Jonathan Ellis notes that Senator John Thune's leadership PAC, the Heartland Values PAC (aw, what a sweet little name!) is raking in more cash . The nearly $1.3 million Senator Thune has raised to sprinkle on other candidates tops the $1.19 million HVPAC rasied for the whole 2012 election cycle. With some push during the October excitement, Thune could beat his Heartland Values high of $1.55 million raised in the 2006 cycle, when he was flush with the giant-killing buzz of his 2004 Daschle defeat.
But Thune is far from the biggest leadership PAC player. Open Secrets shows 16 Republicans outdoing him in contributions so far this cycle, including Orrin Hatch, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and, at the top of the heap, Eric Cantor. The former House Majority Leader raised $5.5 million to share with his fellow Republicans in 2012 and $3.8 million this year before losing his primary to David Brat.
For local comparisons, Senator Tim Johnson's South Dakota First PAC maxed out at $581K in 2012 and has drawn under $240K this year. Rep. Kristi Noem has been spreading even less intra-party love: her Keeping Republican Ideas Strong Timely and Inventive has just cracked $51K this cycle. She'd better look out, or Dan Lederman and his Rushmore PAC will start buying more friends than she can!
I'm wondering how much EB-5 money has been laundered and funneled into these South Dakota Republican PAC's.
If Rounds gets in, he and the Thune bird can share it, or maybe just maybe Rounds rounds it over and gets 70% to the Thune birds 30% for holding it for him. Hey, don't we have some kind of investigation into this? I wish we had a federal attorney here in South Dakota to pursue those kinds of corruption issues, oh well.
Cutesy names like Noem's PAC are just irritating.
As a habitual alliterator, I hesitate to criticize anyone for initial creativity.
Roger, that would be a logical route for that money.But how do we trace it? Can we find evidence of money flowing from the EB-5 admin funds and recipients into PACs and on to GOP candidates?
So Thune comes out today against all air travel out of West Africa.
Pssst...John. That's not a good idea according to the Center for Disease Control or any other expert.
Way to play to everyone's fears. That took guts.
By the way John, did you realize when you were playing Johnny Budget Cut that slashing the money to the CDC and the NIH would come back to haunt you?
Note to John...please don't let your ideology trump biology or science...that usually doesn't work out for anyone and only pleases the ignorant.
While we're at it John, tell us why you have obstructed confirming a Surgeon General who would have more authority to deal with this situation.
Is it because you don't have the cajones to even think for a moment that the NRA doesn't own you?