I don’t think spending campaign money on booze and cigars should be criminal:
“My reaction (if he’s guilty) is similar to my response if he was busted for smoking cigarettes on the beach; an eyeroll followed by a yawn. If Hunter broke these arcane laws, he should probably resign after he is re-elected in November. If he didn’t break these antiquated laws, he should lead reform efforts on these Watergate-era campaign rules.
“All voters really need to know, in a timely fashion, are two things: who gives the candidate money and where does the candidate spend that donated money. In the 21st century, there is no reason why voters or donors couldn’t see every single donation and/or expense posted on the internet within 48 hours.”
I do however, want to know where he gets his campaign money and how he spends it. Look at Hunter’s most recent fundraising and expenditures disclosure, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune:
“In the first three months of this year, the campaign for Rep. Duncan Hunter spent about $30,000 on lawyers and paid hundreds of dollars more at the Trump International hotel in Washington, D.C., and at a liquor store on Hunter’s birthday.
“The $69,400 in disbursements were disclosed in a report filed with the Federal Election Commission this week. The campaign reported raising $92,599.
“It was the weakest first quarter of fundraising for Hunter’s campaign since 2009, when it raised $88,963. In the first quarter of 2018, the campaign raised $210,268.
“The campaign closed out the quarter with $106,400 — an amount that has dropped from a peak of $698,800 in 2017.”
His Democratic opponent, who almost beat him in the last election, spent about the same amount of money as Hunter did but raised 3.5 times as much. Moreover, his Democratic opponent didn’t spend campaign money on lawyers, booze, or cigars — he is spending campaign donations on campaigning to win an election.
We are less than a year away from the Congressional primary elections and Hunter’s fundraising is inept. Even if he weren’t facing a potential criminal conviction, the fundraising/expenditure numbers suggest that he isn’t mounting a realistic re-election campaign. It’s time to step aside and let Larry Wilske or Carl DeMaio beat the Democrats.
Comments 1
Brian has missed the point.
Whether you care or not how a candidate spends campaign money, the current rules amount to a promise to prospective donors that their money will be spent exclusively on legitimate campaign expenses.
By accepting donations at all under the current rules, Congressman Hunter made an explicit commitment on how the funds would be used. He allegedly abused that agreement and did something different. That’s fraud.
How many of those donors would have given if they knew Hunter planned to use the money to boost his personal lifestyle?