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3 Libertarians may face election audit
The Arizona Republic ^ | Nov. 13, 2002 | Adam Klawonn and Bob Petrie

Posted on 11/15/2002 12:53:07 AM PST by Roscoe

Clean Elections officials will recommend an investigation of three Libertarian legislative candidates for their use of taxpayer funds for computers, outings to Scottsdale nightclubs and consulting by a relative.

"It is the first time we would be doing an investigation on the use of funds," said Colleen Connor, executive director of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission. She hinted audits of more candidates in the Nov. 5 election could be on the way.

The case involves Senate candidate Yuri C. Downing, 32, and House candidates Trevor O. Clevenger, 29, and Paul DeDonati, 33, Scottsdale roommates. All ran in District 17 in Tempe and part of Scottsdale.

None of them came remotely close to winning, but they succeeded in having a good time trying, says Phoenix attorney Bob Kamman, who filed a Clean Elections complaint last month.

The trio collectively received $83,636 in Clean Elections funds under the program sponsored by a taxpayer check-off on Arizona state income tax returns.

(Excerpt) Read more at arizonarepublic.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: chinaeconomy; freelunch; libertarians
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The "Party of Principal" strikes again!
1 posted on 11/15/2002 12:53:08 AM PST by Roscoe
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To: Roscoe
Libertines hard at work, "liberating" the taxpayers' money.

Oh, and Roscoe: I predict the Libertine response will be, in essence, "compared to you statists, this abuse is a drop in the bucket!"

2 posted on 11/15/2002 1:11:11 AM PST by Illbay
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To: Roscoe
Are you saying that computers are not a valid campaign expense? Without knowing the other side, I can't say whether or not they have done anything wrong, but the relative as consult does bother me a bit.
3 posted on 11/15/2002 1:22:22 AM PST by TennesseeProfessor
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To: TennesseeProfessor
What campaign?
4 posted on 11/15/2002 1:38:45 AM PST by Roscoe
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To: Illbay
TANSTAAFL! And pass the gravy.
5 posted on 11/15/2002 1:39:51 AM PST by Roscoe
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To: Roscoe
Whatever happened to the Libertarian sacrosant hatred of fraud ?

The more one sees , of Libertarian candidates, the less " principled " and wise, they appear. LOL

6 posted on 11/15/2002 1:44:57 AM PST by nopardons
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To: TennesseeProfessor
Are YOU claiming that " outings to night clubs " is a valid campaign expense ?
7 posted on 11/15/2002 1:46:34 AM PST by nopardons
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To: nopardons
Would you deny them their entitlements? < /sarcasm >
8 posted on 11/15/2002 1:46:54 AM PST by Roscoe
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To: Roscoe
LOL !
9 posted on 11/15/2002 1:48:12 AM PST by nopardons
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To: nopardons
Without knowing "the other side," I can't say. For example, if their annual planning meeting included some drinks then I would see it as reasonable. After all, how many business trips allow alcohol as an "entertainment expense?". But if it were a weekly or excessive thing, then yes I am skeptical.
10 posted on 11/15/2002 2:42:23 AM PST by TennesseeProfessor
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To: All
If these candidates took public election funds, they are LINOs (libertarians in name only).

But, since the libertarian-haters think this one example may be fairly used to characterize all libertarians as corrupt, then it's equally fair to say that the Repugs are clearly anti-gunners. After all, Repug McCain is calling for "common sense gun legislation" and "closing the gunshow loophole", and Repug Ronnie Reagan publically came out in favor of Clinton's 'assault weapon' ban, and Repug George Bush, Sr. signed the Brady Bill, and Repug Rudi Guliani called for more gun control. So using the same kind of sophistry, it's fair to say that Repugs are anti-gun, and no gun owner should vote for them.

Either both these things are true, or neither.

11 posted on 11/15/2002 3:01:49 AM PST by Vigilant1
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To: Roscoe
Make crime legal and there will be less crime!
12 posted on 11/15/2002 3:19:23 AM PST by arielb
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To: Vigilant1
As a former chairman of the LP of Illinois, I can heartily second your viewpoint: These candidates are as tacky and useless as a cracked LINOleum floor. And they don't represent the consensus of the Libertarian Party, where almost every activist (and the national platform) vehemently opposes tax-paid election funding.

Unfortunately, the weasels succeed in laying down their LINOleum for two reasons. First, government campaign cash is too tempting for most people to resist, under any local (or national) financing regime, and Libertarians are no more virtuous on average than the rest of America ... just more accurate about politics, {grin} and almost always living more peaceably for conscious reasons than most, and that's about all. LPers had the same problem in New Jersey four years ago.

Second, primaries -- once a state LP becomes a "creature of the state" by getting a permanent ballot line -- can foist a LINO on a state party's activists. We suffered this year in California under governor wannabe Gary "Spittin' Image" Copeland (unendorsed by the LP state committee), and his even less memorable lt.-gov. ballot mate, who wanted to emphasize ferret legalization.

Obviously, reworking the internal map toward activist prominence and party office is on our California agenda, well before '06. The Arizona LP activists still have two dueling state organizations, one recognized for public funding and one not, so their task remains harder.

13 posted on 11/15/2002 4:23:10 AM PST by Greybird
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To: Roscoe
They may not be good Libertarians, but they do illustrate a libertarian point-of-view:

He who touches the pitch of public money is inevitably corrupted by it.

(That said, it's hard to imagine a more valid campaign expense than a computer. Why, I can't even manage my political speech without one anymore.)

14 posted on 11/15/2002 4:47:40 AM PST by Physicist
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To: Vigilant1
look, if you are going to use roscoe's own weak arguments to destroy his position, he is going to start calling you names and have a screaming menstrual episode (S.M.E.).

Just ignore him and he will go away, kind of like a fart.
15 posted on 11/15/2002 4:52:06 AM PST by galt-jw
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To: *libertarians; madfly
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list
16 posted on 11/15/2002 5:56:54 AM PST by Free the USA
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To: Roscoe
These guys were crooks im generally on the libertarian side of things but I don't like the party and im not going to defend these guys they are hypocrits.
17 posted on 11/15/2002 7:14:47 AM PST by weikel
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To: Roscoe
Actually I called these a**** crooks LINOs.
18 posted on 11/15/2002 7:15:55 AM PST by weikel
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To: Roscoe
And to think, never has a Republican or Democrat candidate done ANY of the things these people have.

I am SHOCKED !!


19 posted on 11/15/2002 7:17:43 AM PST by unixfox
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To: Roscoe
Maybe they took the Montana Gov. candidate out to a blues club....
20 posted on 11/15/2002 7:20:29 AM PST by r9etb
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