Campaign Finance

Randy Turner has Rep. John Burnett's (D-Kansas City) latest constituent report. In it, Burnett has praise for Rep. Kevin Wilson (R-Neosho), chairman of the House's special ethics committee, but is critical of Majority Floor Leader Steve Tilley's (R-Perry) involvement in the process.

This week we had a committee meeting and had been discussing the limit issue for over an hour when Steve Tilley, the Majority Floor Leader, and one of the dozen who filed bills just popped into the meeting and joined the discussion. Now he has that right as a member of the leadership but this is the first time in 7 years I have seen such a thing happen. He makes no pretense he will do all he can to stop limits.

Oh. It is his job to raise big bucks for the Republican House candidates and he is doing a very good job at it and limits would make his job more difficult. I understand. I just do not agree. 74% of the Missouri citizens voted for campaign limits in Proposition A a few years ago. Beyond me how they can keep a straight face in this argument.

Good news:

While there is still considerable disagreement on the amount, one thing was made clear during the special House committee on ethics reform’s discussion this morning: There will be campaign finance limits in the bill the committee passes.

Reps. Jason Kander (D-Kansas City) and Tim Flook (R-Liberty) met with the press at the Capitol this morning to talk about their bipartisan ethics reform bill, intended to limit the use of political committees to obscure campaign donation trails. Their multi-part proposal makes it a felony to "transfer funds through political committees with the intent of masking the original source of money, would prohibit individuals from serving as the treasurer or deputy treasurer of multiple committees, and create disclosure requirements for "de facto lobbyists." 

From the presser:

At the press conference, Flook indicated that Speaker Ron Richard is at least somewhat supportive of the effort, and Kander said Minority Leader Paul LeVota may become a co-sponsore.

More coverage can be found here and here.

Friday, David Lieb of The Associated Press reported on Ed Martin's use of the SaveAB.com website and email database to direct people to his congressional campaign website. 

In 2008, Martin created the "SaveAB.com for America" website and nonprofit corporation to oppose the sale of Anheuser-Busch to InBev. That effort came and went (as many Ed Martin adventures do), and Martin voluntarily dissolved the "SaveAB.com for America" nonprofit corporation in December 2008.  However, Martin has since relaunched the SaveAB.com website, and last week emailed "about 40,000" SaveAB.com petition signers to tell them about his latest adventure -- his campaign for Congress.    

Perhaps responding to her energized challenges from the left and right,  Rep. Jo Ann Emerson has set up a new leadership PAC called GOJO.

Leadership PACs provide a campaign bank account for candidate travel, and "allow politicians to donate dollars to (and collect favors from) friendly candidates."

Speaking with KSPR and KY3 last week week, Roy Blunt expressed grave concern with a recent ad from the League of Conservation Voters criticizing his ties to big oil and energy interests and opposition to the clean energy legislation before Congress this year. In both interviews, Blunt suggested that the issue ads circumvented campaign finance laws that limit total donations to a candidate campaign.  On KSPR, he said:

The money you can spend on ads like this are unlimited, so it's an interesting way to kind of get around the campaign finance law...

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Looking through Roy Blunt's Q3 campaign finance report, it looks like Blunt's efforts to court oil company lobbyists are still paying off.  Blunt has a been a huge recipient of oil and gas industry donations (he ranked #8 in the entire House for the 2008 cycle, without a competitive race).

Already, a number oil company PACs have maxed out to Blunt, with more to come. Exxon Mobil Corporation PAC, Marathon Oil Company Employees PAC and Devon Energy Corporation PAC have all already given $5,000 to the campaign.

Speaker Ron Richard lets us know exactly where he stands on the various ethics reform proposals in the House:

"Some are for changes, and some are not," he said of opinions among members of the House GOP caucus. "We'll visit it, but I’ve determined no parameters."

Speaking with the editorial board of the Joplin Globe, Richard also reiterated his opposition to campaign donation limits, which he believes eliminate the need for any other changes to state ethics or campaign law. 

Here's a surprise for you: new Democratic candidate Tommy Sowers significantly outraised incumbent Rep. Jo Ann Emerson in the third quarter, and now has more cash on hand than Emerson.

A factoid from the fresh FEC filings: Roy Blunt's Senate campaign still owes $46,766.81 to to The Ritz Carlton Resort in Naples, FL for "event expenses" and "room charges."

The Sunlight Foundation's archive of political fundraising events shows two separate "Friends of Roy Blunt Spring Retreat" events at the resort in April: April 11-13 and April 24-26. For those not invited to the festivities, the itinerary included a lobster bake on the "North Beach" and a "Day of Leisure" at the resort.

Intrigued by news of Roy Blunt's upcoming energy industry fundraiser -- hosted by an Exxon Mobile lobbyist -- I was curious to find out how much oil money Blunt has accepted in recent years.

A lot, it turns out.

In fact, according to the The Center for Responsive Politics, Blunt has been one of the top recipients of oil and gas money in the last two cycles. In 2008, for example, Blunt received more oil and gas money than all but six House members, and his leadership PAC (the ROYB fund) ranked #13 among all Represenatives and Senators. Combining data from different cycles on OpenSecrets.org and his recent Senate campaign finance report, Blunt has raised more than $600,000 in oil and gas money since 2000.

On holidays like today, I like to splurge and grill up some nice steaks. I can't do it all of the time, but it's nice to live like a king in my own backyard from time to time.

Sadly, I don't have a leadership PAC to finance my own expensive meals and luxurious trips. But fortunately for Roy Blunt, Roy Blunt has such a fund.

Leadership PACs are separate from politicians' main campaign accounts, and file separate reports with the Federal Election Commission. They're used to make donations to other candidates, build relationships with other legislators and leaders, and generally further a politician's ambitions.  Blunt's PAC, the Rely on Your Beliefs Fund (ROYB Fund) has been one of the most active in the entire country over the past few election cycles. In 2006, for example, Blunt raised $985,281 into his PAC, and was surpassed only by Reps. Eric Cantor (R-VA) and John Boehner (R-OH) in total receipts. That money -- much of it from big special interest checks -- is then forwarded on to other campaigns or spent to further Blunt's career.

Thumbing through Roy Blunt's recently-filed Q1 campaign finance report, a number of interesting expenses stand out. First, Blunt spent some serious cash on food and liquor in Washington and Manhattan. And overall, some of the spending decisions just don't make sense for a campaign that should be trying to save money for things that actually win votes -- here are some of the more notable expenses:

The chartered airplane for the campaign kick-off:

• $14,548 to Central Missouri Aviation on March 4

Meals in Washington, DC:

• $2,425 at Ruth's Christ Steakhouse in Dupont Circle
• $1,359 at La Prima/Via Cucina in Downtown DC
• $1,073 at La Prima/Via Cucina in Downtown DC
• $472 at Wagners Liquor in Georgetown (conveniently down the street from Blunt homestead)
• $192 at The Caucus Room in Downtown DC
• $179 at Tenpenh in Downtown DC
• $163 at Martin's Tavern in Georgetown
• $127 at Gandels Liquors on Capitol Hill
• $66 at Teatro Goldini on K Street
• ....and many other smaller meals.

Meals in Manhattan:

• $445 at Waverly Restaurant on the Avenue of the Americas
• $290 at Il Mulino on West 3rd Street

Steelman is required to file with the Federal Elections Commission within 15 days of spending $5,000 on behalf of a federal campaign.

If you are running for the U.S. House, Senate or the Presidency, you must register with the FEC once you (or persons acting on your behalf) receive contributions or make expenditures in excess of $5,000. Within 15 days of reaching that $5,000 threshold, you must file a Statement of Candidacy (FEC Form 2 [PDF]) authorizing a principal campaign committee to raise and spend funds on your behalf. Within 10 days of that filing, your principal campaign committee must submit a Statement of Organization (FEC Form 1 [PDF]). 

She has coyly relaunched her website, still pretending that she hasn't decided if she's running yet. Except (oops!) she linked to two social networking websites unambiguously titled, "Sarah Steelman for U.S. Senate."

And while we're discussing evasions of federal campaign finance law, how does she explain all of these expenses from her gubernatorial campaign account?

• $22,905.48 to Public Opinion Strategies for "Polling and strategy" in March 2009
• $21,691.58 to Jeff Roe's Axiom Strategies for "Survey, Consulting, Campaign Management" in February 2009
• $20,000.00 to Axiom Strategies for "Consulting, Campaign Management, Research, Expenses" in March 2009
• $37,230.12 to the Catalyst Group for "Fundraising Fees" in February 2009
• $774.42 to Dirt Road Productions for "Media Placement" in February 2009

What sort of polling, consulting, research and media placement are required in early 2009 for a gubernatorial race she lost the first week of August 2008?