Posted on 10/20/2015 8:28:18 PM PDT by BlackFemaleArmyColonel
The fiscal conservative hasn’t been conservative with his campaign contributions.
Ben Carson is trailing Donald Trump by just a couple points in the latest Real Clear Politics average of national polls of Republican primary voters nationally, and he’s leading the pack in another important metric—fundraising. The retired neurosurgeon announced last week that his campaign had raked in $20.8 million in donations in the third quarter, the most of any Republican candidate. But Federal Election Commission filings also show that he spent $14.2 million during that same period, more than any Republican. Given his huge fundraising hauls so far, he still has the second most cash on hand of any of the Republican field, but given the fact that much of his support comes from small donations, it’s unclear whether these supporters can be tapped again and again like the wealthy and well-connected boosters of some of his rivals.
So what is Carson spending all this money on? You have to spend money to make money, and the Carson campaign’s biggest expense is fundraising itself. Here’s the Wall Street Journal:
In all, Mr. Carson directed $11 million of the $14 million he spent in the third quarter to fundraising costs. The campaign spent nearly $5 million—a quarter of its total haul—on social media, email marketing and online advertisements. Mr. Carson’s Facebook presence in particular has drawn attention for the size of his audience. Last month, he surpassed GOP front-runner Donald Trump to become the candidate with the most fans on Facebook. He spent $2.6 million on direct mail, $1.4 million on telemarketing and another $57,000 on the campaign website.
There’s also the matter of what Politico has called Carson’s “appetite for the good life.” It points out that he has spent thousands of dollars on swanky hotels and steak dinners,
(Excerpt) Read more at fortune.com ...
Check his consultants.
“There’s also the matter of what Politico has called Carson’s “appetite for the good life.”
You mean, the good doctor has a thing for the bling?
Consider his recent alignment with Al Sharpton ... he will burn through what is left to no avail.
First you posted from the Huff Po now from Mr. Tingles?
Is Alt net.org next?
It doesn’t matter anymore. Army Captain..he said he and Sharpton have the same goals tonight..
My reply.
WOW!!
Sharpton, who said during the Brawley thing “we’re gonna be the most powerful n...as in this city” because of this.
Sharpton, who destroyed Stphen Pagones’ life, with severe colitis and almost nervous breakdown.
Sharpton, who fed the flames for koreans to burn alive in a store.
Sharpton, who was caught on tape making coke deals.
Sharpton, who was caught on tape working with the mafia.
Sharpton, who owes 4 million in taxes.
Yes, I live in NYC and have seen it all.
I’m just a dumb Italian :), but this is all true and just like Rand meeting Sharpton was it for me, so is this.
There are SO MANY great black leaders, and Carson is still a great voice to be heard, but not for president after that comment.
Giuliani CRUSHED the mafia in NYC, all five boroughs. I knew more than a few of the guys who could no longer work at the fulton fish market, operate stands at the Genaro feast, were put in prison!!
When Gotti got put away there were a few dozen protesters. for what? He was an animal. Believe me!! and his son was/is too. Have cousin that was bouncer where he frequented and stories are pretty brutal.
They all made their bed. Just because i’m italian doesn’t mean i sympathize.
Sharpton is poison to black people. Carson needs to take that statement back to have a chance.
Read his interview with Kai Ryssdal on “Marketplace” and perhaps he is not as conservative as you may think.
Well, based on the polls, at least Carson is getting some bang for his bucks, unlike Yeb.
My response ro this article is “so what?”.
I don’t see any consequences.
...Just as I don’t see Carson’s appeal. ( A nice negro?)
That would be only a fraction of the $14m spent last quarter. I work in Manhattan and average 2-3 nights a week in hotel rooms and eat out most nights there. My expenses are no more than $60k a year - which is less than a half percent of $14 million (0.43%)
Obviously the bulk of Carson's money is spent on fundraising, which is probably not sustainable as we get deeper into the race.
If Carson is going to keep raising the kind of money required to compete, he's going to have to show us a little more than he has so far. Trump is about to run away with this thing and he hasn't even started to spend his money. I think with the money he raised last quarter (unsolicited donations), he only had to put about $100,000 out of pocket.
“He is a nice man, but that may be it.”
Now that we have some indications that he’s a supporter of Al Sharpton, he’s not a nice man either. It’s Trump, or nothing for me!
He knows how to spend peoples money fast.
Doctors bills obviously, $20 for an aspirin.
Dr.C burns through $$ like MC Hammer
She’s a Trump Toady. Anyone who’s not Donald Trump is bashworthy to her.
How childish is that?
I still can’t find anyone on FR who supports this guy and why.
Carson is an amnesty pimp, so discovering where Carson is spending his money is the least of the problems we have with him.
It is fascinating that Carson spent 11 million just on fundraising. I’ve read articles before suggesting that Carson is simply a cash cow for the advisers/campaigners who talked him into running for President to begin with. It would be interesting to see which people in Carson’s campaign are getting the most money, and what they’re being paid to do.
I’m not sure about Ben Carson yet, though I do like him. There are things that concern me. For now I’ll reserve judgement, see how it plays out; the next few months will tell the tale.
This piece was not written by the Chris Mathews we all know.
http://fortune.com/author/chris-matthews/
He also wrote about Ted Cruz’s fund raising:
http://fortune.com/2015/10/09/ted-cruz-funding/
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