Posted on 10/15/2004 9:40:08 AM PDT by LouAvul
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (AP) -- The Federal Elections Commission fined Alan Keyes' 2000 presidential campaign $23,000 Thursday, and an ethics group filed a new complaint alleging misconduct by his current U.S. Senate campaign.
The FEC found that Keyes took excessive contributions when he sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. It ordered him to pay a fine and repay the government $95,302 in public funding that his campaign accepted.
His presidential campaign admitted accepting $168,200 worth of contributions over the individual donation limit, which in 2000 was $1,000 per person. It also acknowledged it had taken at least $15,000 in anonymous contributions, among other violations.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Ever had to deal with the FEC at the presidential level? Me neither, thank God. I'd rather chew broken glass.
FEC requirements for presidential campaigns are an ever-evolving morass of interpretations and constantly shifting mountains of paperwork. What they tell you they require this week may, and often does, bear no relationship with what they decide they require next week. They make an IRS audit look like child's play.
At one point I remember that the Clinton and the Dole campaigns were told by the FEC that they owed them millions....Dole over 17 million. Did they ever have to pony all of that up? Do you know?
Having just read the article, it brought to mind a question I've wondered about before. What happens if you receive anonymous donations? Surely there are rules if you get an envelope with cash in it. Anyone know what they are?
Why not just answer the question regarding YOUR candidate, rather than trying to smear Bob Dole.
Please offer the Senator proper respect. That would be The RINO Bob Dole.
LOL
There is a limit on it...supposedly they exceeded.
His homepage doesn't show him banned.
http://www.freerepublic.com/~luisgonzalez/index?U=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freerepublic.com%2Ffocus%2Ff-news%2F1246138%2Fpostshttp://www.freerepublic.com/~luisgonzalez/index?U=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freerepublic.com%2Ffocus%2Ff-news%2F1246138%2Fposts
I think you got my point: address THESE charges rather than point a finger and say "They all do it."
What I'm wondering is, you get this money that's against the rules... WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT??? You can't RETURN it, it's ANONYMOUS... ???
Do you burn it? Hand it over to the Feds? Donate it to a charity? Tell everyone in the office "Working Lunch Today!"???
Knowing what I do know about the FEC quagmire, I'm impressed that this was all there was.
Bush, Dole, Clinton, Gore, Kerry et al all have legions of lawyers and accountants that deal with this stuff, and still have major problems. They have the combined resources of a major party apparatus at their disposal.
The Keyes campaign in 2000 was a conservative grassroots campaign that operated on a tiny fraction of the financial and human resources that other campaigns run on. In my opinion, the good people that waded through it all are to be commended.
And I wasn't 'smearing' Bob Dole. I was simply pointing out reality. I know it is a reality you don't want to admit to, but oh well.
And the grassroots missed this HOW?
First, everyone, I just checked and Luis' profile is showing that he's not banned. He may have been told to cool it, but that's all.
Second, what happened in the Keyes campaign in 2000 (and this was before EV came on to the campaign formally, I remember reading articles on this back then) was the result of honest mistakes by the citizen volunteers that staffed the Keyes campaign. The person who was the Grassroots Coordinator was quoted as saying that the FEC regs made the IRS look simple and understandable.
Care to clarify that question?
Money is probably the furthest thing from his mind.
If you need it clarified, perhaps you're part of the problem.
Take out your checkbooks.
Yes, I did get your point. Just teasing you a little at Bob's expense.
I certainly agree that the "we all do it" defense is tactic of distraction, not a credible defense... Although I don't think the list was meant so much as a defense of Keyes but rather as an indictment of double-standard/hypocrisy (maybe that's not the best word but something like that) on behalf of the Keyes' bashers jumping on the report as if it's a stake in Keyes' heart, when they clearly dismiss similar allegations regarding people they approve of.
Or perhaps it was a silly, meaningless question...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.