According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pennsylvanian Republican Jim Gerlach (PA-06) was just fined $120,000 by Federal Election Commission for violation of federal campaign-finance laws.
The fine is "the largest penalty ever imposed on a Pennsylvania member of Congress for violation of federal campaign-finance laws."
The Chester County Republican will pay $120,000 from campaign funds in installments over the next year to settle a civil case arising mainly from a huge bookkeeping mistake he made after his successful 2004 reelection effort.
Gerlach reported to the Federal Election Commission that he had raised almost $2.2 million in a period of less than two months after the election. In reality, he had raised $18,000 to $20,000.
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Although Gerlach accepted the ultimate responsibility, he essentially laid the blame for the mistakes on his former campaign treasurer, Alan Randzin.
Like most every other Republican these days, Gerlach "accepts" responsibility while shifting the blame to someone else.
WTXF, the local Fox News affiliate, cheerily points out that "Gerlach's November victory was a bright spot for Republicans in the state. Four other Republican U.S. House members from Pennsylvania lost." Sure enough, in the 2006 general election, Gerlach narrowly defeated Democrat Lois Murphy. Gerlach had 50.7% of the vote compared to Murphy's 49.3%. (For election analysis see jsmagid's November 2006 diary.) According to the story in The Philadelphia Inquirer, "The FEC investigation began with a complaint from Democrat Lois Murphy".
Like many other Republicans, Gerlach is betting local issues will trump Iraq in 2008. According to today's The Washington Post, Even in Wartime, Voters Think Locally, what the Republicans found was that their voters had other things on their mind.
When Gerlach visited his home district with his wife and a brand "new blue Chrysler", he said he found people were not interested in talking about the Iraq war and he was only back in his district to "talk about crime and transportation."
For an hour and a half, Gerlach held his town hall meeting in the community center at Calvary Baptist Church in Reading, PA where he "sat stiffly", "seemingly bemused", and was "ignored and largely silent for much of the event."
Gerlach had the luxury of speaking on his own terms, pledging to help fund local law enforcement efforts, coordinate efforts to build a commuter rail line between Reading and Pottstown, and try to secure money for the city's rotting sewage plant.
Gerlach claimed the audience could "stray into some other issues which we can discuss as well." But voters never raised the issue of Iraq with Gerlach.
"I don't think people are thinking about that around here. They're thinking about their community," Janet Martz, who left the meeting shortly after her congressman, said with a shrug. "Come to think of it, I wouldn't have thought to bring it up."
According to The Washington Post, "The toughest question Gerlach got was whether he had ever been asked for sewage treatment money" and voters like Janet Martz aren't persuaded by the Congressional Democrats votes to end the war:
It is not as if voters are oblivious to the debate in Washington. Martz said she understands where the Democrats are coming from in placing conditions on the emergency legislation to fund the war. But she said she can't support timetables for withdrawing the troops.
(Read Brother Maynard's diary to learn how another recent Gerlach townhall meeting went.)
Gerlach definitely has his supporters. For example, take Downington, PA mayor Heather Bruno, "The elections in the fall changed everything... We had already gotten the appropriations. Thank God Jim Gerlach is still in there." Gerlach was instrumental in securing federal funds to build an new bridge in the borough.
This focus on local politics is precisely what the remaining Republicans in Congress are hoping for. As The Washington Post story notes:
GOP lawmakers say the votes of February and March will be eclipsed by events, both in Iraq and in Washington, long before voters begin to focus on the next round of elections. And with so many Iraq issues coming before Congress, they will have plenty of time to gauge constituent views and possibly change course.
But as the war drags on and more soldiers are killed, awkward questions for the Republicans just might start being asked. One voter who was at Gerlach's town hall meeting, Bonnie Ehst said told The Washington Post reporter after the congressman had gone that "she feels differently. 'I personally believe our boys should be brought home. Our boys are over there dying for what?' she asked."
Next time Bonnie Ehst meets Gerlach, will she get the courage to ask him this very question? Jim Gerlach and many other Republicans in Congress hopes she'll remain silent and keep the focus on local politics right through the 2008 elections.