A week ago, a little bird whose right wing flaps much stronger than its left called to suggest that Dark Lord Brodkorb had flown the coop at Tony's Turkey Farm (political division) in the belief that pastures will be greener in Southern Minnesota.
Indeed, Bluestem eagerly awaits the guiding hand of Brodkorb when Emo Senator runs to character and starts tweeting about Congressman Walz's lawn care issues, just as he did with Governor Dayton during the shutdown.
But back to bird calls. Part of that song convey a frustration among party activists with the Republican Party of Minnesota's financial straits, along with a sense that large FEC fines aren't imposed for simple bookkeeping errors. There's a certain merit in that hunch, given that Randy Demmer's congressional campaign was never fined, simply asked to revise their homework.
Today's Strib confirms the lilting call of the Great North Star Speckled Dime Dropper. Baird Helgeson reports in State GOP faces $533,000 in debt:
Still reeling from months of debt, the executive board of the Republican Party of Minnesota held a closed-door meeting Thursday night to discuss party finances and its path forward.
State Party Chairman Tony Sutton emerged after more than an hour and declared it a "positive meeting" but declined to release any further details.
Despite Sutton's assurances, some GOP leaders are surprised the party remains in a $533,000 financial hole.
"It's how much?" said state Sen. John Howe, R-Red Wing. "It appears we have some fundraising opportunities we need to address." . . .
. . .Sutton took the helm of the state GOP in 2009 with more than $1 million in the bank and by January of this year the party owed creditors $750,000.
And then there's this:
A recent Federal Election Commission report showed that the party continues to burn through money faster than it is taking it in. The party also racked up significant expenses in the gubernatorial recount between Dayton and GOP candidate Tom Emmer. Although the party is not legally obligated to pay those debts, several party officials believe the GOP is ethically bound to do so.
Given the Strib's perpetual incuriosity about all things corporate and Republican, it's not surprising that there's no more than that.
But it's a paragraph that deserves unpacking to see what lovely feathers emerge from that nest of prose. First, the FEC report relates only to the MNGOP's federal account and not to its state account, although a note in the October 2011 monthly report reveals that a check from Minnesota for Marriage had been mistakenly deposited in the federal account(page 6/163).
Nice to get an advance heads up on Sutton collecting checks from that "nice" crowd. We won't know what the balance is on the state account until the party's yearly report to the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board is due by the end of January 2012. Bluestem suspects the document will have more readers than former Governor Pawlenty's memoir.
Second, the construction:
The party also racked up significant expenses in the gubernatorial recount between Dayton and GOP candidate Tom Emmer. Although the party is not legally obligated to pay those debts...
obscures ratherthan illuminates the story of Count Them All Properly Inc, a separate fund that Sutton set up after he wrestled recount responsibility away from the Emmer campaign. Some rightish friends waggishly suggested at the time that Sutton had hoped to find a cash cow in the recount, as well as a fund whose contents needn't be disclosed to state or federal regulators. A pity.
And the notion that the MNGOP can set up an account, called Count Them All Properly, and not be obligated legally to pay those debts, perhaps suggests that Sutton has transferred a curious set of talents from his time at the helm of the Baja Sol restaurant empire. And those mad skillz? Developed earlier while treasurer of the Republican Party of Minnesota.
Image: Sutton's currency, courtesy of Tild.
Related post: Missing at Minnpost: Why isn't Tony Sutton talking about Count Them All Properly Inc.recount fund?
Comments