h/t AFinch – Despite the epic prose and protestations brought on through countless tear filled nights of righteous indignation, and incredulous claims of courage, spewed forth from MSNBC’s propagandist crew of Sergent Shultz and Mr. Madcow et al, as they espoused joyful recognition and massive support from the ‘common working folk’ of Indiana in joining their collegues from Wisconsin in protest. Alas, a review of Q1 Democrat Campaign finance disclosures reveals a considerably differing reality. The sum total of ‘everyday working man/woman’ donations to the common cause was, wait for it,.. Zero. Yup, nada, zippo, zylch. Instead the true financing for the hijacking of democracy was paid for by Big Labor Unions. Shocker. Ohhhh I’m perclempt. (Capital&WashingtonBlog) So much for support from the common man. The Indiana Democratic Party’s first quarter campaign finance report was filed last Friday and confirms what everyone already suspected but Democrats denied: their “We Are Indiana” walkout was bought and paid for national unions. Read the report here: Dem Finance Report
During the period of the walkout that began on February 22 and ended on March 28, Democrat-backed unions contributed nearly $140,000 to the Indiana Democratic Party. Their goal: stop the legislative session in its tracks, kill anti-union bills, and pay whatever it took to keep Democrats holed up in an Illinois hotel.
The Democratic Party’s largest benefactor was the Comfort Inn Urbana, which received $84,953.70 by April 6 to pay for hotel rooms occupied by Democrat legislators. Because the Indiana Democratic Party began the year with a measly $40,000 in the bank, they needed help from the deep pockets of national unions to pay the hefty hotel bill. And that’s exactly what they got.
After one week on the lam, Democrats had received $25,000 in contributions from Indiana-based unions like the United Steelworkers out of Gary and the Building Trades Council. But that was only the beginning. By week two, the national unions started writing five-figure checks. On March 9th, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) kicked in $50,000 from their Washington, D.C. PAC. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union matched it with $50,000 from their K Street-based committee. On March 24, out-of-state Teamsters contributed $10,000 to the cause.
When questions were asked during the walkout where the money was coming from for a broke state party to pay a $2,500-a-day hotel bill, Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker and others claimed a groundswell of support from middle class workers across the country resulted in thousands of dollars in small contributions to support Democrat legislators:
Democratic State Chairman Dan Parker says he is sponsoring the House Democrats’ stay at an Urbana, Ill. hotel. Reached by phone in Washington, D.C. Parker said he is paying $2,500 a day. He says he’s received online contributions to help pay the cost and may solicit more.
Parker says he will pay the bill for as long as it takes. — WISH-TV
Upon further review, the Indiana Democratic Party did not receive a single individual contribution during the 1st quarter of the year. Not one, which is strange. Walkout or not, there isn’t a single human being in Indiana that would write the Democratic Party a check? It begs the question: where’s all that Al Franken money?
Indiana Democratic Chairman Dan Parker says Minnesota Senator Al Franken is helping foot the bill for absent House Democrats staying in Urbana, IL. Franken sent an e-mail to his supporters and, so far, Parker says $10,000 dollars has come in as a result, mostly in small donations. — Jim Shella’s Blog
It also (re)begs the question: did Democrat legislators report in-kind contributions for the money that was donated through the Democratic Party to pay their hotel bills? Indiana law restricts legislators from raising money during a long legislative session. According to the 2011 Indiana Campaign Finance Manual (page 26), examples of in-kind contributions includes “things or services, such as free lodging.” So… that’s pretty clear.
It wasn’t always true that legislators were prohibited from raising money during legislative sessions. The law was changed last session out of a concern that special interests could drop a fortune in the middle of a legislative session and try to affect the outcome in their favor. The bill that addressed that concern was filed by… wait for it… Pat Bauer.
You can’t make this stuff up !!
(read more)
