Posted on 08/31/2006 6:31:36 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
MADISON, WI (AP) -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green attempted Thursday to capitalize on a state board's decision requiring him to forfeit nearly $468,000 in campaign donations, calling on supporters to raise a nearly identical amount in 72 hours.
The message sent via e-mail accuses Democratic incumbent Gov. Jim Doyle of corrupting the state Elections Board into trying to stack the deck against Green.
The board on Wednesday, voting 5-2 along partisan lines, ordered Green to forfeit $467,844 in campaign cash he had raised as a member of Congress, saying it could not legally be transferred to his governor's race account.
The lone Libertarian board member who voted with four Democrats, Jacob Burns of Oshkosh, issued a statement Thursday denying that he was taking a partisan stance.
"I have no grudge with U.S. Rep. Green," Burns said. "It was frankly a matter of obvious law as to why I voted in favor of having U.S. Rep. Green rid his campaign of the illegal PAC money."
Joe Wineke, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said the board had a clear decision to make and "politics did not get in the way."
Green campaign manager Mark Graul argued that the Doyle administration orchestrated the board's vote, since four Democrats and Burns sided against Green and two Republicans did not.
Doyle's campaign accused Green of being arrogant for trying to use the ruling to raise money and to accuse Doyle of influencing the vote.
Elections Board spokesman Kyle Richmond said it would not be appropriate for him to respond to Graul's allegations.
Graul said Green has no intention of divesting the money and will fight the board's decision in court if necessary. The fundraising request was sent to capitalize on calls from supporters wanting to know what they could do to help, Graul said. It was not sent to come up with the cash needed to meet the board's order, he said.
Graul reiterated that the campaign will not return the money because it has already been spent. The board ordered the money be returned within 10 working days, which would be Sept. 15 at the earliest.
To back up his position, Graul cited a memo written last week by the Election Board's attorney, George Dunst, that said Green probably had spent all the money at issue and had the right to do that because the rule in question had been suspended. Green's campaign reported having $3.1 million on hand as of June 31, but Graul says that money was collected after the funds in question were spent.
Graul also noted a Feb. 4, 2005, letter from the board's campaign auditor, Olivia Manke, which said only contributions received from 2005 on would count toward the PAC limits. The board's vote on Wednesday applied the limit to money Green had collected earlier.
"How can they send me a letter saying one thing and then say something that's entirely different two months before Election Day?" Graul said. "There is a scandal here. They are ignoring their own lawyer."
The board decided that money raised during the entire election cycle, from the day Green filed for office in January 2005 through the end of 2006, was to be counted, Richmond said. Therefore, even if the money had been spent, it could be replaced with any other money raised during that time, Richmond said.
Green's argument that he can't return the money because it's already been spent is a familiar one. He took the same position last year when he was called upon to return nearly $30,000 in donations his campaign received from former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who is awaiting trial on money laundering and conspiracy charges.
In October, Graul said all but $2,000 of that money had been spent. Then in July, nine months later, Green announced he was handing over the money in question to six charities.
The issues involved now are different from the DeLay money, Graul said Thursday.
Even though Green had spent the DeLay contributions, he decided to return it to "raise the standard" of the campaign, Graul said.
How voters will view the fight over Green's money is complicated, said John McAdams, a political science professor at Marquette University. They will likely have a cynical view toward Green having accepted the PAC donations, but will also be receptive to the argument that the board's vote was partisan, he said.
In any campaign, money can be a major factor in who is better able to get a message out, he said. And at least through the end of June, Doyle had a $2 million advantage over Doyle. Updated reports are due Tuesday.
The board voted that Green needs to divest nearly $468,000 in money received from political action committees, or PACs, not registered in Wisconsin. It also voted that Green must return anything over the state limit of $485,000 in PAC donations. Auditors were looking at how much that was, Richmond said, but it could increase based on what Green reports as having raised on Tuesday.
The nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which brought the complaint, said Green was $156,140 over as of the end of June.
The board's decision revolves around a rule passed by the board in January 2005 prohibiting a candidate from spending any contributions transferred from a federal campaign committee that would not have been allowed to be collected under state law. Wisconsin law prohibits accepting campaign contributions from PACs not registered in the state.
A month after the rule was passed, a legislative committee that reviews rules suspended it. However, the full Legislature never reversed the rule. The board's vote upheld the WDC complaint which said Green was in violation of the rule, which went back into effect on July 13 because of the legislative inaction.
If this doesn't show you how DESPERATE and SCARED the 'Rats are in Wisconsin that they're going to LOSE, I don't know what else I can tell you.
Doyle (D, WI) has been equal to or TRAILING Mark Green (R, WI) who NO ONE EVEN KNOWS, in our state in the polls!
Republican Culture of Corruption? My Aunt Tilly!
"Vote Early, Vote Often" Ping!
Are you confident of a Green victory?
$2.20 per gallon of ethanol, wholesale
$0.20196 per gallon minimum markup
$0.311 per gallon Wisconsin gas sales tax
$0.51 per gallon VEET tax benefit
$0.16 per gallon federal corn subsidy
$0.10 per gallon small ethanol producer incentive
$0.20 per gallon state subsidies
-----
$3.68296 per gallon
Which does not take into account that ethanol only contains about 2/3 of the energy, per gallon, of gasoline.
So…
$3.68296 divided by 2/3, gives us an effective cost of $5.52444 for the necessary amount of ethanol to equal the energy in a gallon of gasoline.
Sorry Mark Green, but given your support of the ethanol mandate, it looks like I'm going to need every penny I have just to pay for your Corn A-Hole, leaving nothing left for donating to your campaign.
So sorry.
Of course, should you change your position on the ethanol mandate...
This $470k is something like 1/4 of his COH. This could be a problem.
Nah. Rudy Giulliani (whom I personally dislike) is coming to fundraise for him, and President Bush raised $500K for him in one day a few weeks back. I'm certain the National GOP is keeping an eye on this race and will come to the rescue one way or another.
My check's in the mail, and I'm working phone banks next week.
"Are you confident of a Green victory?"
I am as confident as I have been in years. Since we lost Tommy Thompson (schmuck that he can be in his personal life) to HHSS, Wisconsin has been on a backwards slide.
If we can stop the voter fraud, we can win this one. Green is matching Doyle in the polls and no one even KNOWS him, LOL! The 'Rats in this state are nervous, as they should be. They like to think that Madison and Dane County decide all issues, but there are a lot of disgruntled conservative voters in this state...and as an added bonus we have the Gay Marrage Ban and the Death Penalty referendums on this ballot so people will be out to vote in droves, this cycle. :)
(Remember: We lost Wisconsin to Kerry by slightly under 12,000 votes; at least 10K have been shown to be fraudulent to date. This state is quite conservative, no matter what the MSM tries to tell you.)
On another note, Diana, there are LOTS of people here in my corner of the world (NW Arkansas) from Wisconsin. Thought you'd like to know...
I'm not going to live here forever, either. It's way too expensive; like 6th in the nation for Socialist Taxes.
Marysville, TN is high on my list...but Husband wants to move to either Hawaii (any island) or Alaska when we retire in ten years or so.
Decisions, decisions! But for the meanwhile I'll fightlikehell to keep the Barbarians ('Rats) At The Gate for my Home Sweet Home, Wisconsin. :)
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.