Cheney Fundraising Trip to Huntsville Taxpayer Funded?
September 19th, 2008The Alabama Democratic Party is calling on the Republican Congressional campaigns of Wayne Parker in District 5 and Jay Love in District 2 to reimburse Alabama taxpayers for the full travel and security costs of Vice President Cheney’s brief fundraising trip Thursday to Huntsville.
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| Some smart activist placed this “Impeach Bush” sign over the Interstate in Huntsville on the day Bush was to visit. |
President George W. Bush was scheduled to appear. Instead, he got stuck in Washington, D.C., where he was holed up with his economic advisers formulating a plan to nationalize the banking industry and dole out $900 billion in corporate welfare to failing banks and insurance companies.
While President Bush’s visit to the state was originally supposed to include a tour of a waste-to-energy steam plant in Huntsville, Vice President Cheney was in Alabama only long enough to hold a closed-door fundraiser for Parker and Love.
“It is not fair for Alabama taxpayers to pick up the tab so that Wayne Parker and Jay Love can have Dick Cheney in for a closed-door fundraiser to help fill their campaign coffers,” said Jim Spearman, Executive Director of the Alabama Democratic Party. “At a time when middle class Alabama families are being squeezed and our country’s economy is facing a crisis, the last thing Wayne Parker and Jay Love should be doing is bringing Vice President Cheney in for a private party and asking the taxpayers to foot the bill.”
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a non-partisan government agency tasked with monitoring federal spending, calculates the cost to operate Air Force Two at about $60,000 per hour. Beyond that, there are costs for the security detail required, including the time served by Alabama law enforcement officers during the motorcade procession.
“With people at the fundraiser paying $10,000 for a picture, these campaigns can certainly find a way to make sure the hard-working taxpayers of our state aren’t shouldering any of the financial burden here,” Spearman said.
Bush Cancels Huntsville Visit, Sends Cheney Instead
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September 19th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I don’t blame you for not knowing the intricacies of raising money for a federal office, but the entire costs of the event including transportation for Vice President Cheney and all of the security involved was paid for by the Wayne Parker and Jay Love campaigns. Not a dime of taxpayer money was spent. It does concern me a bit that the head of the Alabama Democratic Party, who knows full well how this works and that no taxpayer money was used, is trying to make an issue out of this. He is blatantly deceiving the voters and making them think the taxpayers paid for this trip. If he is doing it innocently, he needs to read his FEC manual again.
September 19th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I guess you missed all our previous coverage, along the AP, Reuters, the Washington Post, and New York Times, Congressional Quarterly, etc…, showing there is no Federal Election Commission right now under Bush. There aren’t enough appointed and conformed members to even hold a meeting, because they don’t have enough for a quorum. Sorry, no time to chase the link for you right now, but you could Google it.
I don’t blame you for not knowing this, considering you probably get most of your news from one of Alabama’s conservative Newhouse newspapers, as well as the local TV news, which wouldn’t have a clue.
If the campaign wants to produce receipts for where they paid the expenses, or even the donations they received, we would publish it. According to the pathetic Huntsville Times coverage, we will never even know how much they raised, who gave, and what was paid for by whom?
September 19th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I feel I should have been able to get my picture made with Mr. Haliburton. Lord knows I’ve paid at least $10,000.00 for gas in the last 8 years. Not that I’d want a picture with that lying, thieving son of a bitch.
September 20th, 2008 at 7:35 am
[...] two candidates, and flew out. From the Executive Director of the Albama Democratic Party (h/t to The Locust Fork Journal): It is not fair for Alabama taxpayers to pick up the tab so that Wayne Parker and Jay Love can [...]
September 20th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Glad someone got that sign up. Nice touch.