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Scott Walker Rents Out Email and Donor Lists To Pay Campaign Debt (wisconsingazette.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the do-what-you-gotta-do dept.

An anonymous reader writes: In an effort to pay off his hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt racked up from his failed presidential run, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is renting out his email and donor lists to other candidates. Wisconsin Gazette reports: "The campaign owed $1.2 million at the end of 2015 and has paid off about $308,000 since then, according to campaign finance records. The bulk of those payments have been made possible by income from Granite Lists, a New Hampshire-based company that rents out Republican donor lists. Granite Lists has paid more than $172,000 to Walker's campaign since it ended in September. In April alone, Granite Lists brought the campaign nearly $50,000, comprising most of the total $70,930 the campaign brought in that month. In addition to flat-rate charges, candidates can set up revenue-sharing agreements, where some of the proceeds they obtain from donors are diverted back to the list owner. Candidates can also pay a flat rate of $10,500 to email Walker's entire 675,000-person email list and $7,000 to email the 225,000 donors and presidential sign-ups, according to Granite Lists website. [Granite Lists] calls Walker's donor file 'one of the hottest donor lists to hit the market in years.'"

21 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. I was young and stupid once. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    And sent Ron Paul $10.

    In return, to this day, I'm still getting batshit ramblings in my inbox from all over the Republican spectrum.

    Never again.

    1. Re:I was young and stupid once. by Noah+Haders · · Score: 2

      I sent $27 to Bernie. No regrets.

    2. Re:I was young and stupid once. by luminousone11 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I generally don't believe in charity, I believe in changing the system that created the need for charity in the first place.

      Granted I will fully admit that its a bit of a Marxist view, But you can't give with the right hand, what you toke with the left hand, its a fundamentally uneven exchange.

      Sure I could take that $27 dollars and feed a couple homeless people for a day, or I could spend that on changing the system that created the inequality that created those homeless people in the first place.

      Government provided access to health care/mental health care, low education jobs, Education, and housing programs will do much more then a single food/money donation ever could.

    3. Re:I was young and stupid once. by Noah+Haders · · Score: 2

      But you can't give with the right hand, what you toke with the left hand, its a fundamentally uneven exchange.
       

      What if you toke with both hands? Sounds good to me.

    4. Re: I was young and stupid once. by Dread_ed · · Score: 2

      Are you really operating under the easily discredited illusion that the president gets to write and pass legislation?

      Bernie would be the most stymied president ever. Besides, his political positions and socialist agenda are not why you elect him.

      You elect him to increase the political IQ of every voter in the US through the way he frames the issues, specifically not in terms of bolstering entrenched corporate and wealthy interests. You elect him for the things he would obstruct, namely the further enrichment of business interests and the wealthy .5% at the expense of everyone else.

      --
      When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
    5. Re:I was young and stupid once. by luminousone11 · · Score: 2

      It can either spend a few bucks to solve all sorts or ills, or it can spend a few bucks to cause them...

      $22,000 Average cost of policing each homeless person per year
      $45,000 Average cost per person placed in prison per year
      $75,000 Average cost per person found dead with no family, savings, or estate to auction, when funeral/cremation is left to be paid for by local government
      $130,000,000,000 Yearly cost of uncompensated health care at emergency rooms shifted onto your health care insurance premiums, and doctor copays by the poor

      Don't delude yourself, not paying isn't an option. Their is no magic scenario where you don't pay.

      We can either spend on compassionate programs to help people, or we can spend more money through various private gatekeepers and local governments and pretend we are not spending because its not on our federal tax statement, and generally have cruel outcomes that damage society as a while.

  2. If you're wondering about Democrats by chispito · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Yes, Democrats do this, too. From a 2014 article:

    The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee rented the Obama for America list twice in April, services valued at $135,000, according to an FEC report.

    --
    The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
    1. Re:If you're wondering about Democrats by Nutria · · Score: 2

      Exactly.

      Anyone shocked that Scott Walker is doing this is either (a) too naive to be allowed to breed, or (b) grossly partisan for the other side. (Anyone want to bet how naive that reporters from the Wisconsin Gazette are?)

      Besides, he's paying off his debt by doing something completely legal.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    2. Re: If you're wondering about Democrats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Note however that fact doesn't make Scott Walker a scumbag - because he is - he's just not a scumbag for this.

  3. Re:Campaign reform may be in order by Fwipp · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sure, as long as you get the X signatures required to be recognized as an official candidate.

  4. Re:Campaign reform may be in order by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The simplest way to reform the American political process would be to fund campaigns with tax money.

    There are two ways to do this, and neither is acceptable:
    1. Give most of the funding to incumbents and major parties, which helps lock-in the status quo.
    2. Give equal money to challengers, which means David Duke gets funded with tax dollars, along with every other kook who registers to run.

    Currently we have a hybrid system where candidates get matching funds for what they raise privately. There is little political will to go any further.

  5. Re:Campaign reform may be in order by Darinbob · · Score: 2

    But any campaign funds can only be used for the campaign. So save those peanuts from coach class if you go hungry. You will still need to borrow against your mortgage if you quit your day job to go campaigning.

    Oh, add a proviso to the bill that politicians only get paid when they're at work, with only 10 vacation days a year for campaigning purposes or travel, anything beyond that comes out of their pockets. Any political party meetings will have to happen after hours.

  6. Re:Campaign reform may be in order by fustakrakich · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's exactly the way it works. With enough signatures, anybody can get on the ballot. The money angle is bullshit. Money has more influence on the voter than the politician. It's being spent to convince everyone to vote 'correctly' to make sure the *right lizard* gets in. And with 98% compliance, it is an outstanding success. It is the voters who give power to money. You could vote for, say, the Greens, and turn all the other guy's money into confetti. The choice is yours, not theirs.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  7. Re:Campaign reform may be in order by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

    Um, exactly who is going to write these provisos? I mean, if we are going run the country by referendum, let's fire all the politicians and save a buckets of money. And also, if reformist politicians can win elections, "campaign reform" would be a moot issue.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  8. Where is your sponsors Scott? by siamesevodka · · Score: 2

    Apparently Charles and David Koch have abandoned their favorite son. They could pay his debts out of petty cash. But they won't. Kind of reminds you of those two old goats in the movie trading places doesn't it?

  9. Re:Campaign reform may be in order by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 2

    Sound good?

    No but it does sound like you are already well on the way to becoming a politician.

  10. Republican Financial Acumen by LMariachi · · Score: 4, Funny

    "The campaign owed $1.2 million at the end of 2015 and has paid off about $308,000 since then, according to campaign finance records."

    Did anyone expect anything else from an erstwhile rising star of the "party of fiscal responsibility?"

    Or are they not even bothering to try to push that bullshit anymore?

  11. Two methods of list-pimping by Taser · · Score: 2

    There are two different versions of list-pimping that are going on regarding e-mail lists:

    It can be sold/rented for a fixed amount ($X).
    OR
    It can be sold/rented for a fixed percentage of the incoming donations (Y%).

    An older article on Politico (Dec 2015) details the issue, where the candidate on the e-mail may not receive any of the money being donated.

    http://www.politico.com/story/...

  12. Rents out? by crtreece · · Score: 2

    How do you rent out an email list? Normally renting implies that you give the thing back at the end of the rental term, which I have a hard time believing would happen here.

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    file: .signature not found
    1. Re:Rents out? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      One way to do it -- I have no idea if this is actually what they are doing -- would be to not actually give them the email list but instead to give them access to send messages to it via an intermediary. They'd never actually see who exactly they are contacting, and access can be revoked by blocking access to that intermediary.

  13. Translation by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

    "Scott Walker Rents Out Email and Donor Lists To Pay Campaign Debt"

    Translation:

    "Scott Walker Is A Scumbag Who Doesn't Give A Shit About Your Privacy"

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...