Millionaire Paying People $25 to Install Mike Gravel Yard Signs in NH

[NewHampster]

From Blue Hampshire http://www.bluehampshire.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2186

Millionaire Greg Chase Paying $25 for People to Install Mike Gravel Yard Signs in NH

I would like Senator Mike Gravel to be the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee. I think he ideas are fantastic and he says it like it is.

So, I will pay anyone in NH with a reasonably visible and prominent yard $25 for the priveledge to install a Mike Gravel sign on their property! Very simple. Just email me your address and I will have my people come to you and drop an evelope in you mailbox. Your only obligation is to keep the sign visible and use the cash to take a friend to a bar for a few beers and tell them about Senator Gravel!

Greg

Cline doesn't mention it, but "Greg" is most likely the millionaire Greg Chase, who was written about by Blue Hamster BTB in this excellent article. Chase, a hedge fund manager, is also buying full page newspaper ads and attempting to bribe networks into letting Gravel participate in debates.

Personally, I supported Gravel when he was actually on the ground campaigning -- now that he's running an armchair campaign, I think he should get out of the way and stop sucking up media time.

But that's beside the point. Paying people to host yard signs, whether coordinated by the campaign or not, is clearly against the spirit of campaign finance laws.

Is it against the letter?

And how do we fix this?.....
****************************
NewHampster thinks this scum Greg Chase is a repug who wants to screw with our primary.

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

1. Confusing header-- I thought you were talking about a gravel business.

[NewHampster]

5. Well maybe I'll un-confuse it

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

8. I may be only one that was confused. GO SOX !!!!!!

Can't wait for the game.

I'm in MA and have a son in Denver so it's been quite a couple of days. He's for the Sox,of course, and heading to a bar with other Sox fans for tonight's game.

[NewHampster]

9. I heard there's a Sox bar in Denver

Go Sox

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

10. The Pour House .

[Recursion]

2. I'll be honest, I'm missing the outrage here...

Rich guy spends money renting signage for a candidate he likes. And?

[Clintonista2]

3. The guy is a repug trying to screw with our primaries

At least that's what the OP says. If that's the truth, then I can see the outrage there.

[Recursion]

15. *shrug* I had a "McCain" sticker in '04 hoping it would help beat *

I admit it's a fine line, but even if this guy's a repug, there's always been some amount of discreetly screwing with each other's primaries.

I'm also not sure whose votes we imagine he's "stealing" towards Gravel; personally I only see Kucinich supporters and a few Edwards supporters being interested.

And I also don't see why it's improbable that this guy actually likes Gravel...

[NewHampster]

4. Paying for yard sign space

He could careless if they support Mike Gravel. Yard signs are intended to show one's voluntary support. Not paid support.

[Recursion]

16. "Intended"?

Yard signs, to me, are intended to raise awareness of candidates and, generally, give people a number or URL they can use to
A) research the candidate
B) donate

Since Gravel's name recognition with the general public is probably somewhere along the lines of Marcel Proust, renting yard signs seems like his best shot to me, and I don't see how it's any more odious than renting billboards.

[Richard Steele]

6. I don't think it's about "outrage", but more a sign of desperation. (no pun intended)

If you actually need to -PAY- people to display your campaign signs,
your campaign is in sad shape.

Sounds like the Gravel Campaign just fired up the motorboat, to me.

[NewHampster]

7. In NH we always assume the Repubs

are up to dirty tricks again. They'd love to have the crazy guy in the dem debates to keep things funny rather than focused.

[Richard Steele]

12. OIC. That makes sense. nm

[Mojorabbit]

11. Gravel

was at our rally yesterday in Orlando and also gave a speech at the netroots and progressive meeting at the state Dem convention. He is still campaigning. I like underdogs.

[NewHampster]

13. Nothing wrong with underdogs

Paying people to support you is wrong.

[Mojorabbit]

14. I was commenting

on your comment that he was not actively campaigning. He is. He is talking about the DLC, he is talking about paper ballots, he is talking about ending the war and avoiding the next one, he is talking about the partys move to the right and their allegience to wall street. He is also upset he was excluded from the next debate. He is scrappy and I like that.

[NewHampster]

18. You are right but I think the debates need to tighten up

People do use the debates to differentiate the group and someone who has no chance just confused the already confused.

[MonkeyFunk]

17. I bet this would run afoul of campaign finance laws

if he exceeded $2,300. Of course, its unlikely he would find 9,200 people willing to put a Gravel sign in their yard, even for money.