One of the first things that struck me while reading through SarahPAC's financial report for April 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010 was the unbelievable amount that was spent on postage.
For instance SarahPAC gave an incredible amount of money to a company called RHA Marketing and billed it under "postage". The full name of the company is Rudderow, Hill, and Associates, and they are a company that claims expertise in direct marketing. In fact they have a brochure that offers "A half dozen tips to cut costs now!"
Which is a fairly amazing claim since SarahPAC paid them $75,000.00 in April, $677.81 in May, and another $5,700.00 in June, for a whopping $81,377.81 which was all charged under "postage" on the financial report. That is only $5,622.19 LESS than they paid to political campaigns in the same period.
Unbelievably that was not the only outrageous amount that was identified as postage.
The PAC also paid the US Postal Service $2,000 on April 5, $4,000 on April 28, $3,000 on May 21, and $4,000 on June 2, for BRE's or business reply envelopes (you know the ones you sometimes receive that have the postage pre-paid), for another $13,000.
However we are not quite finished with the mail yet.
On May 12 the PAC gave a company called HSP Direct $40,453 for services listed as, "Direct Mail: Printing, Mailshop, list re." And paid another $113,226.64 for services listed as, "Letterhead, Envelopes, List Rental, Mail."
Now the combined cost of these services identified as postage, mailings, envelopes, and printing, amount to a staggering $248,057.26 which is just a tad less than three times as much as the PAC paid out to political campaigns.
Read that again. SarahPAC paid a quarter of a million dollars on direct mailing, brochures, and postage costs, in just three months! Amazing.
That is even more than the $210,000 that was paid out for "consulting" costs.
You know if we just use that "common sense" that Palin is always promoting, I think that we can determine that something really stinks over at SarahPAC. What do you think?
You can find the summary page here and the list of donations here. Let me know if you find anything else that strikes you as wrong.
Update: By way of contrast here is the financial report for Haley Barbour's PAC.
I wonder how much these "postage" expenditures are compared with other similiar PAC's. If someone could figure that out, then I think that would make this information more useful and put it into context.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work!
Not to refute anything, but the family clan does reply to everyone who sends Sarah a letter/package. So that plus direct mail and PAC mailings COULD get expensive. I'm not sure it would ever reach the amount shown, but post isn't cheap.
ReplyDeleteThe post office sells money orders.
ReplyDeletethis is trickle down PAC-enomics at its finest!
ReplyDelete>the ones you sometimes receive that have the postage pre-paid
ReplyDeleteNot quite. You pay the postage if and when the envelope comes back to you. (But if the USPO *did require pre-payment of all BRE mail, it'd certainly solve their money woes.)
It also reported $128,000 in travel-related costs – more than twice as much as Palin had accrued in any previous three-month span, which reflects a packed political schedule that had Palin hop-scotching the nation stumping for candidates and appearing at political events. Take the $10,500 charter flight booked by the PAC in April; PAC officials said it jetted Palin between a fundraising rally for fellow tea party hero Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) in Minneapolis to New Orleans, where Palin spoke to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
ReplyDelete$128,000 in travel - how much of this related to her paid speaking gigs, travel to Giddings, TX to see her Big Oil friends, and visiting her relatives in Washington State?
In the last three months Palin hasn't made that many appearances on behalf of candidates to warrant that kind of expense.
$87,500 went to the candidates
$128,000 for her travel expenses
Interesting that in this wonderful age of technology, one need spend anything at all on postage, when the INTERNET is free and reaches unimaginable numbers of sheeple in the press of a key. My guess on the direct mail costs are that 99% are for list rental: that's the most common tool for fundraising campaigns targeted at specific audiences and/or markets and they don't come cheap when you are trying to reach very specific demographics. I never read of anyone [admitting to] receiving Palin direct mail pieces, but surely someone is, given the $$ seemingly being spent.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that I focused on the amazing amount of money spent on postage was that I am looking to find the largest expenditures that might in actuality be for another purpose entirely.
ReplyDeleteTo put it bluntly, most of the people that are no longer on Palin's official payroll, are still on her unofficial payroll. Not for what they do, but for what they know.
Uncle Joe's comments about money orders is exactly the kind of thing that I am wondering about.
I used to listen to Randi Rhodes, who delighted in reading the Republican talking points for the day. She explained that she gave a small donation to various Republican interests, and in return, she was on every mailing list, email list and fax line for their information.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a thought, but a post office box number and a new email account, plus a small donation to SarahPAC ought to keep our Gryphen supplied with all of Sarah's latest direct mail campaigns.
It will fun when Sarah gives her next speech about being less government spending and being financially responsible. Her super duper first class private jet travel, luxurious accommodations and printed letterheads may be on a par with other people running political campaigns. So, we ought to remind people about The Queen's lifestyle when she tries to pretend she is just one of the peasants.
Interesting that practically none of Barbour's funds came from Mississippi.
ReplyDeleteAs for SarahPAC, am I reading it incorrectly or does it say she spend almost a thousand dollars on travel and lodging to/for Harper Collins?
I think that Gryphen is on to something here. Not just the money orders, but the people who no longer work for Scarah. How is she paying them, certainly not out of her own money if she doesn't have to. I think that this has the potential to blow stuff out in the open. Palin is very stoopid, and she certainly at this point thinks she can get away with anything. It will catch up to her, keep digging as we all are, and it will reveal itself.
ReplyDeleteI think her PAC needs a new accountant... like everything Palin is involved with this smells to high heaven.
ReplyDelete17. Other Federal Receipts (Dividends, Interest, etc) 0.00 0.00
Where's the investment income and/or interest on more than $1,000,000.00 sitting in the bank??
Okay, so the money was wasted on Lindsay Hayes for speech writing, right?
ReplyDeletePlus, those consulting fees for national ($5K for national issues, national and International issues - $10K - guess she needed remedial national issues after the first $5K session)were a total loss. She hasn't said anything of substance or that makes sense.
Why would she spend over $800 on books? Does she really read that much? Gees - get a library card.
Why is she charging per diem costs on some travel/lodging and not on others? Per diem means per day - so what's the deal with the inconsistencies?
All that money spent on postage? I did not receive anything!
ReplyDelete"Apparently some folks who don't like Sarah Palin but spend an awful lot of time tracking her online anyway read our recent item about how extraordinarily rich Sarah Palin isn't and objected to her e-mailed fund-raising link being in there. More properly that link should go to the SarahPAC site itself. So here is that link."
ReplyDeletehttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/07/sarah-palin-sarahpac.html
And yet there are voters who would trust her with their money? Incredible.
ReplyDeleteI've lived abroad since 2004. I'm stunned over how ignorant, apathetic, and completely submissive to authority people have become to support a woman of no substance whatsoever.
25% don't know we gained independence from Britain but think Obama is the anti-christ. An ignorant nation cannot remain free.
postage would have been included in the bills from the marketing firms.
ReplyDeleteAt least she didn't charge for wardrobe or bumpit-positioning.
ReplyDeleteAlso, too, did you notice how she sneaked "postage" into lump sum amounts for travel, lodging, parking etc. when Tim Crawford is the recipient of the money. One entry is for over $14K in April, another for just over $3,300 in May, as well as a $10,000 fee for being the Treasurer and Fundraising Consultant. Nice gig, huh?
Organizational question: why isn't there a better organization of the expenditures. It isn't done alphabetically. It isn't in chronological order (because there is that book charge from January after the May charges and a couple of other things out of order - BTW, isn't this a quarterly report?) Perhaps they tried to do a chronological approach and just did it badly. Just saying it sure makes it harder to track things.
I noticed the exact thing you did Gryphen. I hope the auditors notice it as well.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone help us out on the "quarterly report" (April 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010)? There are items being reported from January, February and March. Are there allowances made for that? Anyone see the lst quarter reports? Just wondering if there was double-charging-off done. Perhaps people simply didn't deposit checks for a long, long time, eh?
ReplyDeleteWeird that she would us that USPS socialist system to send mail. Why not private business, like Fed Ex or UPS?
ReplyDeleteAs I have worked in Mailing Houses for over 20 years, I can tell you that e-mail Blasts are the way to go as far as reaching the most people with the least amount of expense. If Paylin is using the USPS for Direct Mail, she's not being very fiscally conservative...but she's clueless anyway.
ReplyDeleteZERO for John McCain, the man who rescued Palin from a soon-to-be exposed failed governorship?
ReplyDeleteAnd $2500 for a nutcake in Nevada who wants to abolish Medicare and Social Security, Sharron Angle,who is now trying to hide her true beliefs?
Must be because they both believe that victims of rape or incest must be forced by big government to have the babies of mephitic criminals.
http://www.popcrunch.com/levi-johnston-kathy-griffin-sex-affair/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WorkBoxers+%28PopCrunch%29
ReplyDeleteA well-placed tipster spills to The Enquirer: “Levi said that he hooked up with Kathy when he visited Los Angeles for the Teen Choice Awards, and again when she went to Alaska with her stand-up comedy show….Bristol had no idea that Levi actually had sex with Kathy — she thought it was all a joke. Bristol is going to freak when she finds out the truth.”
The postage costs are pretty consistent with someone ramping up for a Presidential run. She's flooding potential donors with direct mailings. Her online donation solicitations have done well enough, but she needs to hit the big money now, and direct mailings are more effective when it comes to the big donors.
ReplyDeleteget over it - Levi and Kathy WAS a joke - they did NOT have sex. Everybody knows that.
ReplyDeleteKathy jokes about seeing his "johnston", but she meant his arm tattoo.
However, I would point out that Kathy is 50 years old - 4 years older than SP and looks 10 years younger. She is HOT! Congrats to Kathy for planting the story - She's learning something from SP! Lies work for publicity.
http://www.celebitchy.com/107871/did_levi_johnston_get_it_on_with_kathy_griffin/
Small amount of money but interesting none the less. Around the time of the SRLC in New Orleans, there is an expense of $1,500.00 for meals/meeting at 'Mothers'. Seems that this is a sandwich shoppe~famous for 'Po-boys'. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm.
ReplyDelete~Scorpie
SarahPAC is getting creative with the terms used to describe expenses. I think the $75K deemed "Postage" was really fees for services.
ReplyDeleteSame with "retainer" paid to Van Flein. Previously his expenses were called "fees." Some of us questioned the plausibility of Van Flein, an Alaskan attorney who does NOT work on FEC matters, being paid $10K a month. I think this is a cover for the PAC paying Sarah and Bristol's personal legal expenses. Looks like SarahPAC people saw our questions and changed the wording to "Retainer" which has a slightly different meaning.
It still is highly suspicious for the PAC to pay Van Flein, Sarah's personal attorney, any amount of money.
The PAC is ripe for a federal audit.
I like that she was jealous enough of Nikki Haley that she didn't give her a penny. Maybe she will in the general, but my bet is, Nikki is the preferred new female face of the GOP.
ReplyDeleteThe expenditures that leaped off the page for me were the medical ones -
ReplyDelete'diagnostic radiology,' medical consultation - a couple of them,
another for Primary Health Corp.
Somebody explain, does a political
pac pay for medical stuff?? And 2 others that stand out were located in Thibodaux,LA for $5,000 each, one just describes himself as a developer & the other nothing. What was that
$10,000 for, Sarah? The medical ones
are really a puzzler, though.
Sharon TN
The round-dollar USPS BRE postage payments do seem strange. I'm glad you brought it up and hope someone can ask the PAC to explain. I don't think USPS has pre-paid accounts.
ReplyDeleteIt would be easy for SarahPAC or any other PAC to misrepresent payments on their FEC reports -- they don't seem to be generated by the actual accounting system and they don't have audit requirements. But, even though it would be possible and even though there's a small chance of an FEC investigation, I think they'd have to be crazy to chance something like using money orders to pay out hush money.
The easiest, most likely, and safest way to move cash in this operation is for a consultant to have people 'working' for them.
Haley Barbour's expenditures do not list any money for postage (unless I missed it).
ReplyDeleteI guess she doesn't 'grift' by mail like Sarah does.
I'm a mailman, and I have seen a few envelopes with Sarah's picture on the front, begging for money, but not too many. I've seen far more from Hannity and Limbaugh.
And of course these mailings are directed at mainly the elderly; the ones who always send a few dollars to every solicitation they receive. Then the next month, since they sent money once, their name is sold to many other organizations looking for a free handout, and they receive even more solicitations in the mail.
I have one lady that gets at least a dozen of these solicitations a day, and I know she is on a fixed income; but the grifters don't care, they just want the cash and they prey on the person's gullibility.
There should be a law against this.
LisanTX: I was going to point out the same thing! No way he's can be the lawyer for the PAC. NO WAY! Since, it' registered in VA, wouldn't a VA bar passed lawyer have to represent them anyway? No, he's probably being paid for legal services from the PAC to figure out ways to use the money from the Alaska Defense Fund for Sarah herself. Good times.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, I'm no longer shocked that people ignore her transgressions. And I don't get sick about it. I just say, Hey, let the dummies spend their money how they will. Isn't that how the free market is supposed to work?
What's with the $24,000+ to the Visa/Bankcard center?
ReplyDeleteWait, can spouses get reimbursed for travel through a PAC?
ReplyDeleteWe have a very weak Federal Election Commission. If the Commission were run more like the IRS, many of these pols would be more accountable. Note: many are Bush appointees.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Federal_Election_Commission#President_Bush_nominates_new_slate_to_FEC
Palin manages to stay under the radar of the MSM. She calls it the "lamestream," which has become tiresome; however, I agree they are weak when it comes to overlooking her shenanigans.
We need a strong FEC and strong media watchdogs.
Gryphen:
ReplyDeleteWhere does it show on the forms that $P returned the $100,000 speaking fee that she received from the Tea Bagger Convention?
Sarah - we want you to keep your word on this. You said you'd return their fee. Or does your word mean nothing?
My job requires me to look at tax returns and financial statements of companies all the time. I have been told by quite a few accountants that there is the "official" financial statement and the "real" financial statement in every office. And large sums of money are usually paid to consultants to help you hide that much cash.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what they had to buy cashiers checks for.....or should I say who they bought them for. The bank fees are not regular monthly bank fees. With an ongoing balance like they have they would not be paying anything more than an image statement fee (if that). The fees for 5.00, 10.00 and 20.00 sound more like buying cashiers checks which most banks charge 5.00 a piece for. The 35.81 and 32.21 could be wire fees for wiring money.
ReplyDeleteAnother oddity is that Tim Crawford, the treasurer said that of the $330,000.00 spend on "fund raising" that $154,000.00 went to HSP Direct for 500,000 mailers that were sent to conservative households. That also included the postage for the same. So what in God's name was the other S177,000.00 spent on........hmmmm
My guess is Van Fleas fees are legal fees for Sarah and the gang and have nothing to do with the pac.
I, too work at the post office. I am familiar with BRM's which stand for business reply mail, but not the BRE's. It may be something new, or Sarah just misstated like usual. BRM's are very costly, and yes they do hold accounts with the Post office. That is a lot of money listed on her expense report for postage. Keep digging Gryph, good eye.
ReplyDeleteI'd dearly love to hear what Bree Palin & her former Congressional staffer coworkers have to say about this.
ReplyDeleteSemi-Former-Governor Sarah wouldnt have to work so darn hard to raise all this money to fight the evil Kenyum Muslin Marxist Nazi Negrow Obama agenda if she weren't the solitary champion of all that is white... oops... I mean, all that is RIGHT and holy in this great commonsense conservative god-fearin' country, also, too. Can't the haters see that simply RAISING the money for SarahPAC is her gift to the good real people of real small town real America? Can they really expect her to spend it wisely, too? And also? (wink!)
ReplyDelete