Toledo Blade: Mandel refuses to give up Iott's donation
On November 2, 2011, the Toledo Blade reported:
The campaign of Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday rejected a call for him to donate to charity a $1,000 contribution he received from a Lucas County man who portrayed a Nazi soldier in military re-enactments. [...] Mr. Mandel, who is Jewish, is seeking the GOP nomination to run for Senator Brown's seat in 2012. The liberal issue advocacy group ProgressOhio said Mr. Mandel should donate the contribution to a charity, such as the Wiesenthal Center or the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Boston Globe: Brown stumps for cash in Texas
On October 26, 2011, the Boston Globe reported:
Senator Scott Brown sought help from the deep pockets of Texas earlier this week to raise money for what is expected to be a tough and expensive reelection campaign. On Monday, two prominent Houston GOP boosters hosted a reception and dinner for Brown and Texas Senator John Cornyn, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Yesterday, Brown held a luncheon at the San Antonio Country Club. Brown’s campaign declined to provide details about his visit to the Lonestar State...
Billings Gazette: Abramoff-connected lobbyist sentenced to prison had Montana clients
On October 26, 2011, the Assoicated Press and Billings Gazette reported:
Kevin Ring, a former lobbyist who was a rising star under Jack Abramoff’s tutelage, was sentenced Wednesday to nearly two years in prison for giving public officials meals and event tickets. Ring represented two clients in Montana — and both have said he did a good job for them. [...] Carter County hired Ring in 2003 — at the suggestion of U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., who said he advised the county that a lobbyist could help its quest to secure highway funding, and gave them some names, including Ring’s. Ring gave $2,000 in campaign donations to Rehberg in 2002 and 2003 and $1,000 to then U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.
Cleveland Jewish News: Nazi reenactor gives $1,000 to Mandel Senate campaign
Marilyn Karfeld at the Cleveland Jewish News highlights Josh Mandel's acceptance of a $1000 contribution from a Nazi reenactor:
"Rich Iott, a 2010 Ohio Republican congressional candidate who for years dressed up in SS uniforms to participate in Nazi reenactments, has given $1,000 to Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel's Senate campaign. The October Federal Elections Commission filing by Citizens for Josh Mandel shows Iott donated the money on Sept. 5 to Mandel's primary-election campaign..."
Columbus Dispatch editorial: Mandel remains a mystery to Ohioans
Jack Torry of the Columbus Dispatch wrote the following:
"After the Senate approved Sen. Sherrod Brown’s bill aimed at punishing China for its export policy to the United States, a reporter asked Brown’s likely opponent, Republican Josh Mandel, how he would have voted on the bill. A Mandel spokesman answered this way: “Try as he might, it’s too late for Sherrod Brown to hide from his record of outsourcing Ohio jobs to countries like China. During Sherrod Brown’s past decade as a D.C. politician, one out of every four jobs that has left America left from Ohio.” There was a bit more, but you get the idea. Nowhere did the spokesman provide the slightest clue as to where Mandel stood on an issue that has a lot of traction in Ohio..."
POLITICO: Nazi reenactor gave Mandel $1,000
On October 21, 2011, POLITICO reported:
"Rich Iott, the Nazi reenactor who ran unsuccessfully for Congress, donated $1,000 to Josh Mandel's Ohio Senate campaign, according to the Republican's campaign finance filing provided to POLITICO by the Democratic group American Bridge."
Huffington Post: George Allen Campaign Pays Finance Expert Linked To RNC Money Woes
On October 20, 2011, the Huffington Post reported:
A former Republican National Committee finance official who was forced to resign last year following allegations that she had spent party money at a jewelry store has found a new home in the free-spending campaign of Virginia GOP Senate candidate George Allen. Debbie LeHardy departed the RNC, where she was the deputy finance director, after reports emerged that she was reimbursed $450 for a purchase at a Manhattan jewelry store that she listed as a meal. [...] Those problems apparently did not discourage Allen from hiring LeHardy as a consultant and paying her well. According to Federal Election Commission records, her firm has received more than $75,000 for advice since February.
NY Times: Questions Raised Over Perry Campaign’s Reimbursements for Use of Private Plane
On October 17, 2011, the New York Times reported:
In the first two weeks of Rick Perry’s presidential campaign, his aides turned to Brian D. Pardo, a Texas businessman under investigation by federal securities regulators, to use his Cessna Citation X business jet to fly to campaign events. The Perry campaign paid Mr. Pardo about $21,000 for two days of flights that, according to logs from Flightwise.com, totaled about nine hours in the air, a number Mr. Pardo said sounded accurate. [...] But had the campaign rented the same plane from a charter company, it could have cost up to three times as much, other interviews suggest. Because of changes in federal campaign regulations, that raises the question of whether Mr. Perry, the Texas governor, effectively received an unreported campaign contribution by underpaying Mr. Pardo.
MEMO: Scott Brown's Bad Month
In January 2010, Scott Brown unexpectedly won a special election for Massachusetts Senate. Riding into the public spotlight in his ubiquitous pickup truck, the people of Massachusetts saw Brown as an authentic everyman who promised them he would go to Washington and be an independent voice for working people. In February 2010, Brown embarked on his book tour with the revelation that his fundraising goal for the 2012 cycle was $25 million, a figure that would represent a nearly insurmountable challenge for his potential opponents to overcome. But the last month has seen the veneer of inevitability chipped away from Brown’s reelection prospects. Brown’s supposed strengths – his financial advantage, his independent voice, his likability, and his authenticity – have each been called into question in just a few short weeks. Overall, from being outraised to having his real record exposed, from petty attacks to getting caught plagiarizing, it has not been a good month for Scott Brown. Read the full memo after the jump
Mother Jones: Will Perry Return Koch Campaign Cash?
On October 10, 2011, Mother Jones reported:
"Texas Gov. Rick Perry railsagainst Iran's "extremist, repressive ideology." He condemnsany company who does business with "a terrorist state like Iran" for aiding a country that wants to kill American troops. And as governor he told his state's biggest investment funds to divest from all companies with Iran ties; continuing such investments, he explained, was "investing in terrorism." But now Perry, a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination, has an Iran problem: One of his most high-profile donors, Koch Industries, for years did business with Iran, helping to grow the Iranian energy industry. Which means that at the same time he was slamming companies profiting off of business with Iran, Perry was pocketing campaign cash from a company doing just that. In light of the Koch-Iran revelations, the left-leaning outside spending group American Bridge is demanding Perry give back his Koch money. "If [Perry] does not immediately return all of the Koch's Iran-tainted money and repudiate their actions, he has no business running to be the leader of the free world," says Rodell Mollineau, president of American Bridge, which compiled research on Perry's Iran comments and past campaign donations..."