TPMMuckraker Erick Erickson
Nikki Haley
Folks Fires Back At RedState's Erickson: 'I Have Never Tried To Sell This Story'
Justin Elliott | May 27, 2010, 2:39PM
Will Folks (Erick Erickson inset)
This afternoon conservative commentator Erick Erickson of RedState, a strong supporter of South Carolina gubernatorial candidate NIkki Haley, accused blogger Will Folks of receiving a payoff to push the story of an alleged affair between Folks and Haley -- a charge Folks is strenuously denying.
In a post titled "BREAKING: We Know Who Did It," which features a Drudge siren, Erickson writes: "Who paid Will Folks? He was alleged offered money. A LOT of money. In fact, RedState now confirms through a whole heap of sources that he's been trying to sell this story for a year."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (26) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)Topics: 2010 Elections, Erick Erickson, Nikki Haley, RedState, South Carolina, Will Folks
Base Connect
Notorious GOP Firm Still Fleecing Longshot Candidates
Zachary Roth | March 8, 2010, 8:19AM
Republican Congressional candidate Bill Russell and Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA)
BMW Direct, the GOP fundraising firm known for taking long-shot candidates for a ride while raking in big bucks off their campaigns, has re-emerged under a new name -- but with a similar modus operandi. And this time around, even some Republicans are crying foul, with one consultant accusing the firm of engaging in "sub-prime fundraising."
One 2010 client of BMW Direct -- now rechristened as Base Connect -- is William Russell, the retired lieutenant colonel who is running for the Pennsylvania Congressional seat of the late John Murtha. Russell's campaign raised over $895,000 in the fourth quarter of last year, according to federal disclosure records. But it paid over $719,000 of that amount -- about 80 percent -- to Base Connect, and other companies associated with it, which ran the company's direct-mail fundraising program. For the year as a whole, Russell's campaign raised over $2.8 million, but spent over $2.6 million -- much of it again going to Base Connect -- leaving it with cash on hand of just $211,000.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (18) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)Topics: BMW, Base Connect, Bill Russell, Erick Erickson, Freedom's Defense Fund, Fundraising, Joseph Cao, Kimberly Bellissimo, Scott Mackenzie
Tea Parties
RedState Founder: Tea Party Convention 'Smells Scammy'
Zachary Roth | January 12, 2010, 9:22AM
We told you yesterday about the fears among Tea Party activists that a planned national convention, at which Sarah Palin will speak, is too expensive for regular folks to attend -- and may be a bid by corporate or political interests to co-opt the movement. (TPMmuckraker -- or half of it -- talked about the issue with Rachel Maddow last night.)
And it sounds like at least one influential conservative voice agrees.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (24) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Erick Erickson, Tea Parties
Follow us!
Most Popular
TPM Stories Now Surging on Digg.com
TPM Top News
© 2010 TPM Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
