Apparently it's all the rage in D.C. for incoming Republican Representatives-elect to have "Debt Reduction" fundraisers, even where their campaign reports that they have cash on hand. If these Republicans can't tell the difference between a deficit and a surplus then what can we expect of them when it comes to the Federal Government's budget?
The first of these clowns was New York's Michael Grimm with his Fairytale that he needed a debt reduction party, even though he was reporting a whopping $1.00 surplus. Now comes Illinois' Republican Representative-elect Randy Hultgren with a fundraiser this morning at Covington & Burling, LLP. Covington & Burling is a high power law firm with offices in D.C., Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, and the Silicon Valley.
Covington & Burling lists Dodd-Frank Regulation Tracker, Health Care Reform, and Financial Regulatory Reform as "Hot Topics" on their website. See, http://www.cov.com/.
The Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org reports Hultgren's FEC filings at http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00031104&newMem=Y. Hultgren's campaign reports that it raised $1,274,438, spent $1,161,980, and ended up, as of October 13th with $111,957.
Representative-elect Hultgren drops the pretense with a second invitation for the same fundraiser at the same time at the offices of Covington & Burling. The difference is that for the former invitation the checks are to be made out to""2010 General Election Debt" - P.O. Box 446 Batavia, IL 60510," while at the latter the checks are to be signed over to " Hultgren for Congress - PO Box 446 Batavia, IL 60310" The suggested donation is $1,000 for PAC's and $500 for individuals.
The man who defeated Pennsylvania's Democratic Representative Patrick J. Murphy is not going to be left behind on this "Debt Retirement" bonanza. Republican Representative-elect Michael G. Fitzpatrick is having his own money-grab today as well. OpenSecrets.org report that as of October 13th Fitzpatrick was more flush with campaign cash than either Grimm or Hultgren. Fitzpatrick raised $1,590,663, spent $1,097,929, and had $492,732. The Fitzpatrick fundraiser is at the Strategic Health Care Townhouse.
According to their website "Strategic Health Care is an advocacy firm specializing in health care. It is widely respected for its expertise in congressional and regulatory affairs, public policy analysis and solutions, federal grant development, managed care contracting and association management. The firm is well-known for its ability to impact decisions made at the federal and state levels of government." See, http://associationdatabase.com/aws/SHC/pt/sp/home_page.
Washington Republican Dave Reichert, an established Representative with his own leadership PAC, the Sheriff PAC, is not missing the gravy train when it comes to the "Debt Retirement" circuit. Reichert's gala is being held at the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America's Townhouse. According to the OpenSecrets.org data Reichert raised $2,382,863, spent $1,782,753, and had cash on hand in the amount of $606,777, and had a debt of $1,320. Meanwhile, Reichert's Sheriff PAC raised, according to OpenSecrets.org, $37,000, spent $35,572, and had cash on hand in the sum of $4,426. The bulk of the Sheriff PAC money was spent on contributions to the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.
Texas' new Republican Representative-elect William "Bill" Flores isn't going to miss autumn under the money tree. His "Debt Retirement" event is today at the Capitol Hill Club. OpenSecrets.org reports that Flores raised $2,644,543, spent $2,537,226, and had cash on hand of $107,317. Flores is a little different from his cohorts. Flores actually reported campaign debt in the amount of $825,000. Finally, a debt retirement event for a person with a demonstrable debt!
Michigan's Republican Representative-elect Dan Benishek's "Debt Retirement" breakfast is scheduled for tomorrow at the Capitol Hill Club. According OpenSecrets.org Benishek raised $963,676, spent $755,259, had cash on hand in the amount of $208,416, and held a debt in the amount of $133,000. Note that his cash on hand is more than his debt. Another disconcerting fact about Benishek is that a little more than a third of his campaign's expenditures went to administrative expenses. It doesn't look like he's running a taut ship.
New York's newly minted Republican Representative-elect Chris Gibson is riding the "Debt Retirement" rodeo bull at an event to be held at the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America's Townhouse on the 18th. OpenSecrets.org reports the Gibson campaign as having raised $1,318,867, spent $1,120,050, had cash on hand in the amount of $198,817, while reporting no debt as of the October 13th reporting date.
AGC contributed $223,150 to Democratic candidates and $644,349 to Republican candidates for the 2010 campaign cycle. ASG favored incumbents by a margin of $724,400 to $148,349. ASG's PAC gave Gibson $4,849, according to OpenSecrets.org's reports if Gibson's top twenty contributors. See, http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2010&cid=N00031998&type=I. The ASG PAC gave Representatives-elect Dave Reichert $7,500 and Randy Hultgren $2,000.
Neither Grimm, Hultgren, or Fitzpatrick said their campaigns had any debt.
