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Latest Guinta FEC Complaint Raises Questions

by: Dean Barker

Mon Sep 26, 2011 at 20:53:02 PM EDT
( - promoted by William Tucker)

Today Frank Guinta - recently named one of the most corrupt members of Congress - was the subject of yet another FEC complaint.

Back when the Republican elite in New Hampshire were trying to show off how the money would roll in - if only they could depose of Tea Party leader Jack Kimball - someone leaked this to the Union Leader:

Guinta mentioned that he had contacted several national groups for money and that he had been hoping "to get up to $100,000 from the Republican Governors Association (for the NHGOP)," the source said.
and:
When Kimball asked for examples, the source said, (House Speaker Bill) O'Brien mentioned that he had been told by Guinta that the RGA had refused a donation request.
According to the complaint filed today, this is illegal:
The Federal Election Campaign Act prohibits federal candidates and officeholders like Congressman Frank Guinta from soliciting, directing, or transferring, or spending funds in connection with an election that are outside the federal restrictions and limits.  Under those limits, federal candidates and officeholders may solicit up to $10,000 per year from federally permissible sources - such as individuals and federal multicandidate committees - for the federal and nonfederal accounts of a state party. But $100,000 is in far excess of the limits and the RGA is a non-permissible federal donor.
The RGA denies it:
"At no point did the RGA commit resources nor were we solicited to do so," (RGA spox Mike) Schrimpf said.
Frank Guinta had the same response to this as he did to being named "most corrupt":
A spokesman for Guinta said the congressman had no immediate comment.
Some questions that come to mind: Who's not telling the truth - the Union Leader's source, or the RGA? And who was the source? Frank Guinta himself? Bill O'Brien?

(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)
Dean Barker :: Latest Guinta FEC Complaint Raises Questions
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Latest Guinta FEC Complaint Raises Questions | 6 comments
The way conservative idealism works is that a person has an idea (0.00 / 0)
and, having had the idea, it's as good as done. No action is required.
Guinta probably thought it a good idea to get money from the RGA, so he announced it. It's just a matter of taking the intention for the act. It's how lots of students explain their missing homework. They "meant" to do it, but......."It must have gotten lost." What saves some of these people is that they have fairly good memories and, given the right prompts, can regurgitate information for tests.
That is the perfect description (4.00 / 1)
of Frank Guinta's town halls:  "given the right prompts, can regurgitate information for tests."  
[ Parent ]
Gilbert and Sullivan wrote about this over one hundred years ago. (4.00 / 1)
Reading this post reminded me of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "The Makaido". Faced with the dilemna of having to executve the Makaido's son, the Lord High Executioner argues that since the Makaido's word is absolute law and because he ordered the execution, it is as good as done and therefore the act need not be taken.

It worked for him.

[ Parent ]
Republicans on Guinta (0.00 / 0)
The grumbling is steady, Guinta is not loved by Republicans, they too see who he is.

It is not tilting at windmills this year, if we put up the right candidate we truly can beat him.  

No'm Sayn?

We had the right candidate in 2010 (0.00 / 0)
and we have her again, Carol Shea Porter.

"We start working to beat these guys right now." -Jed Bartlet
[ Parent ]
Sources Said (4.00 / 2)
Two different press accounts ran the story that Guinta said on the famous conference call that the RGA would not give $100,000 while Kimball was chair. One was the John DiStaso column. the other was James Pindell, who on political scoop said,

The problem, they collectively learned, was that Washington organizations had no confidence in Kimball's ability to use money in a way that helped. Guinta recalled that the Republican Governor's Association would give $100,000 to the state party, but not as long as Kimball was there.

http://politicalscoop.wmur.com...

Either the source(s), whose accuracy was trusted by both DiStaso and Pindell, or Guinta are making up a story. Pindell's column said he complied his information from sources with direct knowledge of the events. DiStaso's source was someone who both attended the meeting of Kimball, O'Brien, and Jennifer Horn at Kimball's office on August 19, and who was "familiar witha conference call prior to that meeting that included O'Brien", Bragdon, Ayotte, Guinta and Bass. The term "familiar with" seems to indicate that the person was on the call. We don't know who the source is, but it would be interesting to know if there was someone on the call and at the meeting with Kimball whose name did not appear in the news coverage, otherwise the pool of possible sources is very, very tiny and is someone who at the time was considered a trustworthy source by the press. Also, it appears the person was trying to clear up a prior version of the story, which was that the RGA had siad they would give $100,000 if Kimball resigned. As you may recall, that version had ticked off  Kimball's tea party-ish supporters, who felt that there was an attempt to "birbe" Kimball by offering a lot of money to the party if he stepped down.  

Someone has a lot of explaining to do.



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

Latest Guinta FEC Complaint Raises Questions | 6 comments

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