Boffoblog: Tomorrow's Karl Rove Today

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Tomorrow's Karl Rove Today

The most immediate threat to your grandmother's Social Security isn't Bush's privatization plan, it's fundraisers for the College Republicans.

The Washington Post updates a story that has been in the news for a couple months now about the College Republican National Committee, reconstituted as a 527, bilking the elderly out of their retirement savings. And we're talking millions of dollars. If there is a silver lining at all -- and it would have to be a very tarnished one -- it is that the group was so incompetent organizationally that more than 90% of the money raised went not to campaigning but to overhead and more fundraising.

The solicitations, which were created by Response Dynamics and approved by the CRNC, at first did not say the name of the organization at all but indicated in big bold letters that it was for Bush-Cheney 2004 and generic Republican activities. After catching a little heat, they put the CRNC's name in tiny letters at the bottom while keeping the bold lettering for the national GOP efforts. To top it off, multiple mailing were sent with different messages -- as though coming from different organizations -- to the same household.

Pudentilla tells us, much to my shock and dismay, that this is not the first time Response Dynamics has used deceptive tactics to milk the savings of the elderly. OK, more dismay than shock. In at least one case, she reports, it was fear mongering over Social Security. Sounds like that's just the kind of talent the CRNC was after.

If you are concerned that your elderly relatives may have been suckered, and to see for yourself the damage done, here is the latest 527 filing the group made to the IRS. To find all their records online, go to this page at the IRS and search for "College Republican National Committee" as the Organization Name. The Center for Responsive Politics has helpfully organized the data as well. One thing you will see in perusing their latest filing from November 15 is the very large number of donors listed as "retired," many of whom made multiple donations, sometimes the same day. Not hard to figure out what was going on there.

This blog was not yet around when the story first broke, but others have covered it well. Check out posts on Off the Kuff, for example, here, here and here to follow its progression.

The cad at the heart of the story is Eric Hoplin, head of the group. A few months ago he was seen as a golden boy of Republican youth, someone who had followed the same career trajectory as Karl Rove and talked big about how many youth votes they'd win for BC04. Well, turns out the vote predictions were wrong -- Kerry won his largest proportion among young voters out of all demographics -- and now several state College Republican organizations are asking Hoplin to step down, according to the Post.

This is not the first time Hoplin and CRNC received some negative attention. At their 2003 convention, a vendor was caught selling racist and homophobic T-shirts, which a Kerry staffer discovered and exposed. Illuminating from this episode, especially in view of recent events, is a story in the "news" section of GOPUSA's website. Under the appropriately predatory name Talon News, they report:

The CRNC fired back at Kerry, issuing a press release that accused the candidate of attacking them simply to raise funds. Eric Hoplin, chairman of the organization said, "I hope bullying college students makes Senator Kerry feel big and strong after months of being beaten to a pulp by Howard Dean."

Oh, no irony there.

What I also find interesting about the whole sordid episode is the reaction of actual College Republicans. Here is what a couple of bloggers have to say:

Alex Brunk, a former Executive Director for the Georgia CRs: "Now I want to get to the bottom of this stuff more than anyone, but as a former College Republicans chapter President and state officer I'm concerned first and foremost about preserving the integrity of the organization."
Mark Harris, another CR: "Overall though it looks like this story is a non-starter, as their [sic] may have been some sever [sic] stupidity invovled [sic] (90% of proceeds going to fundraising so only 10% profit, and bad fundraising actions) but nothing illegal."

Nice to see they're so concerned about the elderly who have lost their savings due to the CRNC's deceptive practices.

But at least one College Republican is pissed off about the corrupt Hoplin regime. Read the vitriol here. I guess this one hasn't received the memo: This is the modus operandi of the right, to win at any cost. Hoplin is just following the path paved by his mentor, Karl Rove.

09:13 AM in Politics | Permalink

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December 27, 2004

Tomorrow's Karl Rove Today

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