Celebrate Gary Lambert's Rigorous 40 Days and 40 Nights of Campaign Finance Review - Granite Grok

Celebrate Gary Lambert’s Rigorous 40 Days and 40 Nights of Campaign Finance Review

hand and rainOn July 22nd John DiStaso at NH Journal posted a story about some questionable contributions received by the Lambert campaign.  One-term NH State Senator Gary Lambert is in a primary to challenge Democrat Ann Kuster for congress in NH-CD2.

Lambert for Congress accepted a $1,000 contribution on June 30 from The Palmier Foundation, which is described by its founder, Boston investment firm head Dan Palmier, on his web site, as a “501(c)(3) charitable corporation created for the purpose of ‘giving back.’”

The Internal Revenue Code prohibits 501(c)(3) charitable organizations from contributing to candidates for federal office.

Also, the Lambert for Congress campaign report lists receiving a $1,000 contribution, also on June 30, from “Fairfield’s,” with the same Keene address as Fairfield’s Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Inc. The firm is listed on the Secretary of State corporate division’s web site as a corporation. Federal candidates are forbidden under federal election law from accepting  contributions from corporations.

A campaign spokesperson noted that they have a rigorous review process for all contributions.  To quote Inigo Montoya, “I do not think that word means what you think it means.”

This Saturday, Aug 9th will be 40 days and nights of rigorous review, after whatever review–rigorous or otherwise–occurred before they cashed the checks.

Keep in mind that these checks were ‘received’ just before the reporting deadline for the quarter ending June 30.

The direction donation numbers are headed has an effect on the perception of future donors with regard to the solvency and seriousness of the candidate.’  No one wants to back a losing horse, or one who finds their second quarter take is less than their first.   It’s a momentum thing.

Because every little bit helps, reporting checks that later might have to be returned will make the finance snap-shot taken and reported at the end of the quarter appear greater than the reality later on, after funds have been returned.

You get to have your cake and eat it too, so to speak.  That’s a problem.

But the real problem is the Lambert campaign’s clinging to the”we’ve got a 60 day window to do something something to review the contributions” excuse.

The FEC is quite direct with regard to accepting contributions from either 501c3’s or corporations.

501c3’s are Prohibited from donating to political campaigns.  Any rigorous review process would include an understanding of that along with a thanks but get that “smoldering nugget of crap-storm away from my campaign coffer.”

Candidates may not accept direct contributions from corporations.

A truly rigorous review process would have never accepted them, knowing the trouble these poison pills might cause.

That didn’t happen.

A rigorous review process that missed them coming in should have found them and sent them back.   ASAP.  Before the press, before the anything to remove a few thousand dollars the campaign doesn’t really even need.  Why. Didn’t. You. Just. Send. It. Back. ???

They still have not sent it back.   Is ‘Peggy’ from the Discover Card commercials in charge of this review process?

Given the lack of momentum displayed at public events, and with online petitions, perhaps they just lack the man power to address it?

I do not know what the issue is but I like Gary Lambert enough as a person to suggest that he may want to engage in a rigorous review of the folks he has working for him.  Some of them are  not doing him any favors.

 

>