Does this get reported as income for her because it seems ultimately she is the one who decides how and where it get's spent? The PAC is not registered as a 501 (c)(3) is it? Or is it a 527 group? And what the hell does this disclaimer mean on SarahPAC?
The Official Sarah Palin PAC
Paid for by SarahPAC Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee www.SarahPAC.com |
Contributions to Sarah PAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.
Umm, huh? Their offical FAQ is, as could be expected, extremely light on details but heavy on the rah-rah sis-boom-bah cheer leading of her muddled political agenda. Is it at 501(c)(3) or a 527? Or does it exist as yet another thing that Sarah has done (or helped to be done in her name) that is somehow outside the bounds of normality and existing law? One thing for certain is that it appears to NOT be a non-profit entity because you cannot write it off on your taxes. Aren't normal political contributions tax deductible? (answering my own question, nope and nope again) As is the case with many activities by S.P., it only prompts more questions than it reveals any real answers. Stay tuned for more on this as it unfolds...*** Update ***
Here's a link to the actual FEC filing.
*** Update 2 ***
An anonymous tipster caused me to want to dig deeper, because you know it just didn't seem fair Meg Stapleton was being paid "starvation wages" (roughly around twice what I make at my day job) to run the Governor Crazypants Dog and Pony media show, so I offer an excerpt and link to this from McClatchy:
"Stapleton herself was paid $12,000 by SarahPAC and another $32,450 through IzzyLene, a consulting firm registered in her name in Alaska."
Whew! I'd hate to think the poor girl was having to decide between the Shrimp or Beef flavored TopRamen every night. You know -- like me.
Also from the AP comes this link and additional info:
"Stapleton received a monthly salary of $8,000 through her Anchorage-based public relations business, IzzyLene Consulting.
Also listed was a $4,683 payment to Stapleton's husband, Eric Steenburgh. Stapleton said she had borrowed his credit card for travel expenses for her and Palin when the governor traveled to Washington, D.C., for a high-profile political dinner at the elite Alfalfa Club."
It is interesting that it says "for her AND Palin". What? Sarah, alleged to be a known coffee grifter (another story where Palin couldn't pay for her own coffee one time on the campaign trail because she said she never carries money or credit cards -- again, what?) couldn't afford her own plane ticket and expenses? WTF? (emphasis my own)
It is entirely possible that the differing amounts shown from both sources are getting confused with monies IzzyLean Consulting eventually paid out to GOTV as listed here. Also it must be pointed out as is obvious from the above link that this is NOT money from SarahPac but rather money paid directly from the McCain campaign as listed.
For the sake of metaphor allow me to compare the quest to dig up public documents on Palin, her paid operatives and her political activities using search engines on the internet in two ways: "wheels within wheels within wheels" which is the longhand way of using the term "Ouroboros" -- the snake that eats it's own tail (with posthumous thanks to Robert Anton Wilson for introducing me to those phrases). No matter where online information is stored, the "snake" that is the internet will always be able to find, gobble it up and digest itself incessantly occasionally pooping out a fresh stinky nugget for those of us willing to sift through the detritus to discover it.
Hey! There you go, Uncle Ted! Snakes are tube-like, so NOW I understand your past confusion, sir.
-Laz
It is also interesting to note that based on the distribution list, this PAC spent nearly 1/3 of it's expenditures on "Fundraising" via EDONATIONS/Campaign Solutions.
ReplyDeleteSince the Palin fans are whipping themselves into a frenzy over the amount of money this PAC has taken in, and claim it was all done with no fundraising, I have to wonder why over $100,000.00 is paid out for "Fundraising".