Reports: Wasserman-Schultz Wants Taxpayers To Fund Political Conventions
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a congresswoman from Weston, is drafting a bill to have taxpayers cough up $40 million for next summer’s political conventions, according to Internet reports.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
The bill would also give the Democrats and Republicans the same amount for their conventions, according to a story in the Sunshine State News.
The Sunshine News report quotes the Washington Times. That’s not exactly the most unbiased source (Frankly, what is?), but the Washington Times quotes the Congressional Budget Office.
Congress killed money for the conventions last year. A bi-partisan group of lawmakers agreed that the parties and its nominees, who raised billions of dollars in 2012, did not need the public money.
But Wasserman-Schutlz, says the report, is now concerned that the Democrats will need $20 million fund the Cleveland event. The Sunshine News quotes the Republicans as saying that they don’t need the money.
The money would come from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. It would not go towards security, which is paid for out of another account.
The Sunshine News report is linked here.
December 17th, 2015 at 10:21 am
Lord no.
December 17th, 2015 at 10:24 am
Absurd!
December 17th, 2015 at 10:39 am
I adore DWS but this is not right. Let the nominees pay up from their campaign accounts
December 17th, 2015 at 12:56 pm
You know this is one of the reasons ronald reagan sheldon adelson n others left the Democratic Party, this “let the public pay” for every special interest cry for money. The reason so many fair-minded go off the rails to support Trump the Tea Party n the ill-named Freedom Caucus of the House of Representatives is this – too bad mitch berger is too lazy to raise money for this, he n his crew want to run around with the Ron Book Brigade n Judy Stern Squad let the Demicratic Mega Lobbyists play not us hard working real Democrats n our fellow citizens ; Republicans n IIndepents!
December 17th, 2015 at 4:01 pm
The taxpayers are tapped out. Let the Clinton Foundation pay for the Democrats. Let the Republicans divide the cost among all the candidates and have their deep pocket supporters cough up the money. And leave the Independents out of this idiotic idea.
December 17th, 2015 at 6:35 pm
The “Presidential Election Campaign Fund” is the money from the $3 voluntary checkbox on US income tax forms.
The presidential nominee of each major party may become eligible for a public grant of $20,000,000 plus COLA (over 1974). … Public grants of $18,248,300 went to each of the major parties for their conventions in 2012. On April 3, 2014, President Barack Obama signed legislation to end the public funding of presidential nomination conventions.
Since no third-party candidate received 5% of the vote in the 2008 presidential election, only the Republican and Democratic parties were eligible for 2012 convention grants, and only their nominees were eligible to receive grants for the general election once they were nominated.
http://www.fec.gov/press/bkgnd/fund.shtml
December 17th, 2015 at 8:16 pm
Stop it. Enough already.
December 18th, 2015 at 8:44 am
What happened to all the money that Mitch Ceasar raised in his 19 year reign as the chairman of the Broward Democratic Party?
Did he take it with him?
December 18th, 2015 at 9:31 am
Who got the $$$$$$$ is another fake name used to make outrageous allegations that they would get sued for if made under their real name n had a pot to pxxx in. This is why the political parties in Broward County are powerless because decent men n women shrink at bring constantly attacked with lies from cowards on the internet.
December 18th, 2015 at 6:33 pm
Does this have anything to do with Breitbart’s recent report that the DNC has only $4,703,185 in cash on hand against $6,921,661 in debts?
December 19th, 2015 at 9:42 am
Let her, and the other misfits, pay for their own party.
December 19th, 2015 at 4:11 pm
Another fake name slams the Democrats with a fake news site as tge source. The creation of fake news is worse than the biased news on the news channels. This is why loosing journalists WITH PROFESSIONAL standards at newspapers is a NATIONAL TRAGEDY. Bretbart Grudge that jackass Jessie Waters and the moral midget morons at Media whatever Center run by insane Brett Bozell cant get facts straight to save their lives.
A simple statement like the DNC las assets of x and liabilities y probably means they read two lines of a 60 page report AND GOT THOSE WRONG! Fake facts from a fake source from a fake name!
December 19th, 2015 at 4:20 pm
First of all Sheldon adelson(you know him to Count)will not decide who are next president is. I don’t care how much money he has. Congresswoman Shultz needs 20 mill to make this a great convention next summer ,they will find the money. As far as taxpayers fitting the bill, this is the first I have heard of this notion. The Demo’s if the election were tomorrow would win, no problem. After Tuesday debate w/ The Donald (1600 Penns. Ave is not for sale) if he is the Republican nominee Clinton wins. Can you see him going up against Mrs.clinton. He can’t say your stupid, he can’t say your ugly, he can’t say your lousy etc. I mean he didn’t even know what the “nuclear triade ‘was but everything will be terrific ,”make the country great” -sure. I mean they all need to bring up Trump being sued by the state of New York atty general’ off for his Trump Univeristy ” bs(yes) he is being sued. He says its political pay back because he didn’t give money to the Ag(ny). Ok. Also here in Ft.alu we had a bldg. named after him on the beach and it went bellie up(huh Devi). Win Demos win. Trump ,nothing but a slick snake oil salesman w/ money and a pretty bride(who you kidding, sleeping w/ Trump, w/ that hair alone I woul d be thinking I’m in bed w/ a coyote.) And Jeb Bush, toss the glasses, color th e hair and for God sake , loosing up. I mean poor Jeb Bush being out done by The Donald”. I think Mrs.clinton’ only threat is Marco Rubio, not a problem ,bring up his Tony Montana brother inlaw, and the fact that as our senator he is never there. will see. Money ,Shulz will get, trust me….
December 19th, 2015 at 8:54 pm
Friends:
The public does pay.
Now, don’t get me wrong! Under the present campaign finance arrangement I too don’t like this idea very much. But the notion that the public doesn’t pay now? That’s silly, of course we pay.
Corporations and other interests that today help fund campaigns and political PACS pass those costs along to us in the form of higher pricing for the goods and services we consume. We are absolutely paying that cost now.
The smarter approach would be to only have publicly financed campaigns. No one says a convention must be held in some swanky hotel costing millions of dollars. They can be held just as well at public forums for a fraction of that price. Nobody says you have to go out and raise cash to run a campaign. For those that qualify (petitions, etc.) they get a set amount. They have rules on how to spend and account for it. And that’s all they get.
No billionaires running their own campaigns with personal cash, that leads to oligarchy. No smart but poor candidate who can’t get the word out about their campaign, everybody gets the same amount. No more unchallenged races. Every race will have opponents. And they should.
Nor should it ever take a billion dollars to run for president. That’s what’s absurd. For a fraction of that cost and in return for no voter ever again having to wonder whether any candidate is in the bag because of campaign contributions, publicly financed campaigns can be the way to ensure that candidates get their message out fairly, effectively, ethically and at the lowest cost to us.
Just saying.
Three things Americans must do to regain our democracy are these.
One, we must prohibit states and the federal government from playing games with elections laws that keep every American voter from easily casting a ballot in a safe and convenient way.
Second, we must end the current way of funding campaigns and go to a fully public campaign finance model. It will save us tons of money in the long run and restore confidence in our elected leaders.
Last, we must have very clear rules that cannot be broken to independently and fairly draw districts for Congress and every other state and local official. Gerrymandering is poison to democracy and it keeps the voice of neighborhoods from being properly heard at every level of legislative government.
Do all 3 things and America will instantly improve. Guaranteed. And from there it will continue to get better and tackle every issue, without exception, better than we do today. Better than we ever have. The contrast will be so overpowering, so immediate, so powerful and pleasing you won’t even believe it. Just by doing those three things.
These 3 points are the keys to making sure that we, as Americans, protect our democracy and never again allow it to be held hostage by the people who are supposed to work for us.
Government is supposed to work for the people, not the other way around. When was the last time you felt that way?
There is no other way — none — to guarantee a restoration of greatness to the American democracy than to bind these three horrible fractures in our current governing dynamics.
Do these things and American democracy will prosper again and remain solid for centuries to come. Do them not and you sentence yourself to the status quo, mediocrity and quite probably worse. That’s what happens when the bones of our democracy are fractured. It can’t function as it should. Think about it.
Peace,
Angelo
December 20th, 2015 at 12:10 am
@9
Count Chocklaate,
What makes you think that $$$$$ is a fake name?
It could be a ruse committed by the isickle gang, a non-denominational religious sect hellbent on eating organic frozen fruit bars with no aspartame.
Have a Merry Christmas Count Chocklaatte, may Santa Claus bring you expensive Italian Leather gifts from Avaneturra Shopping Strip Mall or the Flea Market.
By the way do you know what happened to all that money?
December 20th, 2015 at 2:46 am
The Count’s comments raise a legal question: can asking a question really be libelous? (By the way I know nothing about the finances of the local Democratic Party or any other).
December 20th, 2015 at 2:40 pm
@14 – Another very well-written post from Angelo Castillo. The practical problem is that current case law from the US Supreme Court would first have to be overturned in order to accomplish these things. That could be done either by appointing enough sufficiently progressive Justices to the Supreme Court or via a new amendment to the US Constitution.
@16 – It’s possible, if the question includes an assertion of fact. Hypothetical example: “Since Joe Zygriskimple is a wife-beating terrorist, should he be arrested, should his wife divorce him, or both?” – if Joe Zygriskimple wasn’t both a wife-beater and a terrorist, then he could successfully sue for slander (if this question was spoken) or libel (if this question was posed in writing).
But the two questions posed in #8 obviously don’t qualify, so the Count is only correct if he is understood to be saying that anyone can sue anyone for anything at any time for any utterly ridiculous reason (and can then be immediately laughed out of court).
December 20th, 2015 at 3:21 pm
MERRY CHRISTMAS from a snow-challenged Maine (we had a 20 minute “snow storm” yesterday)!!!!!-
December 20th, 2015 at 5:36 pm
How do the initials go again?
ROTFLMTO?
December 23rd, 2015 at 1:47 am
In case you dummycrats did not notice no republican has asked for a dime just your lieing stealing party nobody else….
December 23rd, 2015 at 11:25 am
In New York City hopeless Republican n Conservative Party candidates get three public dollars for each private contribution. Its a great scam for so-called fiscal cobservative Republicans!
December 26th, 2015 at 8:44 pm
@17 Ha Ha Ha….blow hard Castillo has never posted a well written post. He is full of hot air and NO ACTION.