Drew Cline has an editorial in today’s Union Leader in which he “sets the record straight” regarding Maggie Hassan’s Union donation kerfuffle.
With calls for resignation over campaign finance violations in the news again of late, the suggestion is that Hassan should resign, too. They misremember the Hassan violation.
Speaking for myself, I never suggested Hassan resign. I merely observed that there was an illegal contribution (which there was) and that no one (Democrats in particular) made any ‘resignation’ fuss about it.
Those reading between the lines will have noticed that my most recent gripe has nothing to do with Maggie or the Democrats.
My beef is and continues to be with the Republicans who swarmed at the first sign of blood to consume one of their own; something I and many of my new-media militiamen are accused of constantly by the same Establishment Republicans calling for Congressman Guinta’s resignation.
While this may have nothing at all to do with me, I have been nothing if not consistent; I did not call for either of them to resign. Fines work well for those who fail to comply with the law as written.
On that note Drew does point the finger, rightly, at AG Joe Foster, who ignored the law and let the unions off the hook.
The scandal here was not Hassan’s, but Foster’s. He stretched the vague law in a way that would be the most favorable to the governor who appointed him, and he neglected to hold the union PACs accountable for their violations (which did appear to be oversights). Technically, he allowed large donations to flow to candidates for several hours after they had become announced candidates, which should be illegal.
But doesn’t Uncle Joe work at the pleasure of Governor Hassan?
I don’t recall her or anyone else stepping up in defense of the law regardless of station or party (Mr. Foster being a former Democrats State Senator).
Mr. Cline also fails to recall in his piece an identical scandal during the 2012 race involving Candidate Maggie Hassan and a $25,000.00 dollar donation from the plumbers and pipe fitters union. No one got in trouble for that either if I recall correctly, and Joe Foster was NOT the AG. Hassan just had to return the illegal portion while New Hampshire Democrats once again whistled past the campaign finance grave yard.
This suggests a pattern of behavior no Democrat would ever let slide were this a Republican. It also suggests that this may not be as innocent an offense on the part of Governor Hassan as some newspaper opinion page writers might like us to believe.
If no one had made a fuss we have no expectation that the Governor would have returned the money because it was the right thing to do or that a NH AG would have enforced the law as written.
If those in power charged with keeping and enforcing the law are free to ignore it at their leisure, missing the midnight deadline on a few thousand dollars in campaign contributions is the least of our problems.
