Please welcome Joseph Stern to the front page. You can learn more about him by clicking on the About The Daily Kingfish link underneath the Menu to the right.
The donation of $25,300 was made in August of 2008 to the US Treasury while Senator Landrieu was under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. Campaign lawyer Marc Elias defends the campaign calling the complaint "frivolous". No one from the campaign has said what the donation was indeed for, only that it wasn't a bribe or any other flavor of cover-up.
Here's hoping that this isn't going to be a problem for Senator Landrieu as Louisiana already has it's share of corrupt senators. But if it is the case that there's some sort of scandal in the works here, the people of Louisiana should hold the senator accountable for her actions.
Well, well, well ... it was only a matter of time before Governor PBJ came into contact with some shady characters on the fundraising trail, since he spends oh, so much time traveling outta the Gret Stet, as you can see to the right.
If y'all click on the picture (or here), you'll see the yeoman's work that conservative blogger CB at The Old River Road has been doing with respect to tracking Governor PBJ's multiple out of state jaunts to keep his national profile up for a '12 or '16 bid for the White House, while ostensibly raising campaign cash for his re-election campaign in '11.
Some background from that TPM Muckraker report linked to above:
One of the co-chairs of the October 2008 reception was none other than Scott Rothstein, then a prominent Fort Lauderdale attorney, now accused of a fraud worth $1 billion.
He contributed the maximum $5,000 to Jindal, and his firm, Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, and Adler ponied up another $5,000, according to Louisiana campaign finance records. Jindal, a potential GOP presidential hopeful, is the latest addition to a lengthy list of pols who hit up Rothstein for money.
Doesn't sound like much, does it? Of course, Governor PBJ never had his picture taken with the man, let alone meet him ... right? Wrong:
GOP operative Roger Stone, a former business associate of Rothstein's, tells TPMmuckraker he remembers Rothstein huddling with Jindal at the Republican Governors Association conference in Miami, held the month after the football game.
In the past few days alone, Rothstein had a nice chat with his friend John McCain ("He asked how all our local races went; that's the kind of guy he is"); did some business in New York; held a fundraiser in Miami for rising Republican star Bobby Jindal (the Louisiana governor who might run for president in 2012); spent a day screening judicial applicants for Florida's 4th District Court of Appeal; eulogized one of his best friends, who was killed in a motorcycle wreck; and searched for a liver for a friend who needs a transplant.
So, how 'bout it, Governor PBJ? You gonna return the money donated by Mr. Rothstein and his firm, as quite a few Florida politicians are doing?
UPDATE: The Governor's press flack, Kyle Plotkin, formerly of The Wanna Be's Senate campaign, and also the "liberal" former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, told TPM that the Governor will be giving the $10,000 he received from Mr. Rothstein and his company to the victim's compensation fund once one is created.
I described in detail on Friday how Sinning Senator Vitter is playing politics with his hold on FEMA nominee Craig Fugate.
Well, this weekend, former Republican State Rep. Chris Tidmore appeared on the Rachel Maddow show to explain what exactly the Sinning Senator is doing placing the hold on Mr. Fugate a mere three weeks prior to hurricane season:
But we're not done yet ... that segment just hits Vitter's reputation nationally. The DSCC just put out a web video to raise cash on the audacity shown by the Sinning Senator in his attempt to raise campaign cash on his hold of FEMA nominee Craig Fugate ... potentially imperiling millions of Americans who live in hurricane-prone areas:
"Sen. Vitter is using every means of communication available to explain his reasons for holding the FEMA nominee to Louisianans - namely the more than 70 days it has taken FEMA to make a policy decision that affects people recovering from storms that hit almost four years ago. If anyone is politicizing this, it is the [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee] and the administration."
Let's see the tape ...
Fall 2005: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit Louisiana.
Fall 2005 - Winter 2009: Bush Administration delays, delays and delays ...
Circa March 2009: Vitter (FINALLY) asks FEMA questions re: rebuilding
03/04/2009: Obama nominates former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's emergency management director to head up FEMA.
05/07/2009: Sinning Senator Vitter sends out a fundraising ask highlighting the hold on Fugate. Here's the text of the fundraising ask:
Yesterday, the Obama administration attempted to strong arm me to force a quick vote on the president's FEMA nominee. A coordinated effort then began when the National Democrat Senatorial Committee attacked me for not allowing Obama's FEMA nominee to glide through the confirmation process.
After being hit with four major hurricanes in the last 4 years, I can assure you that this isn't about politics. It's about FEMA inaction, about which we in Louisiana know all too well. I asked the Obama administration vital questions about our state's recovery over 70 days ago, yet FEMA's inefficient and ineffective bureaucracy remains.
Hmmm ... perhaps putting someone in charge of FEMA would help move matters along, no? Since there is no one in charge, no one is able to make a final decision on your question. And it's YOUR hold that is keeping Mr. Fugate from taking over FEMA, which means that you're responsible for the lack of answers.
I gave FEMA an F grade with a Republican president at the helm, and I'm not going to sit idly by without getting key answers from FEMA about rebuilding key emergency operations facilities, like fire stations, in our flood zones. This has nothing to do with Washington politics - it's about putting Louisiana and its citizens first.
You are putting Louisiana first? You won't sit idly by? That's why you're highlighting your obstructionism in a fundraising letter.
I have asked FEMA for a timeline on these important issues, because Louisiana's citizens have waited long enough - almost four years - for answers to move forward on rebuilding. The fact that Obama and FEMA are complaining about a short delay of this nomination brings their priorities into question.
Then why didn't you ask these questions of the the Bush Administration in the 3 years AFTER Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?
I'm eager to end this delay, but not before I have answers that will get Louisiana citizens direction on critical rebuilding projects. As this Congress moves forward, I will continue to provide oversight against the Obama administration when necessary to provide Louisiana the accountability and answers we deserve.
Nice to see that you only play politics with life and death issues when there's a political advantage - money for your re-election campaign - to be had. We could have used this oversight from 2006 to January 19, 2009. Thanks for all the oversight, Sinning Senator.
There is a PSC election in the PSC's 4th District this Saturday, which means that voters in Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Catahoula, Evangeline, Grant, Jefferson Davis, LaSalle, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Landry, St. Martin, Vermilion and Vernon Parishes will be heading to the polls to determine who their next PSC Commissioner will be.
One of the two Republicans running in this race - Clyde Holloway, (the former Congressman), aired this well-produced ad:
Notice how the ad begins? It starts off saying:
"Zero, nada, not one penny. Clyde Holloway hasn't taken a dime from the big utility companies."
If only it were true ... thanks to an incredulous Republican blogger, we know the that Mr. Holloway is taking money from folks and PACS directly connected to the "big utility companies" as well as smaller companies that he would be regulating if he were to become the next PSC Commissioner from the 4th District:
This is from Clyde's contributor list from the Ethics Board website:
West PAC
Agrilectric Power Partners
Committee to Elect Dale Sittig
Hixson Autoplex
Starks Water & Gas Inc.
Waveland Services Inc.
LA Action Committee for Rural Electricity
Evangeline Resources Inc.
LABI (La. Assoc. of Business and Industry) Service Corporation
Shaw-Stone & Webster Maintenance Inc.
Chase Investment Services Corp.
CKX Lands Inc.
Ann Duplessis Campaign Fund
Bollinger Shipyards
Francis Drilling Fluids LTD
Riceland Petroleum Company
Roy O. Martin Lumber Co.
Delta Concrete Products Company Inc.
Turner Industries Group
Sidewinder Pumps Inc.
Pumpelly Oil Company LLC
Superior Manufacturing & Hydraulics
Taylor Energy Company LLC
Boh Bros. Construction Co. L.L.C
Like that Republican blogger says, it sure doesn't sound like he's not taken a dime. You can see all of Mr. Holloway's contributors here. (pdf alert)
This is good news for the Carmouche campaign, but I wouldn't get complacent. This is a district that has been Republican since 1988.* Mr. Carmouche needs all the help he can get ... so if you have the cash, click on the icon on the right to donate. Remember, Dick Cheney is making his last stand in LA-04 tomorrow morning. Help Mr. Carmouche put this election away if you can afford to help. Even $5 goes a long way.
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* Although one can argue that this district hasn't been represented by a Democrat since 1980, as former Gov. Buddy Roemer represented this district from 1980 to 1987. I've met Mr. Roemer, and he is among the most tone-deaf people I have ever met, as I wanted to discuss politics and education in Louisiana with him, and he was more interested in selling me his latest business venture.
The Shreveport Times informs us all that Vice-President Dick Cheney will be making his last stand at a fundraiser for Republican hopeful John Fleming on Friday.
Fleming asks the citizens of LA-04 to shell out $10,000 to have their pictures taken with DarthVice President Cheney.
This tells us all what kind of Congressman that John Fleming plans to be - one that will be a values voter ... and then, on the economic issues, do whatever the Republican leadership tells him to do.
He's already started down that track by doing what his consultants told him to do - toe the Republican line on Social Security - let's allow folks to put their payroll taxes in the stock market - to win the primary, and then muddle the waters by putting up an ad claiming that you're going to keep Social Security out of the stock market during the general election. That's not honest leadership ... that's misleading the voters.
The Democratic candidate, Paul Carmouche, is a Louisiana Democrat, which means on the cultural hot-button issues, he's not going to be voting the way, say, Speaker Pelosi would. But on the economic issues, he stands with us:
Paul will end corporate welfare for companies that are shipping good paying American jobs overseas.
Paul opposes higher taxes and new taxes, especially for the middle class and small businesses. The wealthy and big corporations that move American jobs overseas should pay more of their fair share.
Paul will look for opportunities to make the tax system fairer for working people, the middle class and small businesses.
Help Mr. Carmouche counter the hundreds of thousands that Cheney will raise for Republican wingnut John Fleming!
UPDATE: The Carmouche campaign has invited the public to join Mr. Carmouche for coffee and donuts on Thursday morning to discuss their concerns. The meeting is at the Carmouche HQ - 4847 Line Ave. in Shreveport on Thursday morning starting at 8:30 AM. The first 25 people through the door will receive a rubber duck to symbolize the Vice=President's status as a lame duck.
I don't think you'll be seeing Jefferson on the air at all until the final days of this race, when he'll put up some generic ad just to remind folks he's running. You will see signs and billboards all over town, saying Re-Elect Congressman Jefferson.
I have not been impressed at all with the Moreno campaign. About the only smart thing she's done is focusing on rebuilding after Katrina, which is an important issue, but that's about it. She has not highlighted the failures of anyone in the lack of rebuilding; and she's taken money from known Republicans, like W's Louisiana Finance Chair. She's even raided Sinator Vitter's staff for staffers. The last two are not actions of a Democrat, and the first one is not the action of someone who is ready to stand up and fight for this district.
Jefferson will win this thing. It may be closer than his win over State Rep. Karen Carter-Peterson in 2006, but a win is a win. Expect to be back at the polls by late spring in this district, after Jefferson's trial ends.
Cazayoux finally broke down the amounts raised and spent for this election on its own, which is why the numbers are so different from the last fundraising report I put up. He's still raised more than Cassidy, although Cassidy has a cash on hand advantage.
I'm not sure that's gonna matter, because Cazayoux spent all that money early on re-introducing himself to the district before the Republican smear machine got going. It's paid off so far, with Cazayoux leading by 16% or 17% depending on which poll you believe. If the Cassidy people think it's closer, then I dare them to release their polling.
Michael Jackson has no coin. At least not enough to win. So you know he's going for the spoiler role here. What I wanna know is who is paying for all those billboards in the area. Since they DO NOT contain the "Paid for by" disclaimer required by FEDERAL LAW, we don't know.
Note that Mr. Jackson's numbers are based on what he reported back in August. His campaign still has not complied with the FEC ruling to push the financial reporting dates back a month for the entire state, due to Hurricane Gustav forcing the primaries in LA-01, LA-02, LA-04, and LA-05 back one month.
Also, the candidate's debts are all to themselves or family members, so I'm not sure they are that concerned about being paid back all that quickly, or at all. And Don's fund-raising goes back to the beginning of the year, when he was campaigning in the special election required by former Rep. Baker's sudden resignation to cash in on his career with the Mutual Fund Association.
I hadn't thought of this, but a press release put out by Jim Harlan's campaign makes me wonder ... if the reason that Steve Scalise is on a Congressional junket to Alaska to publicize the Republican dream of drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge is because he is looking to raise some dough from the oil interests.
After all, he's got some $211,000 in the bank, but he also has over $192,000 in debts to settle, which means that he's got a mere $19,000 to play with right now. That $192,000 is not personal funds that he donated to his campaign, but money he owes to vendors.
No, the debts listed for both candidates are NOT mis-prints. The difference between the two, however is stark: Harlan owes that money to himself, as he loaned his campaign that money. Scalise, on the other hand owes that money to other people ... staff, vendors, and even the caterer for his victory party, to whom he owes some $9,000. Must have been one hell of a party.
Mr. Troy Carter is not a serious candidate. The debt is partly from his failed run back in 2006, where he placed fourth in the jungle primary behind the Republican. I've corrected the amount raised this quarter from his FEC report. If you click on his name, it'll bring you to his July Quarterly FEC report, where he reports NO money raised this quarter. But if you take a look at his April Quarterly report, you'll see that he only reported some $2,188 raised in the election cycle to date column, and nothing again in the this cycle to date column. Mr. Carter, please find someone to teach your staff how to fill out the reports properly!
Mr. Lee has raised an impressive amount. As one of twothe only viable West Banker's in the race, he has a good shot of taking second place in primary, and making it to the runoff, so long as he can turn out a majority of the West Bank for him.
The debts that Mr. Jefferson owes are personal debts of his to MBNA America, American Express, Dryades Savings Bank, and Liberty Bank, as well as some to himself. Hasn't the man ever heard of fiscal responsibility?
Well, with Ms. Moreno (potentially Mrs. Bernazzani?) making a run for LA-02 but putting signs all over Uptown, including in the LA-01 portion of New Orleans, I wonder if she's really serious about making this run. Is this perhaps a prelude to running for Mayor of our fair city in 2010, especially now that Mr. Bernazzani is prohibited from doing so by the City Charter. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot ... the FEC doesn't know what party Ms. Moreno is a member of. If you enter Moreno into the field on that page just linked to, it'll bring you to all the Moreno's that have filed with them. The first one is our very own Helena Moreno ... the UNK after LA means unknown!
The debt is money that Mr. Richmond gave his campaign. For a first-time candidate for the U.S. House, the first quarter fundraising for Mr. Richmond is impressive. Almost $200,000 in the bank. Right now, he has to be one of the favorites to oust Congressman Jefferson.
There are two candidates that have yet to file an FEC report, as they are not required to do so at this time, as they were not raising money prior to the June 30th deadline - former Nagin aide Kenya Smith, and City Councilman James Carter. As reader SM points out, James Carter is a West Banker himself. That's the reason for the changes in the blurb about Byron Lee.
LA-03
There's no need to keep tabs on Congressman Melancon's fund-raising, as he has no race. He does have a cool $1,042,583.14 sitting in the bank. There is speculation that he will parlay that money to make a run against Sinator Vitter, although my colleague Oyster points out a very, very disappointing video of the erstwhile Congressman taken over the weekend.
In other words, if it wasn't for President Bush, John Neely Kennedy's campaign would be answering questions as to why their fundraising #'s had dropped this quarter compared to last quarter.
But it gets so much better, as I posted earlier about the fundraising #'s of both candidates in the 2Q. I pointed that not only was the Kennedy campaign out-raised by Senator Landrieu, but Kennedy's fundraising total without President Bush was about $420,000 less than he had raised last quarter. So what does the Kennedy campaign do?
I expect that to last until they both officially file the reports with the Senate ... and it will come out that Senator Landrieu has out-raised the walking punchline otherwise known as John Neely Kennedy.
If I'm wrong, I'll donate $10 to Senator Landrieu's campaign up in the right corner of this blog. If I'm right, I want one of y'all to donate $10 to Senator Landrieu's campaign.
Here are the fundraising numbers as reported in press releases by both campaigns:
Candidate
Raised 2nd Quarter
Election Cycle to Date
Cash on Hand
John Kennedy
$1,480,000
$3,590,000
$2,700,000
Mary Landrieu
> $1,500,000
> $8,477,955
> $5,400,000
I know that the Kennedy campaign is thrilled with their 2Q haul, but what they are not telling folks is that $500,000 of the $1.4 million haul came from the President Bush fundraiser at the end of April. That means that the Kennedy campaign actually raised less money without President Bush's help than they did last quarter. Here's the difference to make the point clear:
Candidate
Raised 1st Quarter
Raised 2nd Quarter - Bush Help
Difference
John Kennedy
$1,400,000
$980,000
$420,000
In other words, if it wasn't for President Bush, John Neely Kennedy's campaign would be answering questions as to why their fundraising #'s had dropped this quarter compared to last quarter.
UPDATE: CenLamar has more ... including a question for McCain, whom they call McSame, on why he has yet to sign onto a proposal for rebuilding the 9th Ward.
Well, it turns out that presumptive Republican nominee John McCain will be coming to Louisiana this week. He starts off with a rally in Kenner, LA on Tuesday night. Then he follows that up with a Town Hall meeting Wednesday morning here in Baton Rouge. After that Town Hall event, he's holding a fundraiser in Baton Rouge, where you can shell out $1000 to $2300 to sit down in the same room as him for lunch. The more you pay, the closer you get. If you click on the links, they will take you to a page where you can RSVP to attend the event(s).
I am hopeful that many of you readers in Baton Rouge will use the fact that he's holding a Town Hall meeting here in town to ask him some pointed questions about his views. Here are some news articles to get y'all started:
John McCain Opposes Minimum Wage Increase John McCain Lets Lobbyists Shape HIS Economic Policy John McCain Wants to Privatize Social Security John McCain Defends Free Trade Deals Like NAFTA John McCain Wants To Stay In Iraq For 100 Years John McCain Doesn't Support Giving Children Health Care John McCain Opposes 21st Century GI Bill John McCain Wants To Overturn Roe v. Wade John McCain Defends Bush's Iraq War Strategy
Got any questions for McCain? Put them in the comments! If you go, I hope to hear about your experiences there in a diary!
The $500,000 haul now puts Kennedy above the $2 million cash on hand mark.
Mary Landrieu also held an online fundraiser to counter the funds raised by Mr. 28% ... while the Landrieu campaign has not released the total amount raised, 387 folks have donated to Mary's campaign since they started the online fundraiser.
Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who understands the importance of securing a working majority in the Senate for the Democratic Party, set up an ActBlue page, where some 272 folks donated $14,660 in the last 24 hours or so. That's an average of about $54 dollars a donor. If we assume that the folks that donated at Mary's website averaged the same amount, that would be another $20,858 to add.
$35,000 for a 24 hour online fundraiser is nothing to sneeze at.
UPDATE: Lamar over at CenLamar emailed me 5 more questions, which are below.
Tonight, our illustrious President will join Governor PBJ and Sinator Vitter to host a fundraiser for Democratic Republican Senatorial Candidate John N. Kennedy in the hopes that he can win the Republican nomination for the right to face Senator Mary Landrieu.
In honor of the Bush/Jindal/Vitter fundraiser, I have some questions for John N. Kennedy:
1. You ran for re-election to the State Treasurer post last fall saying that the "job was not yet done." Is it done now that you're running for Senate, a mere 6 months later?
You recently endorsed Woody Jenkins for Congress in LA-06. Do you agree with his stated beliefs that we should abolish the Departments of Energy, Education, Housing and Urban Development and Commerce?
2. In 2004, when you ran for the Senate, you were in favor of stem cell research, affirmative action, and minimum wage hikes. The Republican Party is opposed to these things. Have you flip-flopped?
3. In 2004, you stated that President Bush's policies were "cold" and "mean." Do you still believe that?
4. Do you approve of Sinator Vitter's extracurricular activites? After all, you are using him as a host for your fundraiser tonight.
5. You recently endorsed Woody Jenkins for Congress in LA-06. Do you agree with his stated beliefs that we should abolish the Departments of Energy, Education, Housing and Urban Development and Commerce?
CenLamar's questions:
1. Do you support proposals that would allow the government to negotiate prices for prescription medications with pharmaceutical companies?
2. Please explain why you felt it appropriate to use public tax dollars to promote your name and whether or not you believe Joe McPherson's bill was appropriate.
3. How do you respond to the accusations from Republicans that you have cost the State over $1.4 million?
4. Do you support Senator McCain's notion of a 50-100 year presence in Iraq?
5. Why should Louisianans relinquish their seniority in the Senate and a seat in the appropriations committee in order to elect a freshman member of the minority party?
Contrary to rumors, Ashley Casey has not received many contributions ... not even from her favorite New Orleanian, John Georges. She donated $45,000 to her own campaign in the last week. That's why she has $46,000 to play with. She has a grand total of 7 folks, other than herself, who donated her cash. SEVEN! Yeah, she's a viable candidate, y'all!
Don's Cash On Hand is likely to go down to roughly 180,000 once he pays off the debts. Still, that's nearly four times what the others have to play with.
Woody ... man, it must be tough be the most hated Republican in Louisiana. No wonder he needs Freedoms Watch and Lane Grigsby to come his rescue. He can't raise enough money to put himself on the air.
Well, it turns out that presumptive Republican nominee John McCain will be coming to Louisiana this week. He starts off with a rally in 
