RNC Funding Northern Mariana Islands

[ccharles000]

The RNC has transferred $20K to the Northern Mariana Islands in the past 2 months, according to FEC reports, in what could be support for local candidates or, RNC critics say, political payback.

The transfers, made in Oct. and Nov., are a tiny fraction of the $6M RNC chair Michael Steele has sent to state parties. But the money to the small island territory with a population around 86K is a strange investment for a national party: The Northern Mariana Islands have no voting members of Congress and no electoral votes to offer the GOP's eventual pres. nominee.

Instead, the transfers could be political payback for votes at the RNC. Steele won his race to head the national GOP with backing from the committee's 5 island constituencies -- the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Under RNC rules, each territory has as many voting members on the committee as a state, giving the Northern Mariana Islands as much sway over the committee as, say, TX or CA.

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/01/rnc_funding_nor.php

[RepublicanElephant]

1. Marianas

"But the money to the small island territory with a population around 86K is a strange investment for a national party: The Northern Mariana Islands have no voting members of Congress and no electoral votes to offer the GOP's eventual pres. nominee."

but they DO have plenty of slave labor and can put "made in the usa" on products.

and repubs LOVE them some slave labor.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. That's something the Dems need to look into shutting down

The Democratic Congress prior to 1994 was moving towards extending labor protections to workers there but then the Republicans took over in 1994 effectively killing off any hopes of reform. This is something that Senator (god, I love saying that!:headbang:) Al Franken should work on as he devoted a fairly significant section of his book, "The Truth (with jokes)" to discussing the plight of the workers there.

[TheBigotBasher]

2. K&R

The GOP are crooks. Something that must be rammed home between now and November.

[Brother Buzz]

3. Doolittle, Pombo, DeLay, and Jack Abramoff are all gone...

New faces to pick up and carry the water. Same old, same old.

[levander]

5. $20K!! you really got them now!

They shouldn't even be sending a nickel to the Mariana Islands!!

[tanyev]

6. The RNC just can't quit them.

[ensho]

7. didn't the neo cons torture people there? and put the disappeared

people there?