you are a racist. On Feb 1, 5:44 am, swamp fox <[email protected]> wrote: > New RNC Chair, Michael Steele, Was Paid by the GOP to Run for Lt. > Governor of Maryland. He Received a Party Salary to > Run.http://buzzflash.com/articles/node/7571 > When the newly elected RNC Chair, Michael Steele, ran for Lt. > Governor > of Maryland in 2002, he was paid a salary -- "consulting fees" -- by > the Republican Party to do so. > > BuzzFlash first reported this back in 2002. (Steele served as Lt. > Governor of Maryland from 2003-2007. He lost a 2006 U.S. Senate bid.) > > Eventually, the Baltimore Sun wrote an article on the rather unusual > "pay to run" arrangement: > > The Maryland Republican Party is paying Michael S. Steele $5,000 a > month in consulting fees under an arrangement that began shortly > after > his selection as gubernatorial candidate Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s > running mate. > > Although the payments appear legal, Democrats said the GOP's contract > with Steele raises ethical questions and suggests the party might be > subsidizing the living expenses of a candidate for statewide office. > > "It looks to me like they've hired themselves a candidate," said > David > Paulson, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party. > > Steele - who held the unpaid position of Republican Party chairman > when he was tapped to run for lieutenant governor - defended the > consulting arrangement yesterday, saying he negotiated the deal as a > way to continue working on party issues while he campaigns. The > contract was not a condition of his candidacy, he said. > > "I have a consulting business. I have consulting clients. I have to > take care of my family," he said. "The state is paying (the salary of > Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend) while she is running for > governor. > So what's the difference?" > > But Paulson said "there's something obscene" about the arrangement. > "They are paying a guy to be on this ticket whose very presence is > being used by Ehrlich and Republicans as a show of diversity," he > said > of Steele, who is black. "They are the ones who call it the > 'opportunity ticket.' We just didn't know how much of an opportunity > it was." > > Ehrlich announced July 1 that Steele, 43, would be his running mate, > and Steele promptly took a leave of absence as party chairman. > Campaign finance records show that he received his first $5,000 > consulting payment from the GOP on July 26. > > Maybe now that Michael Steele is RNC Chair, he'll get a year-end > "Wall > Street" bonus from the GOP! --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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