At the Star Tribune, blogger Michael Brodkorb draws our attention to the fact that Head of anti-vaccination group to host fundraiser for Rand Paul in Minnesota.
In the Pioneer Press post Rand Paul visiting Minnesota campuses on Monday, Rachel Stassen Berger takes a broader noting:
Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul will drop by two Minnesota college campuses and an Eagles Club on Monday, according to invitations released by his campaign on Facebook and elsewhere.
Paul, a U.S. Senator from Kentucky, will visit the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus in the morning, its Duluth campus in the afternoon and the Rochester Rochester Eagles Club in the late afternoon.
He will also have a fundraiser in Orono in the evening. . ..
Before Minnesota's chattering class dives into a bipartisan bashing of Paul for having such an anti-vaxxer pal in Orono--Bluestem loathes the consequences of the anti-vaccination movement--we hope that they look a little deeper into political giving by host Jennifer Larson, as Paul is not the only beneficiary of her largesse.
Larson heads the Canary Party in Minnesota, which is not a political party as the name suggests, but a political committee registered with the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. State and federal campaign filings reveal that she's given to everyone from Senator Dave Osmek to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Bills and Eighth Congressional District Democrat Rick Nolan.
According to a search of the individual donor database at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, Larson gave a total of $54,665 in itemized political contributions between 2004 and 2014, much of it to her own PAC, though Osmek, VOICES of Conservative Women State PAC (VOICESPAC), the 44th Senate District RPM and Randy Gilbert for State Auditor committees received healthy contributions:
05-11-2011 Canary Party of Minnesota $24,665.00
11-15-2011 Canary Party of Minnesota $11,000.00
12-08-2011 Canary Party of Minnesota $5,000.00
03-07-2012 VOICES of Conservative Women State PAC (VOICESPAC) $500.00
06-03-2012 Osmek, David Senate Dist. 33 Committee $50.00
10-18-2012 44th Senate District RPM $100.00
10-18-2012 44th Senate District RPM $175.00
10-23-2012 Osmek, David Senate Dist. 33 Committee $150.00
06-21-2013 Libertarian Party of Minn $500.00
05-31-2014 Canary Party of Minnesota $2,775.00
07-01-2014 Canary Party of Minnesota $500.00
07-13-2014 Gilbert, Randy State Aud. Committee $50.00
08-31-2014 Canary Party of Minnesota $50.00
09-30-2014 Canary Party of Minnesota $50.00
10-31-2014 Gilbert, Randy State Aud. Committee $300.00
11-01-2014 Canary Party of Minnesota $900.00
11-15-2014 Canary Party of Minnesota $ 950.00
11-24-2014 Osmek, David Senate Dist. 33 Committee $1,000.00
11-30-2014 Canary Party of Minnesota $950.00
Things get a bit more ideologically broad with her federal giving. Larson has contributed $25,370.00 to federal candidates and parties, $15,000.00 in joint fundraising and $44,800.00 to joint fundraisers. While $15000 of the latter went to committees related to Rand Paul's ambition, the other $29,800.00 helped inoculate the NRCC from losing seats.
This is a contributor who has given $2300 to MN06 Congressman Tom Emmer and $1900 to MN08 Congressman Rick Nolan.
Contributions to All Other Political Committees Except Joint Fundraising Committees
Joint Fundraising ContributionsThese are contributions to committees who are raising funds to be distributed to other committees. The breakdown of these contributions to their final recipients may appear below |
| Contributor Name | Employer | Committee Name |
Transaction Date | Amount | Image Number | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LARSON, JENNIFER | VIBRANT TECHNOLOGIES | RAND PAUL VICTORY COMMITTEE | 06/24/2015 | 15000.00 | 201507159000225415 | |||
| Total Joint Fundraising: | 15000.00 | |||||||
Recipient of Joint Fundraiser Contributions
| These are the Final Recipients of Joint Fundraising Contributions |
| Contributor Name | Committee Name |
Transaction Date | Amount | Image Number | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LARSON, JENNIFER | PAUL, RAND VIA RAND PAUL FOR PRESIDENT, INC. | 06/24/2015 | 2200.00 | 201507159000228443 | ||||
| LARSON, JENNIFER | PAUL, RAND VIA RAND PAUL FOR PRESIDENT, INC. | 06/24/2015 | 2450.00 | 201507159000228387 | ||||
| LARSON, JENNIFER | PAUL, RAND VIA RAND PAUL FOR US SENATE 2016 | 06/24/2015 | 2700.00 | 201507220200229599 | ||||
| LARSON, JENNIFER | PAUL, RAND VIA RAND PAUL FOR US SENATE 2016 | 06/30/2015 | 2700.00 | 201507220200229616 | ||||
| LARSON, JENNIFER | REINVENTING A NEW DIRECTION- RANDPAC | 06/24/2015 | 4950.00 | 201509289002784776 | ||||
| LARSON, JENNIFER | NRCC | 06/24/2013 | 29800.00 | 13964629103 | ||||
| Recipient Total: | 44800.00 | |||||||
Your moment of Liberty Zen
One fun moment in the state Canary Party political committee's giving? In 2013, it wrote a check for $3000 to Liberty Minnesota, the now-terminated cousin of the Liberty Minnesota PAC. On the Canary Party's 2013 report (page 4), the expense is listed as "conference and meeting fees: help with liberty issues."
In a recent attack mailing, Liberty Minnesota II (the PAC) attacked Mary Franson for not being pure enough for liberty--but in 2013, Franson raised the autism-vaccine connection in a committee hearing. We look forward to seeing if the Canary Party is helping out with the new PAC attacking her. That will have to wait until February's filing date for year-end reports.
Photo: The ultimate money shot: campaign cash.
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