Sean Bielat, the Teahadist candidate that unsucsessfully challenged Barney Frank for reelection in Mass., made an unusual albeit legal payment to himself in the final days of the campaign, the Boston Globe reported.
Bielat made the payment to himself two days after the final pre-election reporting deadline for FEC disclosure reports. The delay meant the details of the payment were not reported to the FEC until late November.
The timing of the payments underscores the Free Lunch/Teahadist approach to politics and it is ironic given that Bielat railed at Frank in the campaign over non-disclosure of campaign contributions.
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Bielat didn't deny he took contributions but was defensive when asked about it by a Globe reporter.
In an interview this week, Bielat acknowledged that he held off taking the salary until the final weeks of the race to avoid sparking a debate that would deflect attention from campaign issues. As a candidate, he had promised a transparent office. But he said he and his wife were cash-strapped as Election Day approached.
“The fact you are calling me is indicative of how much of a distraction from the campaign and from the discussion of the issues of the economy and jobs it would have been,’’ he said. “I did not want that distraction.’’
In other words, do as I say and not as I do. Typical Teahadist GOPocrite. They complain about one thing, claim they never do it and when they are caught, they claim it's a distraction. Now that's a real profile in courage...Not!
In addition to the $10,000, the Brookline Republican’s campaign lists another $14,300 in debt owed to him.
Bielat said that money represents an additional salary payment he earmarked for himself, but never took.
According to the Globe, changes in FEC law after 2002 make it legal for candidates to draw a salary from their own campaign funds. The theory was that it would encourage lower income candidates to run against the Meg Whitman's and Carly Fiorina's of the political world. Instead, the law created situations like where Christine O'Donnell lived in her campaign headquarters and literally lived off of her campaign donations.
I would not go so far as to accuse Bielat of doing what the Wicked Witch of the Eastern Seaboard was doing. Unlike O'Donnell, he actually held a high paying job before running. Reporter Frank Phillips listed Bielat's salary around $160,000.
On the other hand, his campaign raised $2.1 million. So I guess he felt entitled to it. Typical Teahadist.