Disclosure: I worked for the Lamont campaign doing web design and production and some writing for the official blog (from 9/5/06 to 11/07/06).

Saturday, October 28, 2006

 

New York Times Endorses Ned

(Update: Forward the NYT endorsement to your family and friends to read.)

Thoughtful, well-argued, passionate, and really worth reading in full:

Two months ago, Connecticut’s Democratic voters sent Mr. Lieberman what should have been a jarring wake-up call when they rejected him for Mr. Lamont, a relative newcomer. We have been waiting to see what lessons the state’s best-known politician took from his defeat, and from the daily evidence of the deterioration of the situation in Iraq.

We wanted to see a capacity for growth and change in Mr. Lieberman. The country is full of Republicans who now realize the Iraq invasion was a disaster, either in its basic concept or in its execution. The most honorable of them are in agony over what has happened. Mr. Lieberman, who had not only continually defended the administration’s Iraq policy but also attacked Democrats who criticized the president, had more cause for soul-searching than most.

But instead of re-evaluating his own positions, Mr. Lieberman blamed his constituents for failing to notice that he had offered some negative comments about the conduct of the war, too, mainly when he was running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004. He did not protest when Dick Cheney said that people who voted for Mr. Lamont were giving comfort to “Al Qaeda types.” His only reflection seemed devoted to a re-examination of the rules for getting back on the ballot.

Since his primary defeat, Mr. Lieberman has run a well-packaged campaign built around his self-assigned bipartisan image — “It’s not about politics,” say his ads. But it is very much about politics — from the flood of special interest campaign donations that has been running Mr. Lieberman’s way to the old Karl Rove lesson that political winners never admit to error....

Ned Lamont has run a far less polished campaign than Mr. Lieberman, but the more we see of him, the more impressed we are by his intelligence and his growing sophistication about the issues facing the nation. He is very much in the Connecticut mold of basically moderate, principled politicians, and his willingness to take on Mr. Lieberman when no one else dared to do it showed real courage and conviction. He would make a good senator. More important, he has the capacity to continually become a better one. We endorse Ned Lamont for Senate.

 

Two New Ads

"General Clark":



"Card Game":


 

Bar Graph of the Day

From Matt at MLN, a visual representation of $387,000 in cold hard cash... vs. the petty cash spent by other Senate candidates this cycle:



$387,561 in petty cash is light years beyond what nineteen other serious senate candidates spent. Why is Joe using all of this cash? Why were his campaign workers carrying around what had to be briefcases of cash? What was Joe Lieberman and his campaign doing with all of this cash?

I believe the comparative study of FEC filings of other senate candidates validates the need to ask these questions. Answers, I hope, will be forthcoming.

 

Courant vs. Courant

From their endorsement of all Democratic house candidates last week:

In 1994, voters rightly rebelled against unresponsive, entrenched Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate and put Republicans in charge. Similar discontent inhabits the land today.

The nation is mired in an unpopular war....


From their endorsement of Joe Lieberman today:

The three-term, 64-year-old senator lost the primary election in large part because of Democrats' anger over his support of President Bush's policy in Iraq. He is now running as a petitioning candidate. He remains a moderate respected in Congress for his talent in working across party lines.

This election is not solely about a war gone sour....


Endorsing Joe Courtney, last week:

Four years ago, Mr. Simmons, an Army veteran and 10-year CIA veteran, expressed strong misgivings about going to war in Iraq and was unconvinced the country's nuclear weapons capability posed "a clear and present danger." Ten days later, he voted to authorize the military strike. Mr. Simmons still touts his "qualified" stance on Iraq, yet in June he voted for a resolution supporting the Bush administration's policies. Afterward, his campaign issued a statement saying the resolution "fails to fully address a key question that most Americans are asking: 'When are the troops coming home?'." But Mr. Simmons also says he doesn't support a deadline.

Last month, Mr. Simmons supported legislation on the treatment of detainees in the war on terror, saying the bill adequately clarifies and protects their rights. It doesn't. Mr. Simmons also says he's against privatizing Social Security, but his varying statements call his commitment into question.


Endorsing Joe Lieberman, today:

No mention of Lieberman leading off debate for Republicans on the Democrats' Iraq accountability resolution, no mention of Lieberman dismissing any call for any timeline, no mention of Lieberman's vote on the very same detainee legislation, no mention of Lieberman's statements in support of Social Security privatization in 2005.

Endorsing Diane Farrell, last week:

But the 61-year-old moderate from Bridgeport has been marginalized by his own party and has become increasingly ineffective....

Worse, Mr. Shays has been one of the staunchest supporters of President Bush's aimless and costly Iraqi war policy. Despite recently calling for a timetable for ratcheting down U.S. involvement and advocating the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his entire team, Mr. Shays foresees ongoing U.S. military activity in Iraq for a number of years. He has also made inexplicable statements of late, such as saying that the extreme sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. guards at the Abu Ghraib prison "was not torture."


Endorsing Joe Lieberman, today:

Neither has Mr. Lieberman given Mr. Bush -- or the president's predecessor -- a free pass. The senator calls Mr. Bush's environmental record "the worst ....... in history." He threatened to subpoena Tom Ridge in 2002 when the White House refused to let the homeland security secretary testify before the Governmental Affairs Committee, which Mr. Lieberman then headed, about anti-terrorism planning.

Though the hawkish senator has too often leaped to military solutions abroad, he hasn't always been wrong. He was the only Northeast Democrat to authorize the use of force in 1991 to oust Iraqi invaders from Kuwait. He defied the Clinton administration in urging Congress to lift the 1995 arms embargo and let Bosnians repel Serbs bent on genocide.


Yes, they had to go back to 2002 to find a single lukewarm instance of Lieberman not giving Bush a "free pass."
 

Saturday Morning Round-Up


Friday, October 27, 2006

 

Quote of the Day

Future president Joseph Biden:

Biden said Lieberman is a "close personal friend," that his son and Lieberman's son attended Yale together, and that his daughter-in-law was the matron of honor at Lieberman's son's wedding.

"It's a matter of personal honor," he said. "It's not possible for me to campaign against Joe Lieberman."


For Biden is an honorable man,
So are they all, all honorable men.
 

This Weekend

Only two more weekends to go, and there's a whole lot of events going on in the next couple of days. If the weather's really bad, you can always come into one of the field offices and phonebank.

Here's what's happening this weekend:

Fri. 5:30pm: Branford DTC Meet and Greet

Sat. 9am: Canvass in Willimantic
Sat. 9am: Canvass in Meriden
Sat. 9am: Canvass in Vernon
Sat. 9am: Canvass in Middletown
Sat. 9am: Canvass in West Haven
Sat. 9:30am: Canvass in West Hartford
Sat. 9:30am: Canvass in Stonington
Sat. 9:30am: Canvass in Clinton
Sat. 9:30am: Canvass in East Hartford
Sat. 9:30am: Canvass in Granby
Sat. 9:30am: SEIU 32B/J Rally and Door Knock in New Britain
(with John DeStefano, Chris Murphy, and other officials)
Sat. 9:30am: Canvass in New London
Sat. 10am and 12pm: Canvass in Bridgeport
Sat. 10am: Canvass in Bristol
Sat. 10am: Canvass in Waterbury
Sat. 10am and 12pm: Canvass in Stamford
Sat. 10am: Canvass in Killingly
Sat. 10am and 12pm: Canvass in Norwalk
Sat. 11:30am: Canvass in Norwich

Sun. 7:30am: Children's Memorial 5K Race/Walk in Milford
Sun. 11am: Canvass in Middletown
Sun. 12pm: Canvass in Colchester
Sun. 12:30pm: Canvass in Suffield
Sun. 1pm: Canvass in Stamford

 

$380,000 in Cold, Hard Cash

Lieberman promised reporters they would get to know how it was spent on Monday.

It's now Friday. Still no answers.

Over 3,000 people have now co-signed the letter to the FEC demanding that Joe Lieberman divulge how this "petty" cash was spent.

Here's Spazeboy's take.

Update: The Politicker:

But judging by conversations I've had with people within the Lamont camp, it's the Joe Lieberman GOTV effort that's on their minds. Specifically, they're obsessed -- perhaps with good cause -- with the matter of Lieberman's nearly $400,000 in unaccounted for petty cash expenses. Lamont's supporters aren't going to let the matter drop, and staffers, as well as unaffiliated Democratic consultants I've been speaking with, seem to find it genuinely extraordinary.

 

Friday Morning Round-Up


Thursday, October 26, 2006

 

$380,000 In Cash

It's now been three days since Lieberman spokewoman Tammy Sun promised reporters they could see documentation of how $380,000 in cash was spent in twelve days before the primary.

Reporters still haven't been allowed to look at the records. And we still have zero idea of how over a third of a million dollars in cash was actually spent.

Matt Browner-Hamlin has more.
 

4th Debate Is On

Joe or no Joe.
 

Quote Off!

24 enter. Only one will survive. Vote!

My favorites?

L5: “There are extensive contacts between Saddam Hussein’s government and al Qaeda.” - Joe Lieberman; http://nationalreview.com/interrogatory/ hayes200406020847.asp (submitted by Cozumel)

L6: Senator Lieberman wrote about the Iraq he saw: “Progress is visible and practical. There are many more cars on the streets, satellite television dishes on the roofs, and literally millions more cell phones in Iraq hands than before.”

Senator Lieberman goes on, “Does America have a good plan for doing this, a strategy for victory in Iraq? Yes, we do. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/ 2005/12/20051207-1.html (submitted by Cozumel)

L12: Howard Dean has climbed into his own spider hole of denial if he believes that the capture of Saddam Hussein has not made America safer. –J. Lieberman, December 2003 (submitted by Ralphbon)

L16: Flip: December 8, 2005 “It is time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be commander in chief for three more critical years, and that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nation’s peril”

L20: From Joe himself, even though it sounds more like Dick Cheney: “After bin Laden, we must target Saddam” by Joseph Lieberman. Wall Street Journal. Oct. 29, 2001. pA22: Did Saddam have a direct hand in the attacks on America that began on Sept. 11? The evidence at our disposal is circumstantial but suggestive. We do know that he has not just the motive and malevolence, but the means. And we also know that Iraqi intelligence officials have met at critical times with members of the al Qaeda network. (submitted by mui)

L21: HoJoe on the reasons for Abu Ghraib. “Let us have faith” by Joseph Lieberman. May 14, 2004. Wall street journal. HoJoe doing a gee whiz on Abu Ghraib: Was it somehow also the cumulative effect on a generation raised in an entertainment and Internet culture that has grown increasingly violent and pornographic? And then argues that firing Rumsfled will only make the terrorists happy: Many argue that we can only rectify the wrongs done in the Iraqi prisons if Secretary Rumsfeld resigns. I disagree. Unless there is clear evidence connecting him to the wrongdoing, it is neither sensible nor fair to force the resignation of the secretary of defense, who clearly retains the confidence of the Commander in Chief, in the midst of a war. I have yet to see such evidence. Donald Rumsfeld’s removal would delight foreign and domestic opponents of America’s presence in Iraq. (submitted by mui)

L22: “Our Resolution” by HoJoe. Wall Street Journal Oct 7, 2002. pg. A.26. HoJoe channeling Dick Cheney again:
So, my answer to “Why now?” is, “Why not earlier?” And, of course, that question has new urgency since Sept. 11, 2001.– Won’t a war against Iraq slow or stop our more urgent war against terrorism? To me, the two are inextricably linked. (submitted by mui)

L24: "In fact, five years ago, after Saddam ejected the UN inspectors, John McCain and I gave up on containment and introduced the Iraqi Liberation Act, which, when it became law, made a change of regime in Baghdad official US policy. You might therefore say that, when it comes to Iraq, President Bush is just enforcing the McCain-Lieberman policy." From Joe’s conference speech, February 2003 (submitted by jeffreyw)

 

Obama Supports Ned Lamont

Sends an email to supporters in CT in support of the Democratic candidate for senate:

...Ned earned the Democratic Senate nomination through his hard work and clear message. And his victory paved the way for an entire crop of Democratic challengers to stand up and fight for the common good. Today the candidacies of Diane Farrell, Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy are integral to the Democrats’ strategy to regain the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A majority of Connecticut Democrats supported Ned Lamont in the August primary. I hope they will see this impressive movement through to the end by volunteering their time with Ned in these next two weeks.

 

Thursday Morning Round-Up


Wednesday, October 25, 2006

 

$380,000 In Cash

Still no record of where it went, two full days after Lieberman's campaign promised reporters they could have a look at the records.

Liebermeforme.com has a creative take on the whole matter.
 

Bob Kerrey Hates Democracy

First of all, how cynical a politician do you have to be to bring in another politician with basically the same last name as the immediate past presidential nominee for the Democratic party who just happens campaigning for your opponent on the same day?

Couldn't be a cynical effort to confuse "low-information voters," could it?

Professor Sean Smith would be proud.

Secondly, here are Bob Kerrey's thoughts on the wonders of democracy today while campaigning for Joe Lieberman:

"Sometimes public opinion is wrong. Sometimes the majority is wrong. And I think in this case if the majority of the Democratic party of Connecticut voted against Joe Lieberman because they thought he was creating these problems that they observe in Washington, D.C., I would say... that you're wrong."


Incidentally, he also said today that he thought the Iraq war was hurting our efforts against terrorism.

Joe wouldn't agree that Iraq was making us less safe from terrorism.

And on a timetable for troop redeployment in Iraq, Kerrey said: "At some point guys like Joe are going to have to figure out how to do things approximately that way."
 

Everyone Wants to Bring the Troops Home

Bush, this morning:

"If I did not think our mission in Iraq was vital to America's security, I'd bring our troops home tomorrow."


Lieberman, last week:

"No one wants to end the war in Iraq more than I do and bring our troops home.”


Nixon, 1969:

“I want peace as much as you do.”

 

DNC Ad



Suddenly, just like Bush, Lieberman thinks "stay the course" is a slur. When, just like Bush, it's been his policy for four straight years.
 

Journal-Inquirer: $236k for Joe From GOP-Backed Group

The White House-connected Bush-Cheney-Rove cash just keeps on flowing in to the Connecticut for Lieberman coffers... this time, under a particularly deceptive name. Don Michak:

The Connecticut Issues Project, a tax-exempt group behind campaign literature lauding U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, has received nearly all of its funding from five people who don't live in Connecticut, including two who each contributed $20,000 to the Republican National Committee, government records show.

The stated purpose of the Washington, D.C.-based group, established in April as what the IRS calls a "527" political organization, is "to educate the public in Connecticut about the records and positions of elected officials and public policy issues."

The group is perhaps best known for a flier mailed under its name to state voters last month that on one side asked, "When George Bush wanted to close the New London Sub Base, who was there to stop him?"

The answer, printed on the other side, was "Connecticut's Joe Lieberman," whom the flier praised not only for "saving" the sub base but also for "fighting for the needy."

The Connecticut Issues Project by the end of September spent a total of $236,964, primarily on consulting services and opinion research, according to its latest report to the IRS.

The document reveals that more than 95 percent of that money - $225,000 - came from a handful of big donors who all contributed to the group immediately before the Democratic primary in August:...

Alan Goldberg, a partner in the new York firm of Goldman, Lindsay and Co. and the former chairman and chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley Private Equity, and Miriam Goldberg, identified in IRS and Federal Election Commissions records as a "housewife," each made $20,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2001.

Mr. Goldberg also has a long record of contributions to Republican committees and candidates, including Bush and the Bush-Cheney Compliance Committee, as well as Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.

 

Listen To Bob

It's crunch time. Time to put your phone-dialing fingers where your blogging fingers usually are. Or something like that.

Sign up to volunteer in the last 13 days of the campaign.

This campaign has always been about people talking to people. And they've been doing it in amazing numbers via the Family, Friends, and Neighbors program and in other ways too.

This campaign is not about protecting entrenched Washington interests. It is not about rubber-stamping everything that's wrong with our government. It's about effecting real change. And if that's not worth fighting for, I don't know what is.
 

Wednesday Morning Round-Up


Tuesday, October 24, 2006

 

Cheney Hearts Joe

Big surprise:

Asked whether he was backing Lieberman, whom Cheney presented as "a big supporter of the global war on terror," the vice president said he was reluctant to answer, but tipped his hand nonetheless.

"I don't want to harm Joe's chances or prospects," he said, "so I haven't said anything about his election."


Vote Joe, get Cheney.
 

Open Thread



Update: Caption contest?
 

The "Stay the Course" Course



Bush and Joe stopped using the phrase. At about the same time. When it became politically unpopular.

Of course.

Bush today:

The White House said Monday that President Bush was no longer using the phrase “stay the course” when speaking about the Iraq war, in a new effort to emphasize flexibility in the face of some of the bloodiest violence there since the 2003 invasion.

“He stopped using it,” said Tony Snow, the White House press secretary. “It left the wrong impression about what was going on and it allowed critics to say, ‘Well, here’s an administration that’s just embarked upon a policy and not looking at what the situation is,’ when, in fact, it is the opposite.”


Joe today:

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has used the phrase “stay the course” several times in discussing the war in Iraq in recent years, echoing a key phrase of the White House, contrary to an article published today in The Times.

The article used a database to analyze hundreds of Mr. Lieberman’s war-related comments since 2001. It pointed out that Ned Lamont, the Democratic nominee for United States Senate, frequently criticized Mr. Lieberman for being a strong supporter of the Bush Administration’s “stay the course” policy on Iraq, and said that in the statements reviewed the senator never actually uttered that phrase.

In fact, Mr. Lieberman has used the phrase at least half a dozen times over the last two years, during a presidential debate and in several television interviews — including several instances that were covered in The Times database. As recently as November 2005, upon returning from a trip to Iraq, for instance, he said on CNN’s American Morning that he agreed with the administration’s view that it was necessary to “stay the course.”

 

Mark Davis Reports On Viewer Reaction To Mark Davis

As well as Ned winning the debate and Joe refusing to answer his question:

It was an opportunity for both men to talk about the other's attack ads. Lamont defended himself by saying his ads use Lieberman's own words. Lieberman used it as an excuse to call Lamont a liar instead of defending his ads.

 

"Boy, Is He Running A Dirty Campaign"

Sometimes, 1988 Joe and 2006 Joe are very different.

But sometimes, they're the same:



Update: Yep, a supremely cynical Senator who has voted for free trade deals from CAFTA to OFTA, who gleefully rakes in money and accepts advertizing from pro-outsourcing groups like the US Chamber of Commerce, who himself owns plenty of stock in companies that do outsourcing, is running an attack ad against a challenger who has the backing of the vast majority of union members in the state and has spoken out repeatedly and insistently on the incumbent's votes and policies on this issue.
 

Update: Lieberman Still Refusing to Release Slush Fund Records

A full day after the Lieberman campaign promised reporters it would disclose the legally-required record of how it spent almost $400,000 in cash, they still refuse to do so. Empire Zone:

The Lieberman campaign is steadfastly refusing to allow reporters to inspect documents related to a $387,000 disbursement of petty cash before the primary election. By law, the campaign is required to keep a petty cash journal.

According to the Federal Elections Commission, a campaign can make payments of under $100 through “petty cash” as the campaign said it did with “volunteers” in the field during the days leading up to the primary, paying them between $50 and $100 a day.

 

Pics From Last Night

Ned marches into the debate with family and supporters:

Ned, Family, and Supporters March to New London Debate

Ned addresses supporters at the post-debate rally:

Ned Addresses Supporters At Post-Debate Rally

More at the campaign Flickr page.
 

Lieberman Shifty on Slush Fund

(Update: over 2,500 people have already co-signed the campaign's letter to the FEC).

They're dancing around this one, trying every technique in the book to get folks to stop asking where almost $400,000 in cold, hard cash went in 12 days before the primary.

First, Lieberman spokeswoman Tammy Sun said she wasn't there when it happened:

Lieberman spokeswoman Tammy Sun said she wasn’t with the campaign at the time of the primary, but her understanding is that there was a staffer in charge of keeping track of petty cash. (NH Register, 10/22)


Then she promised she'd produce the journal detailing petty cash expenditures - one that is required by FEC law:

She said the money was used to cover salaries, food, lodging and transportation for hundreds who were hired to do statewide canvassing. The daily rates ranged from $60 to $75 to $100 for the work, Sun said. She said she would attempt to find the petty cash report by Monday. (NH Register, 10/22)


Then she was "unable to say" why the young workers who assumedly got all this cash weren't listed by name and salary in the FEC report, while their lodging and transportation was:

Sun was unable to say Saturday why the workers, some of whom appeared to have stayed for days or weeks in dormitories at the expense of the Lieberman campaign, were not listed by name and salary. (Courant, 10/22)


Then she hid behind the campaign's lawyer:

"The fact is, our attorney has assured us that the petty cash expenditures and the rest of our FEC report is in full compliance with the law's disclosure requirements just as every campaign Joe Lieberman has run for the last 18 years has been." (AP, 10/23)


Then she reversed herself, said the cash was not used to pay workers, but to pay field coordinators who then threw the cash around to kids:

Lieberman's campaign spokeswoman, Tammy Sun, said today the cash was paid to field coordinators who then distributed the money to workers who canvassed for the three-term incumbent, who's running as an independent candidate after his primary loss to Lamont in August. (Journal-Inquirer, 10/24)


Then she reversed herself, and told reporters they couldn't see the petty cash journal:

Sun declined Monday to allow reporters to examine the campaign's petty cash journal. (Courant, 10/24)


Now, despite promising reporters she would produce records of how almost $400,000 in cash was spent and then suddenly telling reporters they couldn't look at them, and despite still being "unable to say" why the slush fund even existed in the first place, she's calling the whole thing a "kooky conspiracy theory":

"We are in full compliance with the FEC’s disclosure requirements, have done nothing wrong, and there’s not a shred of evidence to suggest otherwise. We will not be going beyond the law to release the journal simply because Ned Lamont has some kooky conspiracy theory." (NH Register, 10/24)

 

Debate Round-Up

There's a lot of non-debate stuff in the news today too... more soon.


Monday, October 23, 2006

 

Post-Debate

Well, it was an exciting night. The pre-debate march was amazing. Inside the hall, Ned won over the crowd during the debate, without a doubt. Laughter erupted two minutes into Lieberman's opening answer when he still hadn't addressed the question at all - about Iraq. He was booed quite roundly a couple of times. Some asshole LaRouchites who happened to be sitting right in front of me stood up and interrupted the event midway through, I physically "escorted" one of them out when security was nowhere to be found (and obviously, security at the place just took the night off, since they appeared again during the closing statements). Schlesinger continued to be forceful, and his performance was the main subject of discussion for many Lieberman supporters leaving the theater. Schlesinger and Lamont paraphanelia were flying off the tables afterwards, Joe stickers stayed put. Ned told the crowd gathered at the packed post-debate event that he and Alan agreed on one bipartisan inititative - that it was time for Joe to go.

Pics and more later.
 

On "Partisanship"

Tom Tomorrow:

tom tomorrow cartoon

More.
 

Blumenthal: Joe Wrong on Broadwater

Plain and simple, the AG today said Lieberman was wrong when he claimed his vote for the Bush-Cheney energy bill didn't give up Connecticut's ability to protect itself from facilities like Broadwater:

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal disputes claims by U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman's campaign that President Bush's energy bill "in no way hurt" Connecticut and New York's ability to keep a floating natural gas platform out of Long Island Sound.

"There are a number of areas that are still unclear, and the energy policy creates some of the doubts and questions as to the rights of states like Connecticut," Blumenthal said last week. He said the bill places states that deny energy company's permits for projects such as the gas platform at a significant disadvantage in federal court.

 

FEC Complaint Officially Filed

Read it - and co-sign it - here.

More from the AP:

"This massive slush fund is an affront to democracy and Connecticut," Lamont campaign manager Tom Swan said in a press release Monday. "These questions are critical for the people of Connecticut to know, and that is why these laws exist and why we're taking legal action. Only an 18-year career politician could dump almost $400,000 in cash into an election and try to call it petty cash."

The Lieberman camp denied any wrongdoing.

Lieberman spokeswoman Tammy Sun said Sunday, when the allegations first surfaced, that the cash was paid to field coordinators who then distributed money to workers who were canvassing. The payments to workers, many of them students, ranged from $50 to $100 per day, Sun added.

 

Debate Day III

The Debate HQ is set up on the official blog.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

 

What The $387,000 Slush Fund DIDN'T Pay For

Lieberman's campaign today claimed that the $387,000 slush fund was used to pay salaries, food, lodging, and transportation of "young kids" doing paid canvassing.

But "Lodging for Volunteers," "Car Rental for Canvassers," "Food for Staff," a $1,700+ tab for "Food and Beverage" for Tom Lindenfeld (their field guy), multiple payments to temp and staffing agencies, multiple gas receipts for $20 and $30 each, multiple van and bus and car rentals (ground transportation alone accounts for at least $90,000 of their itemized expenses), multiple airfares, and even a $12.99 car wash are all itemized on their FEC report.

The $387,000 slush fund was not used to pay these expenses (just a sampling from their mammoth 1,800+ page FEC report, available for download here):

7/7 - YMCA of Stamford - Accommodation - $439.00
7/10 - Kinkos - Copying - $319.06
7/12 - Postmaster - Stamps - $139.00
7/12 - Staples - Office Supplies - $58.80
7/14 - Poland Springs - Water - $136.56
7/16 - Stop & Shop - Food for Staff - $280.62
7/18 - Connecticut Costume - Uncle Sam - $65.00
7/18 - Varc Rentals - Car Rental for Canvassers - $50.00 (x24 for a total of $1,200)
7/20 - Homewood Suites - Lodging - $3,065.00
7/20 - JEF Associates - Field Consulting - $20,000.00
7/21 - Jay Harlan Corporation - Van Rental - $14,194.84
7/23 - Super8 Motels of Danbury - Lodging for Volunteers - $860.16
7/24 - Splash Car Wash - Car Wash - $12.99
7/27 - Legislative Consultants - Van Rental - $1031.60
7/27 - Office Depot - Chairs - $117.63
7/27 - People's Bank CC Services - Bus and Vans - $20,000.00
7/27 - United Personnel Services, Inc. - Temporary Personnel - $5,760.00
7/27 - US Airways - Airfare - $439.60
7/28 - JEF Associates - Field Consulting - $18,000.00
7/28 - SVM Prepaid Cards - Pre-Paid Gasoline Cards - $3,105.00
7/29 - Konover Residential - Conf. Room Rent - $1,800.00
7/30 - Tony Arancio - Sound System - $10,000.00
7/31 - CT Culinary Institute - Housing - $8,075.00
7/31 - Express Car and Truck Rental - Van Rental - $30,700.00
7/31 - SVM Prepaid Cards - Gasoline Cards - $40,095.00
7/31 - Tracy Hardy - Reimb. for Folding Tables/Boxes - $2,580.27
7/31 - YMCA of Stamford - Lodging - $1,069.51
8/1 - Arrow Line/Peter Pan - Bus for Pre-election day - $5,990.00
8/1 - Laura Cahill - Reimb. for Van Rental - $2,076.81
8/2 - Connecticut Costume - Uncle Sam - $380.00
8/2 - U-SAVE Auto Rental - Van Rental - $3,920.00
8/3 - Arrow Line Peter Pan - Bus - $6.987.00
8/3 - Dollar Rental Car - Car Rental for Canvassers - $500.00
8/3 - U-SAVE Auto Rental - Van Rental - $1,770.10
8/3 - U-Save Car and Truck - Car Rental for Canvassers - $3,841.02 (x2 for a total of $7,682.04)
8/4 - Chris Lavery (San Francisco) - Field Consulting - $4,520.00
8/4 - James Gee (Trenton) - Field Consulting - $7,000.00
8/4 - JEF Associates - Field Consulting - $19,000.00
8/4 - Monroe Press - Sound For Vans - $5,350.00
8/4 - Monroe Press (Philadelphia) - Posters/Lawn Signs - $91,669.00
8/4 - Tomas Reyes - Field Consulting Services - $8,250.00
8/6 - Thomas Lindenfeld - Food and Beverage - $1,772.82
8/7 - AT&T - Teleconferencing - $4,075.67
8/7 - Exec. Jet Management - Chartered Flight - $24,431.78
8/7 - Urban Prevention Programs - VansDrivers&Food&Phonebank - $6,860.00
8/8 - Goodwin Hotel - Food & Bev. & Lodging - $17,313.68
8/8 - Joseph Eyer (DC) - Reimb. for Transportation - $2,800.00
8/8 - Michael Wence - Reimb. for Expenses - $604.00
8/8 - Staffing Now, Inc. - Staffing - $724.00
8/10 - Avis Rent-A-Car - Van Rental - $1,184.32
8/10 - Avis Rent-A-Car - Van Rental - $1,205.02
8/10 - USS Chowder Pot - Campaign Event - $697.76
8/11 - Daryl Brooks - Field Consulting Services - $12,200.00
8/11 - Labor Ready - Temporary Staff - $752.69
8/11 - Stan Welch - Field Consulting - $10,200.00
8/15 - Chris Lavery - Field Consulting - $4,520.00
8/15 - Dan Robinett - Field Consulting Services - $3,000.00
8/15 - James Gee - Field COnsulting Services - $7,000.00
8/15 - Mary Wagley - Field Consulting - $1,200.00
8/15 - Stan Welch - Field Consulting Services - $10,200.00
8/15 - Tomas Reyes - Field Consulting Services - $8,250.00
8/21 - Untied Personnel Services, Inc. - Temp. Staff - $5,320.71
8/24 - Sandra McKinnie - Reimb for Office Supplies - $307.90
9/11 - Jordan Caterers - Food and Beverage - $2,149.68
9/11 - Vonda McKeithan - Mileage & Food & Bev. Reimb. - $1,302.93
9/19 - Urban Voters & Associates - Field/Voter Contact GOTV Local - $8,470.00

 

Iraq Round-Up

Short version: Everything is falling apart. Everyone is running away. Even Joe, though he won't admit it.


 

Sunday Morning Round-Up