You know how Republicans are always telling the rest of us that we need to get by without federal assistance, to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, to pay our own way, and to just generally be self-sufficient? Well when it comes to throwing parties, forget all that!
Republicans are helping themselves to $18 million of the public dole for party planning for their 2012 national convention in Tampa. Let the good times roll!
Organizers of the 2012 Republican National Convention have received a $18 million grant from the Federal Elections Commission for planning and preparation…
The money, which comes from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, had been anticipated and is intended for payroll for staff members, travel, office supplies and other convention-related expenses.
While charges of hypocrisy might apply to the GOP for accepting the grant, that case certainly can’t be made concerning Republican deficit handling. The first use of quite a few of those many, many benjamins is paying off debt racked up in the past few years, when fundraising didn’t keep pace with spending.
…the RNC’s Committee on Arrangements received the grant money in August and has spent about $1.6 million to pay off outstanding debt and cover its operating costs.
One of the first expenditures: paying off a line of credit spent by staffers for former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who was replaced by the party in February.
Steele’s convention team – headed by Belinda Cook, his personal assistant – racked up nearly $1 million in charges before being fired by the new chairman, Reince Priebus.
No need to thank us taxpayers, GOP. Especially since you’re just getting started spending our money.
The convention, set for the week of Aug. 27, will cost more than $100 million, with about $50 million from Congress for security…
The cost of tinfoil is always rising and Republicans will need lots of it for protective headwear.
To date, the committee has raised about $15 million, including in-kind contributions.
Let me beat FOX News to the false equivalence punch by acknowledging that Democrats will likely accept funding for their convention in Charlotte. The difference is that one party has made it its centerpiece that government should be shrunk to the size that it can be drowned in the bathtub while the other has always embraced the idea that there is a positive role for government to play in a democracy.
For the former to be the first to generously help itself to millions for such non-essentials is…yeah, the height of hypocrisy.
What the heck bail out!?!? Even if the bailout is a good idea, we need to come up with a way to help each other out, without the Government being the middle man!!!
Example;
If the Government bails out the Airline Industry, and decides to bail them out with $80 billion… How much of that $80 billion makes it to the Airlines, and how much of it ends up in the Middle Man’s pocket??? Middle Man being the Government???
:-/