The Dream is Over
CPR: April 2004: Off The Record:
GOP Seeks Minorities; Fails
Every few years, in between high-profile racial embarrassments à la Trent Lott and Strom Thurmond, the GOP makes a big show of reaching out to minorities and working to make their party more of a big-tent multicultural bastion of diversity and tolerance—you know, the Party of Lincoln! Texas Republicans were having one of those moments six years ago when they set up the American Dream Political Action Committee. American Dream PAC’s mission, in the words of Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Tex.), is to offer “significant, direct financial assistance to first-rate minority GOP candidates.â€
Bravo! In the last six years alone, the Republicans’ diversity PAC has raised a whopping $547,000. But what’s even more impressive as a reflection of the party’s commitment to minority inclusiveness is that fully 8.9 percent of that money—or $48,750—has actually gone to minority GOP office-seekers. The other half million dollars has been directed towards such noble endeavors as the recent Republican redistricting power-grab in Texas and a legal defense fund set up to help House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) combat corruption charges currently being filed against him by Texas authorities.
When asked about the stinginess with which the American Dream PAC had actually pursued its goal of building diversity within the party in the last six years, Bonilla could only lament that “we did the best we could.†There simply were too few “good, solid minority candidates to expend the funds on.â€
Arlington, VA – RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman addressed the RNC’s 2006 Minority Candidate College Luncheon today in Arlington, Virginia. The Minority Candidate College is a two-day educational program put on by the RNC for minority candidates who are running for all levels of elective office.
“The Minority Candidate College is yet another example of how the Republican Party is helping more people become involved in the political process,†Chairman Ken Mehlman said. “This program enables candidates from all walks of life to receive formal campaign instruction from some of the best strategists, staff and communicators the Republican Party has to offer.â€
Republicans push minority candidates.htm:
The Republican Party says it has its largest-ever field of non-incumbent minorities seeking top offices this fall, with party leaders touting 20 black and 39 Hispanic candidates in federal and major state elections.
The political hopefuls include candidates for Congress and for such statewide offices as governor and secretary of state, and they come in a political season that will find blacks and Hispanics with a strong voice in deciding the winners.
“This is unprecedented, this kind of effort from Republicans,” said Larry Gonzalez, director of the Washington office of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
According to OpenSecrets.org:
American Dream PAC
PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates
2006 Cycle
House Candidate Total Contribs Alexander, Rodney (R-LA) $4,000
Bode, Denise (R-OK) $1,000
Bonilla, Henry (R-TX) $20,000
DeLay, Tom (R-TX) $10,000
Doolittle, John T (R-CA) $5,000
Lamberti, Jeffrey (R-IA) $1,000
McCaul, Michael (R-TX) $2,000
Neugebauer, Randy (R-TX) $2,000
Norman, Ralph (R-SC) $1,000
Pombo, Richard (R-CA) $5,000
Pryce, Deborah (R-OH) $5,000
Roulstone, Douglas Robert (R-WA) $1,000
Senate Candidate Total Contribs Harris, Katherine (R-FL) $1,000 American Dream PAC
PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates
2004 Cycle
House Candidate Total Contribs DeLay, Tom (R-TX) $5,000
Ferguson, Mike (R-NJ) $1,000
Fortuno, Luis (3-PR) $1,000
Hall, Ralph M (R-TX) $2,000
Neugebauer, Randy (R-TX) $1,000
Oller, Rico (R-CA) $1,000
Porter, Jon (R-NV) $1,000
Sessions, Pete (R-TX) $1,000
Tauzin, Billy III (R-LA) $3,000
Senate Candidate Total Contribs Martinez, Mel (R-FL) $5,000
Nethercutt, George R Jr (R-WA) $1,000 American Dream PAC
PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates
2002 Cycle
House Candidate Total Contribs Bonilla, Henry (R-TX) $5,000
Buyer, Steve (R-IN) $2,500
Diaz-Balart, Mario (R-FL) $1,000
Hensarling, Jeb (R-TX) $1,000
Wilson, Heather (R-NM) $1,000 Senate Candidate Total Contribs
Gramm, Phil (R-TX) $1,000
Recipient Amount Date Description Lajitas Resort, Terlingua, TX $12,579 4/20/2005 Event Expense/PAC Fundraising National Republican Congressional Committee, Washi $10,000 11/18/2005 Contribution U S Tobacco, Inc, Greenwich, CT $8,560 3/3/2005 Air Charter Hooks Solutions LLC, Washington, DC $8,336 6/30/2006 ***SEE BELOW/GENERAL PAC EVENT Citicards, The Lakes, NV $6,702 6/10/2005 See Below: Event Expense Le Paradou, Washington, DC $6,251 6/30/2006 GENERAL PAC EVENT EXPENSE Hensarling, Carolyn Mrs , Alexandria, VA $6,000 3/8/2005 Consultant Expense/Fundraising John T Doolittle for Congress, Sacramento, CA $5,000 3/9/2006 Contribution Lajitas Resort, Terlingua, TX $5,000 6/10/2005 Event Expense/Deposit Pryce for Congress, Columbus, OH $5,000 3/23/2006 Contribution Richard Pombo for Congress, Sacramento, CA $5,000 12/19/2005 Contribution SmithKline Beecham Corporation Political Action Co $5,000 3/7/2005 Contribution Refund Texans For Henry Bonilla, San Antonio, TX $5,000 3/18/2005 Contribution Texans For Henry Bonilla, San Antonio, TX $5,000 3/18/2005 Contribution Tom DeLay Congressional Committee, Sugar Land, TX $5,000 7/11/2005 Contribution Tom DeLay Legal Defense Expense Trust, Washington, $5,000 1/30/2006 Donation
So if you can’t find any good minorities, Tom Delay or Phil Gramm will do? Since the domain name is up for sale, I guess all the money is being transferred to another PAC with an equally worthy goal and spent on whatever the heck they want anyway.
Filed under: American Dream PAC, Bonilla, Congress, Henry Bonilla, Katherine Harris, Ken Mehlman, Minority Candidate College, PACs, Phil Gramm, Tom Delay, campaign contributions, texas, texas politics
[...] Yes, that is the American Dream PAC that Techdigger wrote about here. And when it became apparent that DeLay would probably be indicted in Texas, Bonilla came to his benefactor’s defense. He proposed that the GOP’s U.S. House rule requiring leaders to resign leadership posts if indicted be amended to require them to step down only for federal indictments. [...]
Just wanted to add this from today’s paper.
MySA.com: Metro | State:
As for Bonilla’s Dream PAC, it was revealed that of the $547,000 he raised for it, only $48,750 went to other minority GOP candidates.
Other GOP groups and causes — among them, the 2003 redistricting effort and Bonilla’s own re-election bid — got about $100,000.
A PAC staffer was convicted of embezzling another $119,000, and the rest was spent on plane tickets, hotels, catering services — and Tom DeLay’s legal defense fund.
We having nothing to fear but fear itself…
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[...] Wow, poor Henry. Still the underdog even after having ten times the amount of money Rodriguez has (who, by the way, is not a terrorist supporter but just exhibits poor judgement), the support of the Republican Secretary of State, and the endorsement of the largest newspaper in his region.What I can’t understand is why the Republican party is wasting their money on his campaign. After all, didn’t they go into debt with this election cycle? Bonilla may very well win this election but what about the next one? If he needs this much help to win with everything in his favor, what will he do when his opponent has the time and money to run a real campaign? Guess they think like the Express-News and expect him to do a better job of representing his district this time. Or maybe after the experience of the American Dream PAC, they realize he’s the only Hispanic they got. This entry is filed under politics, texas politics, republican, texas, Bonilla, Henry Bonilla, election, campaign, political stunt, run-off, Texas District 23, District 23, Congressional District 23, Ciro Rodriguez, runoff, Runoff Election - December 12, attack ads, mudslinging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Leave a Reply [...]