Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) used $17,000 in campaign funds to purchase Jewlery from his

And got caught, so he is now paying the money back. I hope the FEC, FBI, and IRS go after him for this but something tells me he will get off without much trouble stirred. He says they were nice gifts for his staff (trying to sound like it was a fair and innocent gesture) but conveniently left out his granddaughter's full name, REID (maybe they just forgot??).

onpolitics.usatoday.com...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is refunding his campaign nearly $17,000 that went to his granddaughter’s jewelry company, several news outlets report.

The move comes after the Federal Election Commission officials questioned the payments from Reid’s campaign. In a letter sent last week, federal regulators asked for details about “holiday gifts” that his campaign funded.

Campaign reports show two payments to Ryan Elisabeth, but Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston said the recipient’s full name is Ryan Elisabeth Reid, the Nevada Democrat’s California-based granddaughter.

Are we surprised?

I think it's about time we start taking the "money in politics" issue seriously and lay some very tight regulations on how money is raised, spent and absolute ineligibility for office for those caught red-handed.

That goes for all parties.

sheepslayer247
Are we surprised?

I think it's about time we start taking the "money in politics" issue seriously and lay some very tight regulations on how money is raised, spent and absolute ineligibility for office for those caught red-handed.

That goes for all parties.

edit on 27-3-2014 by sheepslayer247 because: (no reason given)

I am more surprised that it was only $17K...

Are the corrupt becoming cheapskates?

All Democrats and Republicans need to go. Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same coin. It is a filthy currency tarnished by greed and corruption that will no longer purchase honest representation for the American People. Democrats and Republicans conspire in Washington to scam, defraud, and extort money from the American people and give it to their friends and family.

Every election cycle we have to choose between the lying, thieving, whore mongering Democrat or the lying, thieving, whore mongering Republican. After every election the headlines scream "REPUBLICANS WIN!" or they scream "DEMOCRATS WIN!". But they never, never, never scream "AMERICANS WIN!". Why is that? It is because when Democrats and Republicans win, Americans get screwed.

The only way Americans will ever have an honest government is to quit electing Democrats and Republicans. We need to elect citizen statesmen who love America more than they love power and money. Men who can stand on their own two feet instead of being propped up by gangs of criminals. Honest men with sweat on their brow and calluses on their hands.

The true patriot is not the man who blindly defends a corrupt government. The true patriot is the man who defends the Constitution from that government.


You can just look at Harry Reid and tell he is a lying, theiving, SOB!!! Career politicians are always in it for themselves, not us!

sheepslayer247
Are we surprised?

I think it's about time we start taking the "money in politics" issue seriously and lay some very tight regulations on how money is raised, spent and absolute ineligibility for office for those caught red-handed.

That goes for all parties.

edit on 27-3-2014 by sheepslayer247 because: (no reason given)

I have a different take on this than most I think.

I am working under the presumption that most laws are misused and/or are completely circumvented.

Since politics will always have money intertwined throughout and it would not be possible to effectively manage those resources, there really is only one solution, to eliminate all campaign finance limits.

This is not to say that the paper trail should be ignored nor should we allow foreign powers to influence our political process. However, it is the acquisition of the funds that should have lion's share of the scrutiny, not the expenditures necessarily.

In this example, Harry Reid took money out of a campaign fund and gave it to his granddaughter. Hey, sounds good to me, it isn't performing the function that the donor intended (funding a political campaign) so the donors should learn from this and not donate again.

We can still maintain records for expenditures so that any evidence of bribes can be found but, other than that, not a major issue.

If you have an issue that you want to have attention, lobbying is the only way to do it and limiting the funding sources works out to be counterproductive and in direct opposition to free speech.

So, I conclude as with most situations concerning more legislation, the solution is not to enhance campaign finance nor lobbying limits but, to revoke them.

sheepslayer247
I think it's about time we start taking the "money in politics" issue seriously and lay some very tight regulations on how money is raised, spent and absolute ineligibility for office for those caught red-handed.

Good point. What sitting elected official is gonna vote for that? The alternative may also be a little more frightening, as elected office would possibly become a straight up popularity contest based merely on name recognition.

This is quite the story though. Harry Reid needs to go to prison for this one (period)

They all work hard, let them do what they want when they want.





Questions are for them to ask, not you nosy buggers!!!

Word on the radio is that it was 14k and 17k....so more like 31k. Harry Reid is a liar and a thief imo. Partisan politics aside, be careful of voting for folks who have become mili0naires while in office. I'd like to punch "public servants like this" in the nose. He and John McCain are whats wrong with both sides of the partisan isle. I'd seriously like to walk both of them outside for a "chat" without their tax paid body guards of course

reply to post by eLPresidente


Some people go to jail for stealing $17k

The truth is politicians hire their family members and friends to work on their campaign, so they can pay them from donations. Just like Jesse Jackson's wife was pulling in something like $5,000 a month paid by his donors.

Whether he'll be in legal trouble will probably depend on the true market value of the jewelry. If she sold the jewelry to others at the same cost, then it will be ok. If it was a few cheap beads that cost $100 then he might be in trouble.

reply to post by Snarl


The solution is quite simple, actually.

Absolutely no lobbying allowed: This is a government for the people, by the people and these corporations and special-interest groups that lobby OUR representatives do not have the right to sit at the table with the individual American.

Publicly-financed campaigns: If someone wants to run for an office and qualifies to do so, they are alloted a certain amount of funds to campaign. How much they spend on ads or yard signs, etc is up to them, but there are very strict rules on what it can be spent on and strict reporting requirements.

Term limits: 'Nuff said...

sheepslayer247
reply to post by Snarl

 

The solution is quite simple, actually.

Absolutely no lobbying allowed: This is a government for the people, by the people and these corporations and special-interest groups that lobby OUR representatives do not have the right to sit at the table with the individual American.

Publicly-financed campaigns: If someone wants to run for an office and qualifies to do so, they are alloted a certain amount of funds to campaign. How much they spend on ads or yard signs, etc is up to them, but there are very strict rules on what it can be spent on and strict reporting requirements.

Term limits: 'Nuff said...

edit on 27-3-2014 by sheepslayer247 because: (no reason given)

So, if you have a concern about something you can't communicate with your politicians under penalty of law?

That is what no lobbying means.

Public financing for political campaigns is just a different scam that tends to give statists the upper hand since they generally control the regulators.

reply to post by greencmp

So, if you have a concern about something you can't communicate with your politicians under penalty of law?

That is what no lobbying means.

If your a representative of a corporation or special-interest group....no. Of course the individual constituents would have access to their representatives and able to express their thought/concerns. That puts the burden on the voter to be informed, active and to quit relying on special-interest groups they support to do the work for them.

Public financing for political campaigns is just a different scam that tends to give statists the upper hand since they generally control the regulators.

That is taken care of if you have term limits. There is no way to become a career politician if there are term limits and would ensure that a higher and higher percentage of the people that do serve in office are genuinely in place to serve the best interests of their people.

sheepslayer247
reply to post by greencmp

 

. Of course the individual constituents would have access to their representatives and able to express their thought/concerns. That puts the burden on the voter to be informed, active and to quit relying on special-interest groups they support to do the work for them.


I didn't utilize your entire quote, hope that is okay. I do however take great exception to the above statement.
This is way beyond my experience with my alleged representative. I am polite and IGNORED. Congress is at an all time disapproval rating. You're suggesting voters are uninformed, not politically active and leave their fate to special interest groups. This is completely beyond my comprehension. I don't care what I/ we do to influence these butt wipes they DON'T CARE what you or I think. You also assume that voting is the be all and end all of the process. I'd suggest our votes on a national level mean squat. If you care to see what a bunch of dirt bags
serve " Legistorm.com" does an excellent job of tracking every single dime and free trips ( Bribes ) Congress
gleefully accepts. Diana DeGette took four free trips in 2014. one cost $ 34,000.00 to Japan. How many vacations have you been on in the last three months ? Face it my friend this thing is beyond repair. And Congress loves it just the way it is. Cheers

You can just look at Harry Reid and tell he is a lying, theiving, SOB!!! Career politicians are always in it for themselves, not us! - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by groingrinder


Isn't that the truth!! When a good number of representatives are over the age of retirement, you can bet your last dollar they're in it for just the money, power and benefits.

reply to post by dazbog

I didn't utilize your entire quote, hope that is okay. I do however take great exception to the above statement. This is way beyond my experience with my alleged representative. I am polite and IGNORED. Congress is at an all time disapproval rating. You're suggesting voters are uninformed, not politically active and leave their fate to special interest groups. This is completely beyond my comprehension. I don't care what I/ we do to influence these butt wipes they DON'T CARE what you or I think. You also assume that voting is the be all and end all of the process. I'd suggest our votes on a national level mean squat. If you care to see what a bunch of dirt bags serve " Legistorm.com" does an excellent job of tracking every single dime and free trips ( Bribes ) Congress gleefully accepts. Diana DeGette took four free trips in 2014. one cost $ 34,000.00 to Japan. How many vacations have you been on in the last three months ? Face it my friend this thing is beyond repair. And Congress loves it just the way it is. Cheers - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

I do believe most voters are uniformed, not politically active and leave it to special-interest groups to do their bidding. If a voter feels as you do, ignored and perhaps irrelevant, it can be easier to slide a bit of cash to a group that supports certain "values".

It may be beyond repair, but I am optimistic that a breaking point will be reached and from that will come easy reforms that restore our republic.

reply to post by greencmp


Lobbying is how we have a voice? Really?

Lobbying is the concept of "money = speech" in action. Real life action. You want a meeting? Open that checkbook.

$70mil was spent lobbying for Obamacare. How much face to face talking is that, in billable hours? Because that is all lobbying SHOULD be. Talking.

Instead, its a way to buy people off within the loopholes of the law. Its not a bribe when you buy a service you may not really need, at a price that is above market value, from a company a senators whose vote you want happens to have an interest in. LOL

You want my take on it? Scrap it altogether. No campaign money, no lobby money. For the campaign, the government already has "public service message" requirements. Utilize those avenues to give all candidates equal coverage. No one spends a dime, other than advertisers who would be donating those services otherwise anyway.

And as it regards lobbys? Screw them. If a senator needs to meet with anyone, it is their constituents. Get out of Washington (which means you stop brokering for power on the side while doing minimal senatorial work, since you aren't in the power capital), and take your butt back to your district. THAT is the meetings a senator needs to be having. And they are free, included in the salary they get for the job they are supposed to be doing.

reply to post by eLPresidente


If this is related to the earlier issue surrounding him he got away with it.

Reid and another representative were under DOJ investigation. Holder intervened and blocked the investigation. The state AG picked up the investigation and will pursue it at the state level.

With the number of state investigations into those in political office it makes one wonder if something big is getting ready to break...

Either that or its all coincidental.

Xcathdra
reply to post by eLPresidente

 

If this is related to the earlier issue surrounding him he got away with it.

Reid and another representative were under DOJ investigation. Holder intervened and blocked the investigation. The state AG picked up the investigation and will pursue it at the state level.

With the number of state investigations into those in political office it makes one wonder if something big is getting ready to break...

Either that or its all coincidental.

i want to see harry drawn and quartered.

hey uncle harry, what about me?

lol, who gives $17,329.42 for a gift?

i usually round it off.