date minus expenses equals how much money was raised.
Anyone have a problem with that?
7
I wouldn’t trust Dino Rossi to feed my cat…
I heard that casualties and numbers of attacks across Iraq are “down” to 2005 levels. I have to applaud this administration. In the course of two short years, they have managed, at the cost of billions of dollars and something approaching a thousand American lives (I don’t have a count of how many thousand dead Iraqis) to both take us into the really nightmarish conditions of 2006 and 2007 and then return us to the merely really bad conditions of 2005.
Take a bow, fellas.
‘Operation “Tie-Scott-McClellan-to-MoveOn ” has begun…’
Not to mention to Michael Moore.
You have to excuse the Republicans. They learned accounting methods at Enron. If you ask them to add two plus two, they will ask you: “what, exactly, do you want it to be?”
correctnot right: The thread is about Reichert. Having problems staying on track?
Don’t worry correctnot right: Perfesser Darryl won’t erase your post.
13 and 14 Pudwhacker,
The post is about A: Reichert B: Bush Fund raisers C: Bad accounting. As a side bonus it has brought out yet another example of your failure to comprehend what you read. Apparently you need pictures.
You want to obfuscate the issue to protect your party. Your party can’t count. They can’t lead either, unless bad accounting and bathroom sex is your idea of leading.
Now, quietly slip back under your rock.
addendum to 15:
I would have mentioned: The price of oil, the housing collapse, Iraq, Afghanistan, Valerie Plame, etc.. but the post is not about those subjects.
This accounting ‘problem’ may be a way to mask illegal contributions — until it’s too late to do anything about them.
Among the other things that Republicans are either totally ignorant or in denial about, mathematics ranks right up there with evolutionary biology.
2 + 2 = ?
Opinions differ.
To a Republican, “serious violations” of campaign laws means Democratic partisan manipulation of mathematics.
Unless, of course, we are referring to MTR and cubical regressions or whatever it is that he goes on about…
Left Footy: Good to see your name. Too bad your politics haven’t improved.
I see Reichert and Reichert Fundraisers.
Where is the Rossi word anywhere? So how am I obfuscating anything except your innate stupidity?
Keep up the lousy work even from LA.
Pudwhacker:
Pay attention (I wish I had pictures).
The accounting issues involves a Bush fund raiser for Reichert. Accounting itself is also an issue. There are some questions about Rossi and his accounting. Fair game.
Back under your rock.
Nice to hear from you again too. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. I wish your politics would get better too.