Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Third party chutzpah

Remember Americans Elect? That group that plans to run as a third-party ticket and is currently seeking placement on all fifty state ballots? According to Dan Froomkin, they are now refusing to disclose the identity of their donors. That, of course, is illegal for a political party. But now they're claiming that they're not really a party:
Kahlil Byrd, the group's CEO, said it is operating "completely within the bounds" of the law. He noted that unlike a traditional political group,"Americans Elect has no candidate and has no issue."
Um, yeah, but according to their own website, they're planning a nominating convention for next June to, you know, pick a candidate and a platform:
Americans Elect is creating the first nonpartisan presidential nomination in U.S. history.
  • YOU DECIDE THE ISSUES.
  • YOU CHOOSE THE CANDIDATES.
  • YOU NOMINATE THE PRESIDENT.
 So why would they want to hide the identity of their donors? Froomkin continues:
As for the donors, [Byrd] said, the reason they want to remain secret is to avoid political payback. "This is a very tough political environment," he said. "Retribution is real."
Huh? Personally, I think donating to the organization is a waste of one's money, but I wasn't planning to kneecap anyone for doing it. Just who is planning some sort of "retribution"?

(h/t Kevin Collins)

1 comment:

Geoff G said...

Retribution? The most salient aspect of the people behind AE is that they're impervious to shame. That makes retribution very difficult, unless what they're saying is that since they're impervious to shame, their opponents may decide that violence is the only way to shut them up. They shouldn't worry - from the dawn of history to the present (according to a cab driver I talked to the other day), the pitchfork mobs have never gone after someone for being fatuous. If it were otherwise, Brooks and Friedman, among too many others, would use pseudonyms and live in an undisclosed location.