Lawmakers puzzled by last minute SarahPAC donations. "Uh, thanks?" Update!

"Dear (fill in the blank), thank you for being a common sense patriot, that ignores silly distractions like logic or facts. Here's some money."

Courtesy of The Hill:

The 13 lawmakers who received campaign donations from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) have one thing in common — none of them got advance notice the checks were coming.

Palin distributed $65,000 to candidates during the first half of this year, according to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing this month by Sarah PAC, Palin's political action committee.

But the lawmakers who received donations said they never heard from the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee — and possible 2012 presidential candidate — or her representatives about the money.

"The check showed up; there was no discussion ahead of time," said a spokesman for the campaign of Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), one of 11 House Republicans and two GOP senators to receive donations.
The contributions were unsolicited and unheralded, according to the lawmakers who received the donations and their campaign committees.

Palin doled out the maximum $5,000 to 13 incumbent Republicans: Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.) and Roger Wicker (Miss.) both received donations, as did Reps. Lou Barletta (Pa.), Larry Bucshon (Ind.), Ann Marie Buerkle (N.Y.), Francisco "Quico" Canseco (Texas), Mike Coffman (Colo.), Sean Duffy (Wis.), Renee Ellmers (N.C.), Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Martha Roby (Ala.), Allen West (Fla.) and Hartzler.

The contributions were all made on the penultimate day of the second quarter, June 29, with the exception of one sent to Coffman, which was a debt retirement check sent Jan. 31.

You know I hate to be negative, but it KIND of seems that the super sharp accountants running SarahPAC were completely caught off guard by the fact that it was the end of the quarter, and time to quickly dole out some money to politicians in order to continue the facade that they are a political action committee, and not just a tax free pool of readily available money that Sarah Palin can use for things like bus tours, baby nannies, road kill inspired fright wigs, and of course monetary gifts for those who troll the internet leaving nasty remarks on liberal blogs on Palin's behalf. (You don't expect Bristol, Willow, and Piper to get real jobs do you?)

And what makes me think it was last minute?

In the cases of Corker and Wicker, Palin's contributions are especially head-scratching for political observers because of the ire both members have drawn from the right. Wicker has long been known as an advocate of so-called pork projects, and conservatives bristled at Corker's work with then-Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) last year on Wall Street reform legislation. (Corker eventually bailed from talks.)

"Wicker and Corker in particular make exciting prospects for the Tea Party movement," wrote Erick Erickson, the head of the influential conservative blog RedState, the day after last fall's election.

Hmm, it sort of looks like WHOEVER made the decision as to which lawmakers were to receive this $65,000 did their research by simply visiting Redstate and reading that old article, and did not bother to find out if the individuals named were STILL embracing teabagger ideals.  Doesn't it?

Well perhaps I am being too much of a cynic (I do that sometimes), surely the people of SarahPAC would be happy to clear this up.

A spokesman for Sarah PAC did not respond to emails seeking an explanation as to the former governor's contributions.

Or then again, perhaps not. 

You know maybe if the little SarahPAC elves were to follow their Queen's example, and write on their hands that they needed to make a few political donations BEFORE the end of the quarter, they might not look like such complete amateurs.

No your eyes are not deceiving you, the moron is STILL writing notes on her hand.

After all, look how intelligent it makes her appear!

Update: Just to rub salt in this wound, I now have learned that many of the lawmakers who received donations from SarahPAC also voted to RAISE THE DEBT CEILING.


Sens. Bob Corker Tennessee and Roger Wicker of Mississippi both voted for the compromise and had already received $5,000 donations from SarahPAC this year. So did Reps. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania, Larry Bucshon of Indiana, Francisco "Quico" Canseco of Texas, Mike Coffman of Colorado (whose check was not designated for his 2012 race, but was instead donated to help retire his 2008 debt), Sean Duffy of Wisconsin, Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Allen West of Florida.

If you will excuse me I think I will try to be a little helpful for a change, make a call to Sears, and put a new refrigerator on layaway for the Palins.  Somehow I think they are going to need one.

Two of Sarah Palin's aides sign on for speaking tours. What do we think, getting second jobs due to lack of SarahPAC funds or jumping ship because Palin's political future is doomed?

Courtesy of ABC News:

Despite SarahPAC’s reputation for secrecy and discretion, ABC News has learned that two Sarah Palin staffers have signed on with a speaking agency. At this point, it’s unclear whether the aides have signed on to dish about their boss, who’ve they’ve had an on again/off again relationship with or if Palin even knows about their foray into the world of paid speeches.

Palin staffers Jason Recher and Doug McMarlin have signed on with the speaking agency, The American Program Bureau. According to the agency's website, they are available to be paid to speak on topics that include “From 9/11 to Katrina: Lessons for Leaders in the Face of Crisis” and “Designer Politics: A New Age of Political Power.”

Recher was one of Palin’s longest serving and trusted aides; he initially met her on the vice-presidential campaign in 2008 and became one of SarahPAC’s first staffers. He also worked on her “Going Rogue” book tour and a number of political and speaking events before parting ways around the midterm elections last year.

After the campaign, Recher and McMarlin founded NorthStar Strategies, which ran SarahPAC’s logistical operations as well as assisting with strategy and some limited press communications. Although Recher did do some political advising for her during the 2008 campaign and was her closest advisor when SarahPAC launched, by the time they left the organization both McMarlin and Recher’s roles had shifted and they were both relegated to strictly doing advance work.

Recher and McMarlin did re-join the SarahPAC organization when Palin launched her bus tour last May, but it’s not clear if the two were on board for only that one trip or if they will advance other legs of the tour if she does re-launch it. NorthStar Strategies was listed on Palin’s last FEC report released earlier this month, showing payments for logistical consulting in January and February and logistical trip consulting in May as well as reimbursements.

You know the return of Recher and McMartin to SarahPAC was cited as proof that Palin was serious about running, because, it was argued, why else would she need political staffers?

I assume the same logic could now be used to address this new turn of events.  If Palin were indeed about to launch a national campaign for President, how in the world would these two possibly have time to give speeches?

By the way I cannot imagine now many people would be interested in paying Jason Recher to speak about "Designer Politics" after the Sarah Palin bus tour fiasco. I would think he would expunge that from his resume just as fast as humanly possible.

Now if he is willing to dish on what was happening behind the scenes at SarahPAC, and with Palin and her Wasilla-billy family, THAT might be worth paying to hear!

SarahPAC paid $13,708 to decorate Sarah's bus so she could go on a five day vacation. How is that fiscal conservative BS working for ya? Update!

Courtesy of The Note:

Sarah Palin spent almost $14,000 to adorn her “One Nation” tour bus with larger-than-life renditions of the Constitution, Liberty Bell, and her signature.

That’s one of hundreds of expenditures listed in SarahPAC’s semi-annual FEC report, which was filed online today. The former Alaska governor’s political action committee paid $13,708.44 to the Tennessee company Fast Signs for “Bus Wrap” on May 26, three days before her tour of the northeast kicked off.

Unbelievable that the poor, undereducated paint chip eaters that are still dreaming of a Sarah Palin Presidency, spent almost $14,000 to decorate a bus so that their idol (And the only family member that could stand her) could visit tourist attractions for five days, while continuing to play the political prick tease in order to attract the publicity that she so desperately craves.

That is almost $3000 a day!  And what did the Palin-bots GET for their hard earned money?

This:



And of course this. Not to mention this. And really who could forget this? Which of course inevitably led to this.

Well gee that was such a good investment I wonder what else Palin spent her supporter's retirement savings on?

SarahPAC raised $1,658,897 during the first six months of 2011 and spent $1,591,520. The PAC has $1,402,368 cash on hand. In a statement, SarahPAC treasurer Tim Crawford told ABC News that the group “more than doubled the amount we raised as compared to the same time period in 2009. We received more than 36,700 contributions from over 24,000 contributors.”

Among SarahPAC’s other noteworthy disbursements:

-- $26,295.47 to a Visa/BankCard payment center in Dallas, Tex. for “Air Fare, Lodging, Car Rental, Wireless.” The date of disbursement is June 2, the day she visited Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 
Presumably, the sum accounts for some of the cost of her “One Nation” tour. 


So besides the $14,000 she wasted on this "bus tour" she also spent an additional $26,000 on air fare, lodging, and "CAR RENTAL!"  What the hell for? She had a bus with $14,000 worth of decorations on it that she could both live in AND use for transportation!


-- $5,794 to Israel’s Sar-El Tours and Travel for a“Tour of Holy Land.” Palin visited Israel in March and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Oh yeah, that trip ALSO turned out well.

-- $18,700 to Young America’s Foundation, a conservative outreach organization aimed at students.

Is that how much the brain washing of young people costs these days? How much do you want to bet she could not get HER kids to attend if she duct taped them to the top of her car and drove their ass there?

-- $10,000 to Peter Schweizer for “Research Consulting.” Schweizer is a conservative author based in Florida who Palin hired as her foreign policy adviser in May.

I wonder if part of his advice was for Palin to hide in her room for two days while visiting India in order to avoid the locals?

-- $5,416.66 to Anchorage, Alaska’s True North L'Attitudes for scheduling.

-- $683 to the Nashville, Tenn. store Nico & LaLa for bookmarks.

There is in fact much more in these filings, which you can find here.

I have a feeling that this is just the beginning and that we will learn much more about how Sarah wastes her supporters money in the days, and weeks ahead.

You know some days I feel bad for the people who are so besotted with Sarah Palin that they will allow her to take such advantage of them.  Today is not one of those days.

You people are idiots, and she's a fraud, move on!

Update: It looks like the Washington Post has uncovered evidence that Palin's bus tour might actually have cost even MORE than we thought. Seriously?

But the total for the trip is likely much more, because many bills came in after the June 30 filing deadline, Sarah PAC treasurer Tim Crawford said in an interview. In addition, many other expenses associated with the trip, such as photography, videography, Internet fundraising and airfare, are more difficult to account for. (One item in the report describes $6,999 paid to an air charter company called Republican Presidential Travel on June 9, at the tail end of “One Nation.”)

Wait, what?  There is a such thing as a "Republican Presidential Travel" airline?  I have never heard of that.

And by the way neither have the folks over at Talking Points Memo. But they did learn THIS:


Doug Garrett, the former owner of Moby Dick Airways, told TPM that Republican Presidential Travel is headquartered in Alaska and under an agreement with the new owner of Moby Dick Airways only does charters in Alaska. He referred questions specifically about the services his company provided to Palin to SarahPAC.

Okay by a show of hands, does ANYBODY have any doubt that this airline is somehow ONLY providing flights to a certain half-term governor?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Emerging from the darkest depths of Mordor comes.... an e-mail from SarahPAC! Quick, somebody cue the spooky music!

One of my double agents over at SarahPAC sent me this:

Team Sarah
American Values in Action.
A message to all members of Team Sarah

Team,

SarahPAC (https://www.sarahpacdonate.com/) recently sent out a letter to their mailing list with a very special offer related to the exciting new feature-length film about Governor Sarah Palin entitled “The Undefeated”. By contributing $100.00 or more, SarahPAC will send you an early-release DVD copy of “The Undefeated” as soon as it is released this summer! If you prefer to mail a check, please include a note that you would like to receive “The Undefeated” DVD and mail to: SarahPAC, PO Box 220700, Arlington, VA 22207-9921.

We can assure you that Stephen Bannon’s “The Undefeated” will make you laugh, cheer, and perhaps even bring a tear to your eye as the film tells the story of Sarah Palin’s rise from a simple upbringing (one that most of us can relate to) to her appearance on the national stage in 2008 and beyond. You’ll see never released footage of Sarah as a young girl, interviews with the “Magnificent 7” (For more about the so-called "Magnificent 7" click here.) and learn more about her strong leadership as Alaska’s governor. “The Undefeated” is a classic American story of determination, perseverance, and the true meaning of serving the public with a “servant’s heart.” (Gak! Sorry that made me throw up in my mouth a little.)

Having the early-release DVD in your own home will allow you to not only to share it with friends, family, and “fence-sitters” but you will also have a permanent souvenir of your “Undefeated” theater experience. We all know that it’s great to see a movie in the convenience of your own home but the “big-screen” experience is not to be missed either. Sharing that experience and witnessing the reaction of others to this film is an event not to be missed. You can reserve theater tickets for the July 15th weekend premieres here: http://theundefeated.cinedigm.com/tickets.html

“The Undefeated” will be released in other cities at AMC Theaters and Team Sarah will let you keep you informed as we receive information. ("Team Sarah will let you keep you informed?" Sarah, is that you?)

Best,
The Tiny Team Behind the Team
teamsarahhq@gmail.com

Are they seriously asking for $100 for this lousy "documentary?" 

Look I am a HUGE movie fan, and I am perfectly willing to fork over $24.00 for a Blue-Ray disc, chock full of razor sharp images, amazing special effects, behind the scenes footage, and an alternative "Director's Cut" ending, but unless this DVD cleans my house, makes me dinner, and gives me a massage with a "special ending" there is NO WAY would I pay a hundred dollars to own it!

All this DVD offers is a highly sanitized version of the career of a woman who is so incredibly disliked in her home state, one of the reddest states in the country by the way, that Alaskans would choose Barack Obama over her for President if she ran against him. 

It is almost like she is trying to drive the last of her supporters away by hitting them up for money every chance she gets until they are either too poor to give, or too disgusted to care.

Palin's defenders have been suggesting that the people who are trying to destroy Sarah Palin MUST be working for President Obama. 

So Sarah?  Is that true?  Do YOU work for President Obama?

Because NOBODY has done more to damage Sarah Palin, than Sarah Palin herself!

(Now Palin-bots don't bother trying to get me to reveal the name of my spy, I'll never tell! Why I can only imagine what terrible things might happen to poor Becky if yo....uh oh!)

Jon Stewart picks apart SarahPAC's verson of Palin's bus tour. "She's not running for President, she's running for Rushmore!"

The Daily Show - The Story of Bus
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GOP to Palin: "Thanks, but no thanks!" Update!

From Slate:

Taken after the Palin bus tour started rolling, it (A new CBS News poll) asked Republicans whether Palin should run. By a 20-point margin (54 percent to 34 percent), Republicans said she should not run. Among Tea Party supporters, where Palin has her strongest following, she is also waved off against a run. Half say she should not run; 38 percent say she should. That isn't so much a referendum on her bus tour as it is a sign that the entire months-long Palin flirtation with the presidency is not creating an appetite.

The biggest challenge to a Palin candidacy has always been that her image within her own party has been getting worse. (If she can't improve among her friends, she isn't going to improve in the wider circle of voters). Some 36 percent of Republican voters have an unfavorable view of her, compared with the 37 percent that have a favorable view. Her favorability rating has declined since April.

Why? Some of the reluctance may be that voters don't think Palin is qualified. Almost two of five Republicans say this in a recent Washington Post poll. Interviews suggest some who really like Palin think she'll never get a fair shake from the media, making the presidential race a distracting nightmare. Others cite her poll numbers in the general electorate, where her unfavorable numbers are at toxic heights.

What is becoming clearer, and clearer as time goes on, is that Palin is perfectly capable of fooling the low hanging fruit who believe she is ordained by God to be our President,  but she can no longer fool the real political insiders, journalists, and Republican hierarchy into allowing her anywhere near the GOP ticket.

Right now the GOP may be afraid to say that on the record, for fear of losing support from her crazed followers too early, but ultimately she will come up against a triple padlocked door that she cannot simply "barge right through."

They were caught with their flies open, their hands down their pants, and drool hanging off of their bottom lip the last time. But this time when they see her, their pants are buttoned up tight, and their hands are as far from their junk as possible.  She will NOT be using that winky, blinky, look at me but don't touch, bullshit to fool them again.

After all this is a woman who is too ignorant to even purchase a house in Arizona without getting ripped off.

“If fundamental property principles still matter in this country, Sarah Palin may have legal issues that could affect the ownership of her home,” he said in the statement. “Through no fault of her own, Sarah Palin has become a victim like thousands of others across the country that have the same problem with their chain of title.”

Is that REALLY the type of person that anybody is going to trust to deal with the complex, and possibly overwhelming problems facing this country?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

She has always been a joke.  But now the joke is on the people who still send their hard earned money to SarahPAC, in the desperate hope that everything they are learning about her cannot possibly be true, and NOT on the entire Republican party. Of course, as we all know, there are still plenty of jokes within in the Republican party. (Hi Michele Bachmann!)

(BTW I have submitted my name to help the Washington Post go through the Palin e-mails tomorrow, and every other day after that.  Here's hoping I get chosen to help, because I would dearly LOVE to be the one to find the really devastating e-mail that puts the final nail in this woman's political coffin.)

Update: It looks like the Washington Post is asking for ALL of our help.

UPDATE: We have had a strong response to our crowdsourcing call-out on the Palin e-mails. We've reconsidered our approach and now would like to invite comments and annotations from any interested readers.

Here’s how to participate:Over 24,000 e-mail messages to and from Sarah Palin during her tenure as Alaska's governor will be released Friday . We’ll be posting them here, and are inviting you to comment on the most interesting or most noteworthy sections. Please include page numbers and, where possible, a direct excerpt. We'll share your comments with our reporters and may use facts or related material you suggest to annotate the documents displayed on The Post site. We may contact you for further details, by way of your registered e-mail with the Post, unless you specify otherwise in the comments.

Lawrence O'Donnell asks "Did Palin violate laws on her bus tour?"

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

In case anybody is asking for my opinion, here it is: "Yes, I think she did indeed violate the law. However she is ALWAYS violating the law so that should come as no surprise to anybody."

Stephen Colbert asks his viewers, "Won't you help Sarah Palin learn about US history for just pennies a day?"

I have been wanting to put this amazing segment from the Colbert Report up all day.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sarah Palin's Bus Tour
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

In this next segment Colbert has former head of the FEC Trevor Potter explain how Palin can use her SarahPAC money to pay for her family's vacation.

John Stewart had a very funny bit up as well, but I just liked Colbert's a little more.

The Grizzled Mama bares her teeth in response to question about who is financing her Wasilla-billy road trip. Update!

Courtesy of ABC News:

At the Statue of Liberty today, ABC News asked the former Alaska governor how much her tour has cost so far and how she's paying for it.

"How am I paying for it? SarahPAC," she said, adding that she's traveling in "our own personal motor home that we've had in Alaska."

Palin didn't answer when asked how long she's owned the bus that's adorned with the Constitution and a larger-than-life version of her signature. When asked, twice, how much her "One Nation Tour" has cost four days into the trip, she got visibly irritated.

"Check SarahPAC.com," she said. "I don't know why in the world you would ask a question like that. I'm just thinking about America and our foundations and our freedoms and our opportunities. Why would you ask something ..."

ABC News pointed out that she often talks about the economy and how much money we're spending.

"What does our economy have to do with how much we're -- I'm not asking you to pay for a penny of this trip," she said.

"I'm not asking YOU to pay a penny of this trip! I am only demanding that the most ignorant people on the planet, who are so delusional that they still believe I could be President, pay for this trip!"

Isn't it a crime to take advantage of people with a diminished capacity?

Speaking of things that make Palin pissy, I do believe that the State of Alaska has officially run out of excuses for not releasing her e-mails. Of course as predicted, the important ones will never see the light of day.

The state is about to release more than 24,000 pages of Sarah Palin's emails from her time as governor. But officials are also going to withhold another 2,415 pages the state deems privileged, personal or otherwise exempt from Alaska's disclosure laws.

Screw these other 24,000 e-mails! I only want to see the 2,415 they WON'T release!

Update: It looks like somebody fixed the message on Palin's bus for her.  Now it is MUCH more accurate!

Oh yeah, she is definitely winning people over with this tour! Totally!