Posted on 11/01/2004 5:40:58 AM PST by The Hound Passer
DID THE MAYOR OF PHILLY MEAN TO ADMIT THIS? [KJL]
From Hardball: MATTHEWS: let's talk resources. how much money are you getting to run this city operation, this get out the vote campaign? a couple million bucks? how much money is being spread around by the campaign to win philadelphia? i heard you're aiming at higher an 350, but to get that, that's a lot of street money, to use a term we're all familiar with, isn't it?
STREET: that's an awful lot of money. we will distribute -- we have distributed to our party workers probably between -- between $750,000 and $1 million, and that will probably be doubled or tripled by the other efforts that are going on.
And this could be the story (I pray not) tomorrow night. Soros money flying through big cities like dust to narrowly give the election to Kerry. The polls can't compete with this, not when there is only a 3 point spread on average. A larger than normal rural and suburban vote is vital for Bush if he is going to overcome these types of shenanigans. The worst part is that the media is pretending this doesn't exist. They'd rather talk about phony claims of voter suppression.
Traditionally, the democrat dead vote in Philly.
OK, for those of us that are permanent members of DENSA (and naive to boot), what is really meant by the term "walk around money"?
I have heard stories of (mostly black) churches getting new roofs in exchange for backing a certain candidate. In one northern city, I believe that a mayor was indicted for pouring city concrete to rebuild private citizens' driveways, sidewalks etc.
To put such an announcement in the media, is this little more than a broadcast appeal to Philly "ho's" to collect some money from their Dem pimpmasters, and to let them know that the money is deep and wide this year?
How can the FEC allow such blatant disregard of the law? At the least, fine Hardball and their network and sue the man that made the offer.
Of course, this sort of thing would only happen in Philly, never in Texas! ;)
The street money in Philadelphia is used to pay partisan poll workers who stand out front of precincts and hand out sample ballots to encourage the party faithful how to vote. The going rate is $100 per worker per day.
Additional workers are paid to drive people who can't get out easily, like the elderly, to the polls.
Both Republicans and Democrats here in my fair city use it. Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with it unless you believe that people shouldn't be paid for working.
ping
What law? There is no law forbidding the payment of election workers for GOTV.
Nor is it illegal to make charitable contributions to Churches, even as a quid pro quo for encouraging the congregation to vote, or encouragement to sit on ones hands. Both Republicans and Democrats do it here. How do you think Whitman won election in Jersey?
I saw Ed Rendell smiling all this weekend; confindent that he has already rigged the elections in PA and stolen it for Kerry.
"OK, for those of us that are permanent members of DENSA (and naive to boot), what is really meant by the term "walk around money"?"
Its polite talk for a bribe. A campaign, or friends of a campaign give block captains a wad of cash, which is hard to trace. They use the cash in any illegal fashion you can image to get people to vote. The recent vote for crack is a good example.
The Dems use "walking around money" in Texas too, at least in S. Texas towns like San Antonio where I used to work in Rep. campaigns.
Generally, it is money paid to a local party chieftain who then distributes it as he or she sees fit. It is supposed to go to campaign workers, but a lot of it goes into the hack's pockets.
One of the reasons that the blacks were rumbling about the Kerry campaign having frozen them out was that the traditional black leaders weren't getting their walking around money as usual from the Kerry campaign, at least early in the campaign when they were using 527s like moveon.org for organizing.
>> Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with it unless you believe that people shouldn't be paid for working.
I expect that most of the money paid is paid to relatives, friends, friends relatives and others that need to be assisted. For GOTV I have no problem with that, even if we may cringe at the implementation of the process in many cities.
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