March 2006

Defending Brady Again

Part of the screed goes into how Brady violated FEC rules while Jack Roeser’s honest mistake was just about negotiations.

Let’s look at the Brady problem. Brady’s Federal Account had no activity since his year end report in 2000. Brady and Eugene Funk, his treasurer, then failed to file the 2001 end of year report, made all reports in 2002, and then screwed up 2003 adn 2004 reports by filing late and getting late notices. The only reason the account was left open was Brady had loaned himself $50,000 with $42,000 of that unpaid and about $35,000 cash on hand. He probably left it open with the theory that he could get the extra $7000 from somewhere. It was a dumb choice, but mainly careless. There were no monetary transactions after the end of the year in 2000 so not filing was dumb for the reason we now are talking about it, but nothing more than a technical violation since nothing was being hidden. In each case, Brady dealt with it within a few months.

On the other hand, Roeser’s violations were violations of reporting money contributed to his PAC. It’s fine to say that he gave the money and so it isn’t a big deal, but the entire point of campaign finance disclosure is to enable voters to determine from where the money is coming. Roeser gets fined and then ignores it for nearly four years—only getting around to it after the Trib and others started to ask questions.

Brady made a series of dumb mistakes. Roeser found the time to fund an number of candidates and issues over four years, but couldn’t be bothered to follow the primary requirement of Illinois election law.

But worse is the absolute dishonest of the actual charge from FTN. They don’t even mention the delinquent reports, but instead focus upon an administrative termination.

More incredibly, Brady fails to mention that on June 8, 2004, the Federal Election Commission administratively terminated one of his campaign committees ? the one from his 2000 failed race for Congress. Brady is proposing Federal election type rules for Illinois ? but yet he apparently had trouble complying with the Federal reporting obligations after his Federal campaign ended. So the FEC eventually just terminated Brady?s Federal committee on its own.

Administrative termination is not something done because of a violation. It is done when certain circumstances are met and the campaign does not object:

? 102.4 Administrative termination (2
U.S.C. 433(d)(2)).
(a) The Commission, on its own initiative
or upon the request of the political
committee itself, may administratively
terminate a political committee?s
reporting obligation on the basis
of the following factors:
(1) The committee?s aggregate reported
financial activity in one year is
less than $5000;
(2) The committee?s reports disclose
no receipt of contributions for the previous
year;
(3) The committee?s last report disclosed
minimal expenditures;
(4) The committee?s primary purpose
for filing its reports has been to disclose
outstanding debts and obligations;
(5) The committee has failed to file
reports for the previous year;
(6) The committee?s last report disclosed
that the committee?s outstanding
debts and obligations do not
appear to present a possible violation
of the prohibitions and limitations of
11 CFR parts 110 and 114;
(7) The committee?s last report disclosed
that the Committee does not
have substantial outstanding accounts
receivable;
(8) The committee?s outstanding
debts and obligations exceed the total
of the committee?s reported cash on
hand balance.
(b) The Commission shall send a notification
to the committee treasurer of
its intent to administratively terminate
that committee and may request
the treasurer to submit information
with regard to the factors set forth at
11 CFR 102.4(a). The treasurer shall respond,
in writing, within 30 days of receipt
of the Commission?s notice or request
and if the committee objects to
such termination, the committee?s response
shall so state.
(c) The Commission shall administratively
terminate a committee if such
committee fails to object to the Commission?s
action under 11 CFR 102.4(b)
and the Commission determines that
either:
(1) The committee has complied with
the debt settlement procedures set
forth at 11 CFR part 116.
(2) The Commission has approved the
forgiveness of any loan(s) owed the
committee which would have otherwise
been considered a contribution under
the Act in violation of 11 CFR part 110;
(3) It does not appear from evidence
available that a contribution in violation
of 11 CFR parts 110 and 114 will result.

Trying to equate an administrative termination with a failure to disclose is

A) A deliberate lie
or
B) An act of incredible ignorance

There are no entries in the Enforcement Query System related to Bill Brady

Cross posted at Illinoize

And We Have the Second Part of the Screed

It’s hysterical, just hysterical.

You should go read it all as they say, but this stuck out

Grow up Bill

We obviously don?t mind some rough-and-tumble in a campaign. As they say, politics ain?t bean-bag ? especially in Illinois. We?re obviously tough in this publication on our elected officials ? because they work for all of us. But you also don?t see us out there preaching this hypocritical 11th Commandment stuff.

What?s truly annoying is the wimpy, hypocritical game Brady?s been playing. Isn?t everyone sick and tired of the preaching about the sins of being negative and ?attacking other Republicans? ? only to have Brady turn around sometimes just minutes later and be one of the nastiest guys out there?

If we wanted a pretty-boy weasel for Governor ? we could just keep the one we?ve got.

Brady has constantly tried to smear Oberweis as a ?flip-flopper.? But meanwhile this Brady guy goes back-and-forth from ?good cop? to ?bad cop? like a tennis ball.

This has been a common theme in this campaign. Topinka, Sell-Out Joe Birkett, Andy McKenna, Jr., and Jim Edgar have also been playing the same cynical game all year ? ?let me read you the 11th Commandment – while I shove this knife in your back.?

Brady can deny that he?s a spoiler and in cahoots with Topinka all he wants. It?s just funny how Brady?s using Topinka?s play-book.

Brady, Topinka and Sell-Out Joe are all the same kind of dishonest hypocrites. They all recoil and get nasty at the thought of any honest debate over what they?ve done while on a public payroll.

But they have no problem just making things up about Jim Oberweis.

What’s the Strategery?

I’m pretty sure it won’t work, but I think I have some idea of what Oberweis is doing–first, for his hardcore supporters, he’s revving them up with red meat to get them to the polls. The Train Wreck piece plays into that well.

He’s going to be at the top of all news stories with the wackiness and that reinforces to them that he’s the guy who is the alternative to Topinka. He also gets the last minute name recognition for the undecideds who would have broken for Topinka well before this if they were.

Finally, if, as I guess, his base is the most angry and the most motivated, turning this into an ugly slugfest is most likely to depress Topinka’s vote.

The problem is on two sides, everyone really hates the guy now so for the general and turning this nasty depresses his own turnout some too.

My take right now, Judy is the likely winner, but I’d give Oberweis about a 35% chance of an upset.

Please, Please Let this Man Stick Around After Tuesday

Oberweis and Weigand appear to be upping their level of craziness by the hour. In an aptly titled post, Rich describes the new Oberweis bizarreness.

The Blagojevich campaign is considering it’s super secret plan to kidnap him and hide him until Tuesday evening to try and stem the damage.

“It just shows the kind of innovative free-market thinking Jim brings in,” Wiegand said

Yeah, except game theory tells us that if you are actually facing two rational individuals, there is no way they’ll enter into such a contract. Now, if you are facing mildly retarded individuals who can’t do odds, you might have a decent proposal, but we actually try and attempt to stop the market from taking advantage of people in such ways. The point of the market is to give people freedom to choose, but to do that effectively they must have adequate information and ability to reason. The proposal is quite telling about how Oberweis views the market.

I thought Pat O’Malley was about as bitter as they come in 2002. I was wrong.

Just In Case Anyone Was Curious

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

It would be absurd for an administration that says Scalia is their model for Supreme Court Justices to not adopt a plain reading of the document so if the administration authorized warrantless searches and seizures of homes, one can only conclude that the administration believes the Constitution is irrelevant.

For those with even the most minimal understanding of history, the Fourth Amendment was specifically created to protect citizens after abuses by the British government and military which ignored protections under British law—hence why Edmund Burke supported the American War of Independence, he saw it as a fight by Englishmen to protect their rights as Englishmen.

To suggest an authorization of force or even declaration of war would negate the Fourth Amendment is absurd. To act on such a claim is the essence of a high crime.

Since It’s Roeser Day

The other Roeser guy had a gem the other day

I?ve known types like him ever since 1969 when I headed up the federal minority business program. And believe me, this guy Meeks is not as smooth as others-just lucky he?s got a compliant media to cover him. You heard it here first: one of these days he?s going to melt away like a snow-cone in July. But for now, he?s the only racial game in town, politically.

I think we all know what you mean Tom (Tom is the Chairman of the Board for Catholic Citizens of Illinois) .

IFI Calls on Garcia to Step Down for “bigoted” statements

Petey’s at it again, but even beyond the normal unintentional humor, Petey outdoes himself. While the Governor has fumbled this whole deal terribly and needs to have a get rid of NOI moment, it was pretty predictable that some would try and expand upon the fiasco. IFI does it by calling on Garcia to step down from the commission.

One of the voices:

“Catholic Citizens of Illinois has called for the immediate removal of Rick Garcia from the governor’s Commission Against Discrimination and Hate Crimes because of his own hate mongering. We are outraged by his attack on Cardinal Francis George, calling him a ‘bigot.’

As Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal George has a duty to defend the teachings of the Catholic Church against homosexuality as a “disordered lifestyle” and to oppose efforts to undermine marriage as it was established in the beginning by God.

“We are offended by Garcia’s frequent attacks on the Catholic Church and all Christians for their belief in biblical values. We repudiate his attacks on the Illinois Family Institute which has been effective in the defense of marriage and efforts to place a referendum on the ballot to define marriage in Illinois as a union between one man and one woman.

“Anyone who has studied the agenda of the homosexual rights movement will understand that a major platform for establishing acceptance of homosexuality in America is to silence the churches by vicious attacks and name-calling. We will not be silenced.

“The type of hatred Rich Garcia spouts on a regular basis has no place on a commission financed by the taxpayers and he must be removed from the Commission at once.”

Mary Anne Hackett
President
Catholic Citizens of Illinois

What is the Catholic Citizens of Illinois? Kind of a local Catholic League

Guess who is on the advisory board?

William Donahue of secular jew fame. He’s got about the same interesting views as Farakhan does on Jews:

WILLIAM DONAHUE, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC LEAGUE: I spoke to Mel a couple of weeks ago about this. And I don?t think it really matters a whole lot to him. It certainly doesn?t matter to me. We?ve already won.
Who really cares what Hollywood thinks? All these hacks come out there. Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It?s not a secret, OK? And I?m not afraid to say it. That?s why they hate this movie. It?s about Jesus Christ, and it?s about truth. It?s about the messiah.

Hollywood likes anal sex. They like to see the public square without nativity scenes. I like families. I like children. They like abortions. I believe in traditional values and restraint. They believe in libertinism. We have nothing in common. But you know what? The culture war has been ongoing for a long time. Their side has lost.

You have got secular Jews. You have got embittered ex-Catholics, including a lot of ex-Catholic priests who hate the Catholic Church, wacko Protestants in the same group, and these people are in the margins. Frankly, Michael Moore represents a cult movie. Mel Gibson represents the mainstream of America.

Now, I don’t really like Garcia’s choice of language, but he was talking about one person, not the evil secular Jews. Yet, the good Catholic Citizens of Illinois are happy to have an over the top bigot on their advisory board while calling for Garcia to step down.

Pot-Kettle issues are abundant here.

Luis Shows a Little Temper

But hey, it was at Tom Tancredo, so go ahead.

Congressional debate about immigration has gotten ugly, according to Thursday’s edition of Roll Call.

Excerpts from the Roll Call story follow:

###
We knew immigration was a contentious issue and all, but wait until you hear the epithets that Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) hurled at Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), Congress? chief immigration critic, after a live debate they had on CNBC Wednesday. Sneak preview: They include ?bigot,? ?racist? and ?KKK.?

After the lunchtime show in the Cannon Rotunda ended, Gutierrez made a joke about how the ?immigrant? (him, though he was born in Chicago) showed up on time while the ?Gringo? (Tancredo) was late. Gutierrez told Tancredo that he had a ?really ugly policy.?

The way Gutierrez?s office tells the story, Tancredo and the two aides who accompanied him followed Gutierrez to his office. Tancredo kept ?following him, touching him, following him, touching him,? Gutierrez spokesman Scott Frotman said.

At that point, Gutierrez pretty much snapped. ?Have you ever eaten in a restaurant?? he asked Tancredo, adding with feigned disgust, ?How could you eat from the plates touched by those nasty illegal immigrants??

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Read the full, registration-restricted story here.