Sarah Palin Asks Me for Under-The-Table Money

John McCain continues to make a big point about his accepting public funding for the general election and, in the last debate, he attacked Barack Obama for opting out.

All this would be very praiseworthy, if it were true.

But I was reminded of how egregiously the McCain campaign has undermined the public financing laws when I got an email (see below) from Sarah Palin urging me to contribute to something called McCain-Palin Victory 2008.

Governor Palin's letter yesterday said that my help was urgently needed because of Senator Obama's broken pledge to accept public financing.

Palin therefore urged me to circumvent the public funding agreement -- which gave McCain an $85 million public funding grant, with the promise that his presidential campaign would raise no other funds.

She wants me to contribute to contribute to a phony committee, which -- for all intents and purposes -- is an arm of the McCain presidential campaign (that, of course, I would not legally be allowed to contribute to).

What's galling is that I can legally contribute up to $67,500 to committees like this, while if I contributed to the Obama's presidential campaign, I can only contribute $2,300 -- all of which is a fancy way of making a mockery of the federal campaign laws.

10 of McCain's off the books committees have already raised a total of $150 million, $87 million since the beginning of July according to Public Citizen's Watchdog Blog.

After asking me to break the spirit and purpose of the campaign finance law, Palin said she would "honor all of the promises we make" because we are men and women of our word.Governor Palin also claimed to be a reformer who would take the country in a new direction and that McCain would redistribute the wealth by providing economic relief to those who need it most?

Sarah Palin's logic has an Alice in Wonderland quality which would confuse even the Mad Hatter.

Palin wrote:

Dear Blake,

If you caught my guest appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend, you may have seen an ad or two (or twenty) from Senator Obama's campaign.

This barrage of advertising is adding up to the most expensive negative ad buy in political history. And these ads are funded with the nearly $200 million the Obama campaign and the DNC raised in September.

With this new money, they'll only step up their media buying efforts to flood every network with ads attacking our shared values.

These ads are full of inaccurate information designed to mislead voters in key media markets. We need your support to stop the Obama-Biden Democrats' media buying binge.

Your immediate contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or more will help fund our team's ads in key media markets across the country.

The current media buying gap is a direct result of Senator Obama's broken pledge to accept public financing. This summer, Senator Obama chose to break his promise to the American people by opting out of the public financing system.

But, you can be sure that our entire team will honor all of the promises we make in this campaign because we are men and women of our word.

Our team of reformers has a plan to take America in a new direction.

Our economic policies focus on providing economic relief to those who need it most.

While the Obama-Biden Democrats say they want to "spread the wealth around," our team won't support economic policies that punish Americans for working hard and pursuing the American Dream.

I'm asking you today to help our team get this message out. The funds you give today will help pay for upcoming ad buys and get-out-the-vote efforts.

Every dollar we raise goes directly to help fund media buys and get-out-the-vote efforts in important races across the country.

So, please make the most generous contribution you can give - whether its $25 or $250. We're certainly grateful for any help you can give.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Governor Sarah Palin

P.S. Are you tired of watching the barrage of liberal television ads the Obama-Biden Democrats are running?

If so, then I ask that you help us close the media buying gap by making a generous contribution of any amount to McCain-Palin Victory 2008.

Because the McCain-Palin Campaign is participating in the presidential public funding system, it may not receive contributions for any candidate's election. However, federal law allows the McCain-Palin Campaign's Compliance Fund to defray legal and accounting compliance costs and preserve the Campaign's public grant for media, mail, phones, and get-out-the-vote programs. Contributions to McCain-Palin Victory 2008 will go to the Compliance Fund, and to participating party committees for Victory 2008 programs.

Paid for by McCain-Palin Victory 2008: A joint fundraising committee by and composed of the Republican National Committee, the Michigan Republican Party, the Missouri Republican State Committee, the Ohio Republican Party State Central & Executive Committee, the Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, and McCain-Palin Compliance Fund.

P.P.S. Today's Times has an interesting article on the deep pocketed donors to these so called joint fundraising committees, which are clearly exploiting the fine print of the federal election laws.

Write to: [e-mail]

Follow Blake Fleetwood on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Blakefleet

Comments

[brynn6]

In conjunction with SP's $150,000 spending spree on clothing, makeup, etc. for herself and her family at
RNC expense, I don't think a lot of people are going to think that "momma needs a new pair of shoes."

[sansone]

I just got a letter from John McCain asking me for a donation. It was sent to me with a prepaid federal express return envelope. Isn't this a violation by McCain? Doesn't it smack of desperation?

[ElBruce]

Hey, McCain wrote the law governing campaign financing, so...

He also sent a request for funds to Russia's U.N. envoy. That was pretty funny.

[claylandg]

It's not Illegal!! Wake up people this is how all of congress, house and everyother branch is worked it's all about the fine lines ,what you can get away with that isn't breaking any laws, it's not the first time or the last a non issue unless there is new legislations to get rid of al the fine lines .

[tel8034]

But it's HYPOCRITICAL when McCain bashes Obama for his campaign financing success.

McCain thought that the GOP would raise the rest of the money he needed if he played the political card and accepted public financing.­..........­..........­.... BUT HIS HAIL MARY PASS FAILED.

In past elections when the Republicans had much deeper pockets than the Democrats and outspent them a high levels, there was NO WHINING from the Republican side............ Rather there was HECKLING AND BOASTFUL SNIDE REMARKS TOWARDS THE DEMOCRATS.

Obama is bringing CHANGE and he changed the old rules of campaign fundraising.

If Republicans were HONEST (and that's a stretch) they would tell you that they DON'T want McCain and they CERTAINLY DON'T want Palin, and the reduced amount of Republican donations as compared to past campaigns proves that point.

Also both Democrats, Republicans and Independents are turned off by the Rove type negative politics..­..........­........ That ship has sailed but McCain the navy man has missed the boat.

[Gidster]

"But, you can be sure that our entire team will honor all of the promises we make in this campaign because we are men and women of our word."

The laws and the ethics that we violate and the lies and slander we have been using don't really count because Obama did not agree to Townhalls or limit himself to public financing....So it is all his fault!

So send us money, but don't list it as a donation to the McCain 08 campaign, we will have to deny it for the IRS......

[Sparty1]

Maybe a real journalist will pick up on Blake's email and put together a story. I'd like to see how they'd backpedal from this one. They like to say that McCain only has $47 million to Obama's $150 million and that it's just not fair. What would be their answers if we showed this?

[lvdragonlady]

"These ads are full of inaccurate information designed to mislead voters in key media markets. "
ROFL LMAO
This is beyond the pale...........

[jaglon]

This is exactly why Obama elected not to go with public financing. All of his donors urged him not to because we all know that the republicans have always used these 'shadow' organizations to raise money for campaign use. Obama is very smart and for a change he has out-smarted the republicans.

The republicans, in typical fashion, have a double standard: what is alright for them to do is not alright for the democrats to do. This goes for everything from the company they keep to the religous organizations that support them. If it is their right-wing terrorist that's okay; if it's their religous nut case (and they have quite a few) that's okay too. This time the democrats have gotten wise. This time we have turned the tables on them and they don't like it and it was done legally. So be it.

McCain is a two-faced lyer. He no more believes in campaign finance reform then the rest of his party does.

[mnash]

So why isn't this front page news? If it was Obama it would be

[dayala]

thanks for exposing the "frauds" that they are.

[Blake Fleetwood - Huffpost Blogger]

This is a great point. Nobody except some really rich people think McCain would be a better president.
I have some relatives in Columbus, Ohio who know that Obama would be a better president, but they are voting for McCain anyway, because they think they might make more than $250,000 and don't want to pay higher taxes.

They should be happy they are doing so well.

Greedy selfish pigs!!!

Thanksgiving will be interesting.

[Bitsko]

The lack of historical knowledge or memory among my fellow citizens is a constant source of amazement. Senator 0bama is talking about going back to pre-Bush tax levels, not Eisenhower era levels. How do these people think this obscene deficit, and the massive defense budget they seem to be perfectly happy with, are going to get paid off?

[Skua]

This point really deserves to be made over and over to people, because the McCain campaign is whining so loudly about Obama's "unfair advantage in money" and blaming it on Obama's "broken pledge" and so on. Let's say it loud and clear: MCCAIN CAN RAISE AS MUCH MONEY AS HE WANTS. Again: MCCAIN CAN RAISE AS MUCH MONEY AS HE WANTS. The fact that he is taking public money doesn't restrain him at all. And he and Palin are in fact out there raising money virtually without restriction, by collecting contributions in the name of "hybrid" committees, the RNC, and so on.

So the fact that Obama has way more money than McCain is not due to the "restrictions" of public financing, which do not really restrict. It is due to the fact that NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE WANT TO GIVE HIM MONEY.

[Colmore]

Any idea why people do not want to contribute??? No one wants to contribute money to a loser.