GOP corruption: Karen Minnis ongoing edition
Carla Axtman
Just when you thought we were finally safe from GOP dregs queen Karen Minnis, she comes right back to bite her own ass.
The latest scandal embrolling Minnis involves what appears to be a low-brow money laundering scheme. Steve Law lays it out for the Gresham Outlook:
Last December, Minnis donated $10,000 in surplus campaign funds to the House Republicans’ campaign arm, Promote Oregon Leadership Political Action Committee. During the next three months, she donated a combined $10,500 to three House Republican candidates: incumbent John Huffman of The Dalles and challengers Jim Weidner of Newberg and John Nelsen of Gresham. Promote Oregon Leadership PAC has since paid Minnis a total of $12,800 in monthly consulting fees, and she billed the three candidates a combined $3,000.Minnis sent consulting bills to three of the clients and followed up two to 11 days later with donations from her campaign funds.
I'd actually heard about this a month or so ago and had it on my "to-do" list to check out. I'm glad to see Law beat me to it.
Given Karen's history of nefarious activity in Oregon politics, its hardly a shocker to see her at it again.
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Aug 9, '08
I am pretty sure that this is legal. I complained to the State about the Larry George campaign paying for services from George Advertising and the State replied and said it was legit.
Aug 9, '08
Actually just looking at the letter I got from the SOS, the George incident may be entirely different. The SOS permitted the campaign to bill George Advertising because "as an existing entity, George Advertising, could be used for payroll and accounting purposes, to hire and pay employees for the campaign and report the transaction as an account payable rather than an in-kind contribution."
3:55 p.m.
Aug 9, '08
So let me see if I've got this right -- Minnis had $20,500 with which she could only do restricted political things, and now has $15,800 for personal use of any sort (after taxes)? And she might not be done "consulting" with these people?
Is the silver lining here that she may be well and truly getting out of politics, such that she'd rather get the money & pay the taxes than hold on to it for log-rolling and back-scratching to build up support for some effort down the road? Or do these donations reflect exactly that kind of expenditure, presaging an effort at a Nixonian comeback?
Perhaps the answer to that question is whether there is any actual value to the "consulting" for which she's being paid. State of the Oregon RP leaves that much in doubt, at minimum.
Aug 9, '08
LOL - guess this is suppose to redirect attention off your scumbag Edwards?
Didn't work.
Aug 9, '08
LOL: Long before the Edwards story broke, Karen Minnis was a bully of a Speaker (as opposed to Bev Clarno or Lynn Lundquist, for instance).
Whether anyone had ever heard of John Edwards, Minnis was the sort of Speaker to make people unimpressed with the Republican House Majority--she was the Speaker right before they lost majority.
I am as angry as David Bonior is about John Edwards, but no matter what he did, he never had any impact on the Oregon Legislature. He never tried to tell us that even Democratic legislators elected in a larger turnout election than the Measure 30 election had to stay silent on any matter involving tax reform (unless they were proposing tax cuts) because "the voters have spoken on Measure 30" and not even listen to their constituents because those were only voters who should bow down to the Measure 30 result whether they voted for it or not. That is what Karen Minnis did. And now she appears in some financial irregularities (did the people who contributed that money originally think it would go to other legislators (aka "pass through") who bought Minnis consulting services?
Now, you wouldn't be wanting to keep the Edwards story alive because Minnis shouldn't get bad publicity for her finances, would you?
Aug 9, '08
I said to myself this morning, when I read the story about Minnis, how long will take BO to jump all over this. Beautiful timing to get away from JE.
BTW, If she, Minnis, broke the law she should be punished, otherwise forget it. I have never liked the idea of one legislator giving money to another. It's kinda sleazy even if legal.
[Off-topic comment about John Edwards deleted. -editor.]
Aug 9, '08
Betsy.
Johnson.
6:23 p.m.
Aug 9, '08
Question for Rinowatch: If you don't like the "idea of one legislator giving money to another" because you think it's "kinda sleazy", what did you think of Ted Stevens giving money to Gordon Smith, and Gordon Smith giving money to Ted Stevens?
Just wonderin'.
Aug 9, '08
[Off-topic comment about John Edwards deleted. -editor.]
6:40 p.m.
Aug 9, '08
The thing that I find really interesting is that this is part of a long pattern of really bad judgement on the part of Minnis.
From hitching her star to the vomitous Chuck Adams to trying to gavel down Merkley during the 2005 session because he insisted she follow the rules (for the civil unions bill) to her reprehensible campaigns against Rob Brading--the woman is an abject mess.
Why any Oregon Republican would associate themselves with her is beyond me.
Aug 9, '08
Local Mom is right. And for "2 words" and genop, this thought:
If a Democrat makes a mistake, are you saying every other Democrat is responsible (individually and collectively) and guilty until proven innocent? But every Republican deserves the benefit of the doubt and can always blame a Democrat? Minnis and Johnson are 2 sides of the same problem--thinking being in the legislature means they operate by different rules than most people (the hubris which on a national level caught up with Edwards, but at least he took responsibility and apologized).
Do you wonder why the Open Primary ballot measure qualified? If it passes, the old GOP standby "but the Democrats..." will be a more difficult crutch to lean on. Esp. for those who think "supporting the team" is more important than solving problems for we the people.
Aug 9, '08
[Off-topic comment about John Edwards deleted. -editor.]
9:04 p.m.
Aug 9, '08
Check out the righty trolls desparately trying to change the subject to anything other than Karen Minnis' apparent money laundering scheme.
Aug 9, '08
localmom: What do I think of Ted Stevens giving money to Gordon Smith, and Gordon Smith giving money to Ted Stevens? Although legal, I think it is Reprehensible, Sleazy, Slimy, and like I said earlier, I don't like the practice.
[Response to off-topic comment about John Edwards deleted. -editor.]
Aug 9, '08
Rinowatch, if you don't like the practice, how long have you been advocating an end to "pass-throughs"? Or would you rather just complain?
FYI, I first got involved in the crusade to end pass-throughs a couple decades ago.
Aug 10, '08
This story is really scary to the Oregon Repubicans because they are already having a hard time raising money. Another example of political fundraising turning into candidate self-enrichment makes their fundraising that much harder.
Would you give to a campaign if you knew your money was going to end up in the pocket of the candidate? I wouldn't.
Aug 12, '08
But she's still moral, because she's hetero. That's all that matters as she's reminded us time and again.