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  •  State party buys (4.00 / 9)

    hotel room and organizes housing for reporter.

    Newspaper reimburses state party.

    Reporter writes articles friendly to that party.

    I don't care how you slice that, it stinks.

    The only way to ensure a free press is to own one

    by RedDan on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 05:50:05 PM PDT

    •  So (2.50 / 2)

      The WP giving money to the Virginia Republicans?  How deaf are these people to potential conflicts of interest?  They should pay for their own hotel rooms from the beginning and not play the payback game.

      In any case, the story is accurate and Open Secrets is accurate here.  Money was given to the Virginia Republicans.  Saying that they are paying back a debt doesn't negate that.

      by ortcutt on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 05:56:19 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Of Course It Does, and Open Secrets IS Wrong (none / 1)

        It wasn't a donation.  In the end, there was no net transfer of funds from Hsu to the state party.  Open Secrets listed it as if it was.  They were clearly wrong.

        The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

        by DHinMI on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 06:46:49 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  this can be abused (none / 0)

          How do you know that what the GOP charged the reporter is just the amount needed to recover the GOP costs, or was it heavily padded? If the newspaper is letting this practice go on, then it has some poor cost control mechanisms, at the least.

          by drsmith131 on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 06:55:21 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

        •  But you could say that about anything (none / 0)

          Suppose the Virginia GOP spends $100 on flyers at a printing company PrintRUs and Fred Smith "reimburses" them for those flyers.  Maybe Fred Smith's employer Spacely Sprockets then "reimburses" Fred.  Now, you could say, as you just have, that there is no net transfer of funds from Fred Smith to the Virginia GOP, since the net transfer is $100 from Spacely Sprockets to PrintRUS $100.  But if that is the criterion, then nothing would ever count as a political contribution.

          by ortcutt on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 06:56:00 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          •  how bout this as a political contribution? (none / 0)

            "Fred Smith" gives the Virginia GOP 500 dollars. And no one reimburses anything.

            I want to win. You want to beat him, and that's a problem for me, because I want to win. -The West Wing

            by AnnArborBlue on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 07:00:44 PM PDT

            [ Parent ]

          •  Nope, You're Wrong (none / 0)

            That would be a contribution in kind.  But the hotel room wasn't a form of campaigning, and it didn't advocate the election or defeat of a candidate or a party.  It was just a hotel room.  And his employer couldn't reimburse if it was a corporation unless it was paid from their separate and segregated fund; AKA Political Action Committee (PAC).  

            The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

            by DHinMI on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 07:04:10 PM PDT

            [ Parent ]

            •  But (none / 0)

              The fact that his employer did reimburse him doesn't mean that it wasn't a contribution.  It just means that if it were a contribution and they had paid for the hotel room from hard money, it would be illegal.

              by ortcutt on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 07:12:41 PM PDT

              [ Parent ]

              •  Your Scenario Would Be a Loan (none / 0)

                The hotel room wasn't a loan, it was a reimbursement.  They had to reserve the room.  In a sense, at that point they purchased it, just like if it were a desk.  And they can sell it just like it's a desk, but only for fair market value.  And in this case, the fair market value was the cost of the room for X nights.  And a thousand bucks in NYC for several nights during the convention sounds about right.

                There is nothing untoward here.  If you think it's unjust, work on changing the law.  But your arguments aren't compeling that there was even anything unjust or wrong.

                The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

                by DHinMI on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 07:19:06 PM PDT

                [ Parent ]

    •  They May Have Rented All the Rooms (none / 0)

      I've been involved in setting up state party events, and what sometimes happens is that the party will rent all the rooms.  It may be that they rented the rooms, he used one that was unoccupied, and then reimbursed them.  

      I haven't read the original diary, so maybe I'm missing some important details, but I could see how a reimbursement, while not particularly common, could still have an innocent explanation.

      Which would just mean that the guy isn't a partisan--and few journalists I've met really are--but instead just isn't very good.  And I know more than a few who just aren't very good.

      The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

      by DHinMI on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 06:04:14 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  The WP should know better (none / 0)

        If the Virginia GOP rents all the rooms, the WP should stay at another hotel.  A newspaper shouldn't accept favors from political parties and it sure as hell shouldn't make contributions to political parties or expect their employees to do so and then pay them back.  The whole thing is perverse.

        by ortcutt on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 06:12:55 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      •  That may be the case... (none / 0)

        but it still stinks to high heaven and should be ended as practice.

        Reporters should not be getting their itineraries, travel, arrangements, or bookings done through the political, corporate, or any other groups that they are supposed to be covering.

        Period.

        The only way to ensure a free press is to own one

        by RedDan on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 06:13:26 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  I Don't Know That They Did the Bookings (none / 0)

          Another way to look at it would be if he went to a fundraiser, and he ate a dinner.  If it was a $150 a plate dinner, you wouldn't want him paying the $150, because obviously most of that would be net going to the party.  But you also wouldn't want him to be eating for free.  So I think it would not only be OK, it would be preferred if he paid the party the $25 or so to cover their cost for the dinner.  That's what this sounds like.  And at the national convention, it really would be damn close to impossible to cover a single state's delegation if you didn't stay in the same hotel, because they spread people out over entire metro areas.  You're either in the same hotel, or you barely see people, especially since much of the action for that state delegation takes place in the conference halls of their hotel, and not at the main convention center.

          The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

          by DHinMI on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 06:42:55 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

    •  OK, Just Read the Diary (none / 0)

      This sounds legit to me.  In a sense, he was sorta an "embeded journalist."  

      Also, Open Secrets really sucks.  If you know a lot about campaign finance, you see that they miss most of what matters, and make a big deal about a whole bunch of stuff that doesn't.

      The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

      by DHinMI on Mon Sep 12, 2005 at 06:06:06 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

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