Special PACs Spent Money at Resorts, Book Says
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/us/politics/questions-about-politicians-use-of-leadership-pacs.html
The book details the extravagant expenses of Senator Saxby Chambliss, Republican of Georgia, for instance, whose leadership PAC spent $10,000 on golf at Pebble Beach, nearly $27,000 at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, and $107,752 at the exclusive Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Fla. The amount Mr. Chambliss spent at the Breakers in the 2012 election cycle, the book reports, is three times what the senator gave to the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the same period.
Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, racked up $65,000 in expenses during the 2012 cycle at a resort on South Carolina’s exclusive Kiawah Island, the book says. That was more than he transferred to his party’s senatorial committee, despite raising $1.1 million.
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Democrats come out looking equally profligate. The book points out that Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York used his leadership PAC to pay for a painting of himself that cost $64,500. Representative Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut used hers to pay for catered parties at her home several times a month.
The book also seeks to draw attention to the influence that businesses have over elected officials, which has become a galvanizing cause for conservatives like Mr. Schweizer and Tea Party activists, whose brand of politics thrives on the tension of outsiders working against a system they believe is corrupted by insider interests.
