Saturday, September 25, 2010

About That Half-Mil

Anonymous, in "The Rotten Fruit of Dan Soucek" thread below, asks where the $500,000 figure came from that's being pumped into NC House & Senate races this year. Real Jobs NC is a "527" group, which does not have to abide by the rules of the Federal Elections Commission because they operate under an official fiction that they are not advocating explicitly for or against particular candidates. Several weeks ago Real Jobs NC reportedly had $500,000. (They have likely raised more since then.) Here's AP reporter Gary Robertson's complete article on the subject, and although it doesn't mention the Cullie Tarleton and Steve Goss races, the anti Tarleton & Goss TV ads and mailers do say they were paid for by Real Jobs NC:
New NC committee has $500,000 to talk 'real jobs'
New political committee talking 'real jobs' may lay groundwork for NC GOP candidates

Monday August 16, 2010

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- An image of the Legislative Building provides a backdrop of a television commercial after a man in a blue shirt and red tie standing in front of what could be a closed plant laments what he calls North Carolina's bad business environment.

"We're losing North Carolina jobs, but double-digit unemployment isn't solved by more government," the unidentified speaker says. "Politicians want more taxes, more regulations -- to expand government, hurt our businesses and our employees."

The commercial, which began running in several TV markets last week, began an effort funded by more than $500,000 from two Republican-leaning groups and a business to raise the alarm about recent actions by the General Assembly, which happens to be controlled by Democrats.

While the political organization "Real Jobs NC" is quick to say it's not working to elect or defeat certain candidates -- in keeping with its federal tax designation -- it's clear the criticisms will help plow the ground for Republican hopefuls in state House and Senate races this fall.

State campaign finance records show the group intends to identify House Democrats in swing districts in future projects. GOP supporters believe the bad economy, higher state taxes and unhappiness with President Barack Obama give them a chance to win one or both chambers. Republicans haven't led the Senate since 1898.

"They are setting the state for a campaign to promote Republican candidates" and target some Democrats, said Bob Hall, executive director of the campaign finance reform group Democracy North Carolina. "They are hitting the key themes that the Republican Party is indicating will be [its] message."

Real Jobs NC was created in May as a so-called "527" group, named after the section of the federal tax code through which it's registered. The political group can receive unlimited contributions from businesses and individual donors and generate commercials and other campaign materials as long as it focuses on issues.

While a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year now allows corporations to spend money to campaign directly on behalf of or against a candidate, 527 groups still have limits on activity. Candidates can be named in "electioneering communications" as long as they don't directly campaign for or against them.

"Real Jobs North Carolina is not partisan. We hope this message reaches all voters," said Art Pope, a Real Jobs NC leader and longtime Republican activist whose family company has given $100,000 to the effort. Personally, Pope said he believes "the Democratic parties at the national level and at the state level have in effect destroyed jobs."

The Republican State Leadership Committee, which works to elect GOP candidates at the state and local levels, gave $$00,000 to the group in June and July, according to a State Board of Elections report filed last week.

Another $100,000 came from Rightchange.com, a Wilmington-based, conservative-leaning 527 political group whose leaders include two Republican lawmakers and Fred Eshelman, chairman of PPD, a contract research company. Eshelman is also listed as a director at Real Jobs NC.

Pope and his Variety Wholesalers Inc., which made the other sizable donation, are no strangers to political activism. Variety Wholesalers or Variety Stores, another Pope family business, gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a 527 in the 2004 and 2006 election cycles to defeat what he called moderate Republican lawmakers he believed betrayed the party by working with Democrats.

The group's election board filing said it intends to spend $15,000 on materials that identify Democratic Reps. Hugh Holliman of Davidson County and Alice Underhill of Craven County. Both represent what are considered swing districts. Real Jobs NC also will use mailers and radio ads, said Roger Knight, an attorney for the group.

One Democratic leader took note of the corporate executives connected to those giving to the Real Jobs group in criticizing the effort.

"In our system, there will always be wealthy people who will try to buy elections with their money," said House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange. Other 527s have been used to promote Democrats in the past.

"I sure hope Democrats will come forward and hopefully combat things like this," he said.

The Real Jobs effort comes as the state GOP and its legislative candidates have narrowed the gap with Democratic counterparts in fundraising. Although campaign reports through June 30 showed Senate Republican candidates essentially even with Democrats with cash on hand of more than $2 million each, House Democrats report having a more than 2-to-1 cash advantage over Republicans.

Mark Binker in the Greensboro News & Record recently deconstructed the negative claims in the Real Jobs NC mailers and found them wanting. He especially exploded the group's claim (for tax-exempt status under the IRS) that it's "non-partisan." Greg Flynn also did investigative reporting on the group and its principal benefactor Fred Eshelman, who is listed as "Director" and "President" of Real Jobs NC on its IRS filing form.

22 comments:

Felix said...

The illegal aliens that fill our jails, schools, and hospitals are the real problem here. Democrats don't want to seem to confront this easily assailable problem for some odd reason. Perhaps they should concern themselves with real problems before attacking fellow Americans like Souchek (sp?).

BikerBard said...

Ahhh, yes, the "Illegal Alien" card. Nice trump play. Now we don't have to examine Soucek or "follow the money." Just follow the Mexicans.

pippify said...

BikerBard,

Thank you, but it is not a trump card. Just the truth. Do you not agree they do all the things I mentioned. Republican politicians had just a large a hand in welcoming illegal aliens into our country due to one simple word - greed. Democrats and Republicans liked having Juan and Jose mow the grass for half price even if it caused other problems. Perhaps we should ask Souchek (sp?) what he thinks of illegal aliens. That would be the more interesting question.

Felix said...

Sorry, the last post was under the name of "pippify" which was the security code. It should have read Felix although pippify is a pretty cool moniker actually.

Felix

Anonymous said...

'Good suggestion, Bikerbard. Think about it.

brushfire said...

Felix -Are these the illegal aliens who are pouring money into Social Security coffers, money they will never draw on? The illegal aliens who are doing the hard dirty work in our factories, plucking chickens, nailing roofing shingles, working in the fields so we good Americans can have cheap housing and food? The same "aliens" who are paying sales taxes, gas taxes, and dying in the Republican wars?
I get so tired of seeing hard-working men and women demonized for trying to feed their families and scrape out a bare existence in the land of milk and honey.
Why don't you save your rancor for the Wall Street tycoons who took our life savings and bought the politicians whom we elected?
Those are the thieves with their hands in your pockets, trying to get you and me to blame the poor immigrant workers.
Open your eyes, man. Don't you wonder why billionaires would pay for organizing the tea party rallies? Doesn't it seem odd that a politician (V. Foxx eg)_who made her fortune off the backs of immigrant workers would turn around and try to blame them for all the economic misery caused by the policies she supports?
Why do you think the Republicans did not deal with immigration when they had all the power? Because they were profiting mightily from keeping all those poor uneducated desperate workers in their factories and fields. And it's very handy to have a downtrodden underclass to blame when they run the country into the ditch.

Anonymous said...

How about we go back and follow the money with Tarleton?

Anonymous said...

Republicans did not deals with the criminal illegal aliens because there were just as many progressives in thee Republican party as there is in the Democrat party. his appears to be changing. Thank God for the Tea Parties. Ditto for your other points.

Felix said...

Brushfire,

Illegal aliens for the most part do not pay into social security or pay taxes for that matter. Many of the crews working Xmas trees in Watauga County are not on any books you or the IRS will ever see. It is much cheaper to pay them under the table than to take out insurance, social security, and the mess that is associated with small businesses hiring illegal aliens (due to regulations spawned by anti-small business Democrats). You seem to forget the remitances and the effect remitances have on our economy. 90% of the cash illegal aliens make goes to Mexico. Cash leaving a country is not a good thing.

Illegal aliens are doing the dirty work that Americans NO LONGER want to do because greedy folks (on both sides) hire them to save money. These same jobs were done by Americans for a LIVING WAGE 20 years ago. Xmas tree workers were Americans in the not too distant past. What you fail to recognize is illegal aliens are now pushing into other areas and driving American workers away in droves. Stone masons, carpenters, and house painters are just a few. When American carpenters can no longer make a living wage, how does it benefit society even if the illegal aliens paid into social security? Wages for carpenters dropped from 30 dollars an hour to 15 per hour in Ashboro NC.

And you somehow think housing prices are cheaper than when Americans were working construction? House prices have risen steadily even though we have illegal aliens doing all the work. How can this be!!! You see, the greedy contractors (just as many Democrats here) DON'T PASS THE SAVINGS ON TO YOU OR I. They keep it! This is what you don't seem to understand. The living wage had been demolished, house prices are the same or higher, and Americans are out of work. This is due to YOUR greed!

As for illegal aliens fighting our wars, you need to educate yourself a little better on who can and cannot serve in our military. Illegal aliens cannot serve in the military. So no, your case of illegal alien over-awe needs revamping.

What billionaire funded the Tea Party. Who did he/she pay the money to? How do you fund a grassroots organization with no known leadership structure. Again, you need to think about simple facts before saying what you wish were the case.

Also, a few of my posts, none of which were inflammatory in any way, were not allowed by the administrator. This censorship thing is very interesting. Over on A Watauga Conservative, they don't censor anyone.

BikerBard said...

Brushfire:
Nice post, but it IS "pearls before swine!"

Opinionated said...

Felix, you've posted 3 times - what's been censored?

As for asking Soucek anything, you'd have to find him first. I see Steve Goss out everywhere all over the district. I'm beginning to think the millionaires behind Soucek don't want him out where people can really talk to him. I saw him ONCE the last time he ran and lost, and thought he might be a nice enough guy, but he didn't seem to be thinking for himself.

The illegals are not the problem said...

There are actually studies, conducted and published in NC, that should that "illegal aliens" bring in more money to the economy than they cost it.

And don't ask me to find them for you. It's called google. Look it up.

All this "illegal alien" nonsense is just that, nonsense. They are a diversion from the real problems of our state.

And you people think that putting in corporate sponsored Repubs will solve our problems even though it is the unfettered corporation that is the biggest problem we face.

BRockBlue said...

"The illegal aliens that fill our jails, schools, and hospitals are the real problem here."

I've worked in health care for almost thirty five years, and I can attest that our local hospital is NOT full of illegal aliens. In fact, I'd estimate that only a percent or two of our patients on a daily basis are hispanic...and some of those are surely legal.
As for the schools, I asked my 8th grader if there were any mexican students in his class. Not only were there none in his class, he couldn't think of any in his entire school!
I can't speak about the jails because I have no personal experience there. But clearly, two out of three examples cited by Felix are pure xenophobic bunk.

BikerBard said...

Very true, BRock. I have subbed in the Watauga County schools, and have met only ONE hispanic student in over 5 years. Your post reminded me of that experience, and I wanted to corroborate your post.

Felix said...

"All this "illegal alien" nonsense is just that, nonsense"

Would you say that to all the out of work stone masons, house painters, dry wallers, carpenters, and young boys looking to make a buck mowing grass in the summer? The nonsense you speak of is bankrupting America.

Felix said...

"I've worked in health care for almost thirty five years, and I can attest that our local hospital is NOT full of illegal aliens"

That's strange. While I was PAYING for services at the Watauga County Health Department, I asked the attending doctor about all the illegal aliens in the waiting area. She told me those aliens were on a special program that paid for their health care (again, I was paying for mine). She went on to say that if they need a doctor for services the Health Department could not provide, then they could go to Watauga Hospital and get those services free of charge. Two of the illegal aliens had babies which I can only believe were born at Watauga. If you haven't seen any illegal alien criminals in the hospital then perhaps you should take a break from administration.

How can we possibly have a health care crisis in this country when illegal aliens have access to first rate medical care?

Same for our jails. Our jails are filled with illegal aliens who see America as a rich hunting area. Just as our health care professional claims to never see illegal aliens in hospitals or schools, some will undoubtably say they don't commit crimes either. I wonder if they would say this to the surviving family members of the car crash on Highway 105 a few years ago? You know, the one caused by the illegal alien twice convicted of DUI.

To Felix said...

Again, they are called STUDIES. And these studies contain FACTS. Look them up.

If you don't want Mexicans here, tell your friends to stop hiring them.

Why is it the people who cry the loudest about Mexicans being here are the same ones who hire them to cut their grass, put on their roofs, cut down their Christmas trees, care for their pools, build their roads, and so on? Ridiculous!

Anonymous said...

I do not hire them I report them in the attempt to see that the rule of law is followed and they are deported.

BRock Blue said...

FYI, Felix, I am not in administration. I am at the bedside in the blood, spit, vomit, piddle and poo. Your ignorance is exceeded only by your hard-hearted arrogance.

Anonymous said...

This was copied from a post on the other blog.

Back during The Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover ordered the
deportation of ALL illegal aliens in order to make jobs available to American citizens that desperately needed work..

Harry Truman deported over two million Illegal's after WWII to create jobs for returning veterans.

And then again in 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower deported 13 million Mexican Nationals! The program was called 'Operation Wetback'. It was done so WWII and Korean Veterans would have a better chance at jobs.

It took 2 Years, but they deported them!

Now....if they could deport the illegals back then - they could sure do it today..


If you have doubts about the veracity of this information, enter Operation Wetback into your favorite search engine and confirm it for yourself.

Reminder: Don't forget to pay your taxes...
12 million Illegal Aliens are depending on you!

brushfire said...

Anon - Be sure to thank the illegal aliens who are paying in to your retirement funds. USA today
NYTimes

Anonymous said...

I would prefer that they let me take care of my own retirement and quit costing the country billions from social programs, health care, education, that they do not pay not to mention the costs of prisons in which the keep the more violent of these criminals. I would prefer they did not steal jobs from citizens and legal immigrants by undercutting their wages. I would prefer that we and they follow the laws of this country.