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An instant classic - the Accountability Coalition has an answer for Frank's Fifty that they are putting on the radio: Frank's Fifty - A Response
You can help them keep this ad up by sending something to the address below the fold...
Guinta amended a financial disclosure report over the summer adding a bank account of between $250,000 and $500,000. He has said this is the source of the money. What remains unclear is where that account came from.
But the mystery continues since Guinta did not answer Shea-Porter's repeated calls to say where the money came from.
"You can end this right now," she said. "People have a right to know whether that money was put into that account legally or not."
Guinta assured her it was legal money, but did not specify where it came from.
Does Frank Guinta really think "trust me" is going to be enough for voters?
Guinta thinks he can run out the clock on this. I don't know why he thinks that. Magical bank accounts don't turn back into pumpkins after November 2nd.
The truth will come out. And if it comes out with him having squeaked through this election, all of New Hampshire will be shamed.
Seriously: what's his end game? Hoping enough voters won't realize just how trapped he is?
I missed the first fifteen, but two items from the rest stuck with me the most:
* Guinta, who advocates for the abolishment of the Department of Energy, said (either exact quote or close): "we need to do everything we can through the regulatory process" to protect the estuary. What now?
* Frank's solution to Facebook's leak of identity privacy is not to go on Facebook. He'd really look out of us in DC when the next credit card company or bank does the same!
* Guinta lied at this debate about his lying at the other debate on student loans. That's some acrobatic lying!
* Frank's approach to curing disease is to hold a bake sale.
* Frank detailed how he had to cut back the household budget during the recession. This is the same man who just recently amended his disclosure forms to include hitherto unknown bank accounts totaling $250-$500k.
You don't think Frank Guinta's ethical lapses disqualify him for Congress? How about his radical, extreme policy views?
On international diplomacy: "[Guinta] said he would vote to pull the United States out of United Nations."
On climate change: Guinta denies man-made global warming has been proven. [Portsmouth candidate forum, August 19, 2010]
On the role of the Federal government: Guinta would eliminate the Department of Energy and Department of Education.
On Social Security: "[F]uture generations should seek different private sector solutions and have personal responsibility start to lead the way. My kids are 6 and 5. They shouldn't know what Social Security is!" [Rochester 912 candidate debate, May 22, 2010]
On abortion rights: "Guinta said he is pro life, and, were a repeal to Roe v. Wade come up while he was serving in Congress, he would vote for a no-holds barred ban on abortion with 'no exceptions.'"
Guinta said his focus would be to first pass a budget that is balanced and use any possible excess money created through spending cuts to pay off the state's debt, while at the same time working to ensure "each and every (elected official) is held accountable."
(He said this to the same Glenn Beck crowd he earlier told he didn't want his kids to know what Social Security is, btw.)
The man who injected $355,000 of excess money into his own campaign, but who refuses to hold himself accountable by showing a simple bank statement proving that the money is his and therefore legal, wants us to trust him with the balancing the federal budget. OK!
Take it away, former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party:
Guinta says he simply forgot about the account. Would you forget about a bank account containing between $250,000 and $500,000?
Discussion of this account is relevant because members of Congress deal with sums of public money worth many, many times that. If Guinta can't keep track of his own money, how can he keep track of the federal budget?
No surprise given the Bar-Room Mayor's sorry tenure in Manchester, but the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire have endorsed Carol Shea-Porter:
The statement released Monday says Shea-Porter has consistently fought to secure more funding for local fire departments for staffing, safety and equipment needs. It also states Shea-Porter's investment into good public infrastructure is necessary for "strong Main Street communities and for well-paying, middle-class jobs."
..."The Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire know Frank Guinta, and what we've seen, we don't like," said Lang. "While mayor of Manchester, he threatened to cut essential public safety jobs, while at the same time trying to increase the size of his mayoral staff. The lack of value he places on public safety is troubling and dangerous."
Not really interested in linking to the latest pointless non-controversy Guinta is offering up (Carol takes PAC money from unions!!1!) to distract from the mystery money he won't account for, but it's worth it for this quote:
"I would love to compare our donors to Frank Guinta's, but the problem is we have no idea who is funding his campaign," Jamie Radice, Shea-Porter's spokeswoman, said.
Why doesn't Frank Guinta want to debate the issues in front of the people of Conway and Carroll County?
Carol's campaign is willing to help him find his way north of Manchester:
Frank Guinta has refused to provide the people of Carroll County the opportunity to hear the candidates. He is sending a loud message to the people of Carroll County -- he won't come when he needs your votes, and he won't show up if he is elected. We suspect he wants to talk as little as possible about his mysterious bank account and his extreme views, but he owes it to the people of Carroll County to agree to a debate. If he needs directions, he can call our office and ask.
Of course, after this drubbing, and this one, I'm not surprised Frank would want to limit the damage of his inability to go past illogical talking points to tomorrow night's NEC debate.
Fergus Cullen, former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party, almost two months ago:
Guinta says he simply forgot about the account. Would you forget about a bank account containing between $250,000 and $500,000?
Discussion of this account is relevant because members of Congress deal with sums of public money worth many, many times that. If Guinta can't keep track of his own money, how can he keep track of the federal budget?
...If Guinta is telling the truth - that he had this money all along and simply forgot to report it - he can prove it easily. All he needs to do is release bank statements on the mystery account going back two years. That Guinta has declined to do this speaks volumes.
Frank Guinta has had two months to make a photocopy of a bank statement, and he either can't or won't.
Let me repeat that: Frank Guinta has had two months to make a photocopy of a bank statement, and he either can't or won't.
Standing ovation (and best wishes) for Beth Ann Salzman:
I want to thank Carol Shea-Porter for having had the courage to stand up and vote for health care reform. This past winter, I had a snarly little cough that I thought was nasal drip. When I had a CT scan in April, I learned I had Stage 3 lung cancer. This came as a major shock to someone who is not a smoker and lives in a smoke-free environment.
Since then, I have had radiation, chemotherapy, lung surgery removing two of the three lobes in my right lung, and I'm about to have more chemo. It has been a difficult journey, but I've got my eye on the prize. And I have been able to go through all this with the peace of mind that because of the new health care reforms, my insurer will no longer be able to write me off their books when the year ends.
...I've also learned that if I did not have Medicare and health insurance, I would be looking at the glass half-empty. Frank Guinta wants to dismantle the entire health care plan. If for one minute he thinks a health care savings plan could pay for the treatment I've had, then we all would have to find mysterious $250,000 savings accounts like he found. He says he wants to repeal Obamacare. As I make this difficult journey, I feel blessed that Obama cares and Carol Shea-Porter fought for health care reform.
Every single one of you reading this has a powerful story to tell about how life has changed thanks to the hard work Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes and Jeanne Shaheen and John Lynch have done - and Annie Kuster will fight to continue - to bring our country out of the hole eight years of Bush and Republican rule feverishly dug.
Please consider writing a letter to the editor to your local paper today. They are among the most powerful elements of voter persuasion out there.
UPDATE: Rep. Shea-Porter sent along this response:
Dear Beth,
Thank you so much for your courage. In the middle of your battle against cancer, you take the time to share your story, so others can see the people behind my decision to vote for the new health care law. I have heard from so many generous people just like you, and I have been privileged to fight side by side with you to win this battle. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.
..."He just can't talk about anything else as long as this is out there," said Dean Spiliotes, a professor of political science at Southern New Hampshire University and publisher of the political blog NHPoliticalCapital.com.
"It's the lead in most stories. It's what journalists want to talk about, and it doesn't seem to be going away. ... Politicians should know these stories don't go away until you put them to bed."
Landrigan:
The Sunday Telegraph first raised questions about where Republican nominee Frank Guinta got more than $200,000 in personal loans to his campaign.
We've come a long way since then, and we really haven't with Guinta, who insists the money was his own and flatly denies a New Hampshire Public Radio report last week that suggested the cash came from his parents, who sold a second home in New Jersey.
Landrigan also notices that Guinta's current cash-on-hand is less than the $355,000 that may have been illegally contributed. Which means the remaining campaign operations from Team Guinta from now until election day are quite possibly brought to you by a crime.
Adding: this will be a real test of the Union Leader and Fosters. If they endorse Guinta without him having proven the money is his with a simple copy of a bank statement, they will lose any ability to be framed as principled conservative newspapers and be known simply as right-wing hacks who contributed to what down the road could be a resignation in disgrace and a special election.
It's like witnessing a robbery in slow motion - with no 911 to call.
And the revulsion we feel now will be nothing compared to the shame and embarrassment we'll feel if we have a new congressman representing New Hampshire who ends up facing charges or resigns in disgrace.
It is up to you and me and your friends and neighbors and their friends and neighbors to stop this from happening by spreading the word and rejecting such an ethically challenged candidate at the ballot box.
Uh-oh - time for another deposit from a magic bank account:
Federal candidates must file finance reports by midnight Friday for the quarter ending Sept. 30. Shea-Porter's campaign says she raised $399,000 for the quarter, or about $82,000 more than the $318,000 Guinta raised.
She also has more than twice as much cash on hand, with $592,000 to Guinta's $290,000.
If you take out the $355,000 that everyone on the planet except for Frank Guinta believes entered his campaign illegally, he is running a $65,000 deficit.
That's right - the Guinta for Congress campaign is now chiefly fueled by two sources: out-of-state attack ad money from shady groups that won't disclose their donors, and funds that might one day be the reason he is kicked out of Congress.
This is, um, kind of a big deal.
Adding: to underscore how serious a matter this is, consider that in the second district, had Jennifer Horn's campaign not gone broke during the primary, there is every reason to believe she would have defeated Charlie Bass, despite having a ticket splitter in Bob Giuda. Campaign money matters. And it should matter to every voter if that campaign money is illegal. And it should matter to everyone in New Hampshire that Frank Guinta refuses to produce a simple copy of a bank statement that would clear this up.
New Hampshire and Maine have been awarded a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund the Memorial Bridge replacement project. The bridge is the only crossing available for pedestrians and cyclists between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine. It has a life expectancy of only 2 to 5 more years.
The grant application had bipartisan support from both states' Congressional delegations. Thank you, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Thank you, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter.
Frank Guinta opposed the grant:
Asked about whether he would support earmarks for replacement of the Memorial Bridge, [Guinta] said he's taken "a no-earmark pledge." As such, he said, if a project is not a "federal responsibility, other funds than federal funds are going to have to be found. It's a tough stance, and it doesn't mean the project's not worthy. But the budget is $1.3 trillion out of balance. We have to bring the budget into balance."
Adding: Seriously, watch this video; Facebook it, tweet it. It's deer in the headlights territory. What's so frustrating is knowing that if voters saw that instead of endless out of state hit job ads, Carol would win by a landslide.
* The disclosure forms have something like 100, 120, 150, 1,000,000,000 pages of rules and requirements!
* Democrats are mean.
* I won the primary, so stop bringing up all the questions Fergus, Bradley, Bestani, Mahoney and Ashooh were asking about the mystery money. I won, they lost, case closed.
* I won't show a bank statement and end this today because I'm standing "on principle". Because I want to talk about issues, although not showing a bank statement prevents me from talking about the issues. Democrats are mean, also.
But watch the whole thing, below the fold. And kudos to Pindell for not letting up, especially about why has hasn't put the issue to bed with a simple bank statement.
Reeling from Jon Greenberg's investigation into his $355,000 mystery money, Frank Guinta retreats to a friendly right-wing platform. Oddly, he has decided to dig the hole deeper:
"To answer that directly," he said of the questions about using his parents' money, "the answer is, 'No.'"
He said that NHPR "implied that my parents gave me money from the proceeds from the sale of a home. The answer is no, that is not true.
"It's no different than what I've been telling people for the last several months. My wife and I have been in the workforce for nearly 20 years. I have been in the private sector. I've been fortunate to make money also in the markets. Over years of time, we have been able to put this money together."
Actually, NHPR implied no such thing - the question from Greenberg was direct, and not contingent on the home sale:
Did your parents gift you a great deal of money?
Guinta repeatedly refused to answer.
So, the questions are: why is he using DiStaso to answer now after refusing before, and is he again dodging by tossing in the parents' home sale as a part of the question?
Adding: My apologies - Kathy already touched on this as well - please read it! She brings up another great point as well. In the DiStaso piece he shifts ground again to saying "I've been fortunate to make money also in the markets." That is at odds with an earlier explanation implying it was from real estate. This story gets worse and worse.
UPDATE: The WMUR interview is here, with a fuller version coming later on Pindell's site. And Team CSP was also quick to notice the many inconsistencies in Guinta's shifting explanations. Campaign manager Robert Moller, in part:
First, his campaign manager said he earned the money through stocks and bonds. Guinta then later claimed that he earned the money in real estate. After that story didn't add up, Guinta said he saved the money by living frugally. Now, Guinta's back to reciting his stocks and bonds fairy-tale. Which one is it? Sorry Mr. Guinta, you can't blame this one on the Democrats when even people in your own party don't believe you. Republicans and Democrats alike want to know where this money came from. Two months ago today, Guinta's old boss, former Congressman Jeb Bradley, said he should drop out of the race if he couldn't offer a "satisfactory" explanation.
After documenting how unlikely it is that Frank Guinta was able to earn the funds he loaned to his campaign, NHPR’s Jon Greenberg filled in some of the gaps and proposed a potential source for the funds: Guinta's parents. We can now construct a plausible timeline of events documenting that scenario.
