Tags
2nd Senate District, Astroturf, campaign finance, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, Primary, Rex Sinquefield, Robert Onder
Previously:
Campaign Finance: a league of one’s own (March 16, 2014)
Campaign Finance: “…Outstanding. Now all we need is a deck of cards…” (April 28, 2014)
Campaign Finance: Well, there are two… (July 2, 2014)
Understatement (July 20, 2014)
Robert Onder, one of three candidates in the republican primary for the 2nd Senate District, had a good campaign fundraising day today as reported to the Missouri Ethics Commission:
C131072 07/22/2014 ONDER FOR MISSOURI Missourians for Excellence in Government 6175 Westminster St Louis MO 63112 7/22/2014 $10,000.00
C131072 07/22/2014 ONDER FOR MISSOURI Grow Missouri 308 E. HIgh Street Suite 301 Jefferson City MO 65101 7/22/2014 $12,000.00
A curious individual might ask, “Who funds Grow Missouri?” This being a progressive political blog, we have the answers to your campaign finance questions right here:
C131097: Grow Missouri
308 E High St Ste 301 Committee Type: Political Action
Jefferson City Mo 65101
([….] Established Date: 07/08/2013Information Reported On: 2014 – July Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $31,830.98
Monetary Receipts + $1,500,000.00
Monetary Expenditures – $179,203.42
Contributions Made – $86,500.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal $1,234,296.58
Ending Money On Hand $1,266,127.56
[emphasis added]
That’s an impressive grassroots fundraising effort. Or is it?:
MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION
CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED
GROW MISSOURI [pdf] 7/15/2014Rex Sinquefield 344 Bent Walnut Westphalia MO 65085 Retired 5/13/2014 $1,500,000.0[0]
[emphasis added]
Okay.
Think about that for a moment. A single contribution so large that the Missouri Ethics Commission system can’t handle the extra zero.
Okay. You might also ask, “Who funds Missourians for Excellence in Government?”
Remember this?:
Campaign Finance: Well, there are two… (July 2, 2014)
[….]
C121488 07/02/2014 MISSOURIANS FOR EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield 244 Bent Walnut Westphalia MO 65085 retired 6/30/2014 $100,000.00
[emphasis added]
In the past:
C121488 12/24/2013 MISSOURIANS FOR EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield 244 Bent Walnut Westphalia MO 65085 none retired 12/23/2013 $25,000.00
2013 must have been an off year.
C121488 12/21/2012 MISSOURIANS FOR EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT Rex Sinquefield 244 Bent Walnut Westphalia MO 65085 Retired 12/20/2012 $275,000.00
[emphasis added]
[….]
….No contributions yet for 2014. We’ll see. Astroturf in politics is always interesting.
Wouldn’t it be easier just to write the checks directly to the candidate’s campaigns? Just asking….
Well then.
And then there’s this contribution last month to Robert Onder’s (r) campaign:
C131072 06/30/2014 ONDER FOR MISSOURI Missouri Club for Growth P.O. Box 2068 St Louis MO 63158 6/30/2014 $15,000.00
[emphasis added]
Remember this?:
Understatement (July 20, 2014)
[….]
The term “largely” doesn’t do the reality any justice.
On Missouri taxes and education policies, Rex Sinquefield’s clout is growing
By JASON HANCOCK
[….]07/19/2014 6:11 PM“….We are not a puppet of Mr. Sinquefield,” Abrajano said. “His contributions are truly his only involvement….”
Oh, but the rest of us are.
[….]
To recap, three entities each made large dollar contributions to Robert Onder’s (r) 2nd Senate District primary campaign. All three entities have at least one other person in common.
Our question remains, since there are no campaign contribution limits in Missouri, wouldn’t it have been easier to write just one check?