Monday, November 19, 2007

Lawsuit filed in Texas over Swift Boat supporter's contributions; Texas governor expected to bypass Blunt for head of RGA

Bob Perry, the biggest contributor to the Swift Boat campaign that derailed the presidential aspirations of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, also spreads his considerable wealth around in his home state of Texas.

As noted in the July 19 Turner Report, Perry and his wife contributed $350,000 to Governor Matt Blunt's campaign earlier this year. That money, of course, is part of the money the governor may have to return, thanks to recent rulings by the Missouri Supreme Court and the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Perry's oversized contributions are just as controversial in Texas, according to an article in the Nov. 15 Houston Chronicle. The laundry system works just as well in Texas as it does in Missouri, the article indicates.

Perry contributed $1 million to the campaign of Gov. Rick Perry (no relation) by laundering it through the Republican Governors Association. The contributions are the subject of a lawsuit filed by a Democrat:

Bob Perry, who isn't related to the governor, donated $500,000 to the RGA on Oct. 31, 2006, according to RGA reports filed with the federal Internal Revenue Service. The very next day, the RGA made a $500,000 donation to Gov. Perry's re-election campaign. In October, Bob Perry gave $1 million to the RGA. Later in the month, the RGA donated a separate $500,000 to Gov. Perry's campaign.

The RGA, a Perry aide and a spokesman for Bob Perry all denied the money was earmarked for the governor.


The article also contains the tidbit that Gov. Perry is expected to bypass Matt Blunt (though Blunt is called by his father's name Roy in the article) to become chairman of the Republican Governors Association. The reason given is the time Blunt will have to dedicate to his re-election campaign against Attorney General Jay Nixon.

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