[NYCFarmboy]

by EVAN LEHMANN,
MediaNews Group Washington Bureau

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/Stor...813819,0.html#

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Bernard Sanders used campaign donations to pay his wife and stepdaughter more than $150,000 for campaign-related work since 2000, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Jane O'Meara Sanders, his wife, received $91,020 between 2002 and 2004 for "consultation" and for negotiating the purchase of television and radio time-slots for Sanders' advertisements, according to records and interviews.

Approximately $61,000 of that was "pass through" money that was used to pay media outlets for advertising time, Jane O'Meara Sanders said in an interview. The rest, about $30,000, she kept as payment for her services, she said.

Carina Driscoll, daughter to Jane O'Meara Sanders and stepdaughter to the lawmaker, earned $65,002 in "wages" between 2000 and 2004, campaign records show.

Driscoll, a former state legislator, served as Rep. Sanders' campaign manager in 2000, his fund-raiser and office manager in 2003 and his database manager in 2004, according to Jeff Weaver, Sanders' chief of staff.

"Both of them are regarded as people who are knowledgable about Vermont politics," Weaver said Tuesday. "They earned every penny they got."

It seems Sanders is the only member of Vermont's congressional delegation to employ family members. "Sen. Jeffords has not hired any members of his family on his current or past campaigns," said Erik Smulson, his communications director. A spokesman for Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said the same thing.

No laws prohibit candidates from paying family members for campaign work. But the appearance that lawmakers use their position to benefit people close to them concerns watchdog groups.

"Anytime you pay a family member there's going to be questions raised," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan research group in Washington.

The real question, he says, is whether family members conducted work commesurate to their pay. If they did, "then it's more difficult to say (lawmakers) are funneling money back to the family."

Mary Bloyer, a spokeswoman for Common Cause, a nonprofit advocacy group, said: "The danger here is that you want members of Congress who are in Washington to serve their constituents and not enrich their families. Something like this makes people look twice and makes them wonder what's going on here."

Jane O'Meara Sanders said she worked for her husband for years with no pay, and started charging him only after opening a consulting company, Progressive Media Strategies, which was changed to Leadership Strategies.

"It became clear I could not offer professional services to other candidates and charge them if I worked for Bernie for free," she said.

Still, Jane O'Meara Sanders said her fees are comparatively low, especially for her husband.

"I think the fact that other candidates have chosen to hire me and pay more than what Bernie pays me says that my services are pretty good," she said.

The ethics of lawmakers paying their families jumped into the spotlight on Capitol Hill last week, following reports that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas had paid his wife and daughter more than $500,000 for campaign-related work.

Jim Barrett, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, used Sanders' family payments to highlight what he said is Democratic "hypocrisy" for fiercely attacking DeLay. "It's the standard hypocrisy from the left," Barrett said. "When a Republican does it, it's inappropriate and front page news. But now it turns out, our own Bernie Sanders has been doing it for a long time."

He added: "If it's corruption when Tom DeLay does it, then it's corruption when Bernie Sanders does it."

Jon Copans, executive director of the state Democratic Party, declined to comment.

But Democratic groups are targeting DeLay for defeat in his 2006 election.

Vermont-based Democracy for America, started by former Gov. Howard Dean, disseminated a mass e-mail Tuesday asking supporters for witty slogans it can paste on billboards in DeLay's Texas district. The billboards, the e-mail says, will let voters there know "it's time for him to go."

Weaver, Sanders' chief of staff, said it was unfair to compare the Vermont Independent with DeLay, who paid his family much more in a shorter period of time.

"For the work they did, they got exactly what anyone else would have been paid," he said of Jane O'Meara Sanders and Driscoll. "Politics is like anything else - you always try to hire the best person."

Even Barrett admitted that the $65,000 earned by Driscoll over four years "almost sounds low."

But he said, "We don't know what she was doing for work. Was she a full-time operative? Were these just consulting fees? Who knows?"

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally posted by NYCFarmboy:
by EVAN LEHMANN,
MediaNews Group Washington Bureau

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/Stor...813819,0.html#

SNIP

The real question, he says, is whether family members conducted work commesurate to their pay. If they did, "then it's more difficult to say (lawmakers) are funneling money back to the family."

Mary Bloyer, a spokeswoman for Common Cause, a nonprofit advocacy group, said: "The danger here is that you want members of Congress who are in Washington to serve their constituents and not enrich their families. Something like this makes people look twice and makes them wonder what's going on here."

Jane O'Meara Sanders said she worked for her husband for years with no pay, and started charging him only after opening a consulting company, Progressive Media Strategies, which was changed to Leadership Strategies.

"It became clear I could not offer professional services to other candidates and charge them if I worked for Bernie for free," she said.

Still, Jane O'Meara Sanders said her fees are comparatively low, especially for her husband.

"I think the fact that other candidates have chosen to hire me and pay more than what Bernie pays me says that my services are pretty good," she said.

SNIP

He added: "If it's corruption when Tom DeLay does it, then it's corruption when Bernie Sanders does it."

If Tom DeLay's spouse and/or children do this work independently of his campaign, like Ms. Sanders and her daughter, then the issue of him paying them should go away. Absolutely go away.

If Tom Delay's spouse and/or children do this work only during HIS campaigns then the investigation should continue until malfeasance on the part of the DeLay campaign can be ruled out.

[NYCFarmboy]

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/Stor...817627,00.html

The congressman doth protest too much

In Wednesday's Banner, we ran a story that detailed payments Rep. Bernard Sanders has made to his wife and stepdaughter since 2000.

According to records filed with the Federal Election Commission, his wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders received $91,020 from his campaign for consultation and negotiating the purchase of advertising time, from 2002 to 2004. About two-thirds of that money was used to pay media outlets, O'Meara Sanders said. Her daughter, Carina Driscoll, was paid $65,002 in wages over the same time period. She served as her stepfather's campaign manager in 2000, fund-raiser and office manager in 2003 and his database manager last year.

None of this is illegal. The story did not state, or imply, that Rep. Sanders broke the law by hiring family members. An Associated Press story in Thursday's paper points out that employing relatives is common practice among the nation's lawmakers. It says about four dozen senators and representatives have hired family members for their campaign and political groups.

Of course, just because something is common practice and doesn't break the law, doesn't mean it's totally kosher. Watchdog groups are rightly concerned. Even if family members earn their pay, there still remains the appearance of impropriety. Given the power that elected officials wield and the fact that they serve at the pleasure of their taxpaying constituents, there's nothing wrong with holding them to higher standards. We're not talking about a small contractor who hires his son over summer vacation and doesn't mind paying him a little extra.

The way Rep. Sanders has reacted to the revelatons, we think, indicates that he realizes how the situation looks. He claims the story was a lie, although the information came from public government records and was confirmed by his own staff, and he does not refute any of the facts in our report.

If Rep. Sanders believes the payments are on the up and up, a completely acceptable practice, he should come out and say so, instead of threatening not to speak with the media.

That's another issue that concerns us. In Maryland, the governor banned the Baltimore Sun from attending press conferences because he didn't like how he was being covered.

We at the Banner don't pretend to have any more rights than the average citizen. But the average citizen does have the right to hold his or her elected officials accountable for their actions.

Not everyone has the time or resources to follow the government's doings, but newspapers and other media do, and that's the next best thing.

[SVass]

Tom Delay paid his WIFE $500,000 wages in a community property state (Texas). Ergo, he paid HIMSELF $250,000. That may be a FELONY. Bernie Sanders did not. sam

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by SVass

Tom Delay paid his WIFE $500,000 wages in a community property state (Texas). Ergo, he paid HIMSELF $250,000. That may be a FELONY. Bernie Sanders did not. sam

One possible wrong on the part of Tom DeLay does not make what Bernie Sanders did any better.

He needs to come out and clearly say why he paid his wife and daughter to work on his campaign. The fact that his wife--with the daughter working for her mother--does political counseling independent of the work she did for her husband makes the Sanders case somewhat less fishy. But he still needs to come out and publicly lay claim to the actions.

As for DeLay, he needs to explain exactly what his wife did.

[NYCFarmboy]

I think it is a case of the kettle calling the pot black.

I think it would be wise to ban any type of payment to any family member/relative from any constituent that has any business with congress....whether it be campaign or as a lobbyist (witness the horrible things that are going on in Nevada with Harry Reid).

The Democrats opened this can of worms when in fact it turns out they are the far worst offenders.

I think it would be wise to go thru EVERY Senator & Congressman's family dealings and expel all members whose family/relatives received any money from any constituent.... in both parties.

[SVass]

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy

One possible wrong on the part of Tom DeLay does not make what Bernie Sanders did any better.

As for DeLay, he needs to explain exactly what his wife did.

Amazing, the investigation and report on Sanders was done by Republicans after Delay's predicament was disclosed in order to divert attention. Now you say "who me?"

Delay needs to immediately REFUND the money as he can not convert campaign funds into personal money. Explanations are not acceptable. Jim Wright and Newt Gingrich resigned. sam

[NYCFarmboy]

Originally Posted by SVass

Amazing, the investigation and report on Sanders was done by Republicans after Delay's predicament was disclosed in order to divert attention. Now you say "who me?"

Delay needs to immediately REFUND the money as he can not convert campaign funds into personal money. Explanations are not acceptable. Jim Wright and Newt Gingrich resigned. sam

so would you agree then also that Democrats Sanders & Harry Reid should also resign?

[SVass]

Originally Posted by NYCFarmboy

so would you agree then also that Democrats Sanders & Harry Reid should also resign?

Actually, I believe that an independent prosecutor should proceed against all and we shall see who gets convicted and goes to jail. Sanders is not now and never has been a Democrat. Reid did not commit a crime. (In 1972, I lived in Ocean Springs, Mississippi when Bill Colmer decided to retire and his intern ran for the House promising to vote against the blacks. Later, he voted against the impeachment of Nixon saying that there weren't two whites in his district who didn't vote for Nixon. Trent Lott lied then as my wife and I both voted for McGovern. As Harry Truman said many times, no Republican has ever told the truth. I believe that that is still true.) sam

[NYCFarmboy]

Originally Posted by SVass

Actually, I believe that an independent prosecutor should proceed against all and we shall see who gets convicted and goes to jail. Sanders is not now and never has been a Democrat. Reid did not commit a crime. (In 1972, I lived in Ocean Springs, Mississippi when Bill Colmer decided to retire and his intern ran for the House promising to vote against the blacks. Later, he voted against the impeachment of Nixon saying that there weren't two whites in his district who didn't vote for Nixon. Trent Lott lied then as my wife and I both voted for McGovern. As Harry Truman said many times, no Republican has ever told the truth. I believe that that is still true.) sam

you know... for a while I thought you were being serious.

[SVass]

Mark Twain

It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.
It is the foreign element that commits our crimes. There is no native criminal class except Congress.
I never can think of Judas Iscariot without losing my temper. To my mind Judas Iscariot was nothing but a low, mean, premature, Congressman.
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can.

sam