SarahPAC Fourth Quarter 2010 Summary

By mxm

The PAC released its fourth quarter report in installments; to see the big picture you need to consider information from each of the 3 installments. Having multiple parts to combine, when none ends at a rational point makes the job of analysis much more difficult. This 4th quarter analysis is compiled using common sense and arithmetic. One pass is made as the reports become available, no effort is expended to go back in time and recalculate or summarize
information as updates or corrections are made. This should be considered an overview, as the sums do not match exactly the final year end Summary Reports – 2009 -2010 issued by Treasurer Crawford.

During the 3rd quarter, Treasurer Crawford received several deficiency letters related to previous reporting. The responses are not available on the FEC site. Wouldn’t you love to see those responses? The FEC deficiency letters detailed multiple issues from arithmetic errors to questions related to the various items that the PAC had paid for. These included an offset from Pie-Spy LLC, clarification of expenditures for fundraising consulting, expenses attributed to
postage, clerical consulting, office supplies, photography, video production and much more.

Cash flow

To model 4th Quarter monthly incoming cash, the daily receipts from each of the installment reports were calculated and monthly estimated receipts were then estimated.

(Please click on the images to enlarge)


Expenses

Here are the big ticket expenses (and credits) for 2010.

The Brain Trust



To start, it is very interesting to see who has come and gone over the 23 months that the PAC has been in existence. Political watchers and reporters have observed that the PAC is not employing the caliber of professionals that would advise a serious presidential contender nor is it attempting to raise money in a serious fashion. The analysis from this citizen observer confirms that opinion.

In the combined Q2-3 analysis, the current advisers were identified and some background information was captured, if you need a refresher, you can find it here.

Nobody got a raise this quarter, unlike previous quarters. Lindsay Hayes was again paid for speech writing services in October (Ten PM Medial). As a reminder, Michael Gross reported in his Vanity Fair article that Hayes left his gig with Palin in April. Nothing to worry about though, as a new speech writer has surfaced: Chriss Winston of Pomfret, Maryland was paid $4000 on November 5th for speech writing. Ms. Winston appears to be an accomplished and respected speech writer, working for both the Reagan and first Bush administrations. She is also a real author. One wonders how hard it must have been for her to work for Palin. I bet we won’t see her again.

Joshua Livestro remains on the payroll and we can see that he probably has been around since July. Beardog did the legwork on Paideia and his work resulted in the discovery that Joshua Livestro was Paideia. Elaborate lengths were employed to conceal his identity. Does the lack of transparency on both sides suggest that there is embarrassment or shame in the consulting relationship? If not, perhaps there really should be. Beardog’s own site has disappeared in
recent days. A YouTube video of his investigation is available. Beardog also looks into the secrecy surrounding the addition of Joshua Livestro as one of Sarah Palin's advisor.

Ivy Frye has remained off the PAC payroll. Her guardianship of Bristol during the DWTS series was not paid for by the PAC. Marilyn Lane did however get reimbursed for $2623 for correspondence and postage on October 27th. Did we see her in the audience at a DWTS contest around that time or was it the other long-time family friend who also happens to be on the PAC payroll, Carol Ryan? Does anybody remember?

In one of the last PAC installments, RAM’s job description was again expanded. Her responsibilities grew to include “Quick Response”. RAM was very quick to respond in defense of Palin following the tragic mass shooting in Tucson, as reported by Alaska Dispatch. We have speculated on RAM’s silence in recent days and some may worry about her silence and her welfare. Would she have any unemployment benefits should she ever lose her job with SarahPAC? The answer to that is a big NO. It’s interesting that RAM has never been paid for any expenses. No postage, no travel, no nothing. I wonder if she has ever met with Palin in person.

The average consultant spend continues to run around $300,000 per quarter.

Internet Fund Raising



In 2009, SarahPAC spent $279046 on internet fundraising. For 2010, Upstream Communications has been the primary
SarahPAC internet fundraiser. This company took over from Edonations in December 2009.

As a reminder, Upstream is the company founded by Karl Rove, as Karl Rove + Co., in 1981. He sold the company to Ted Delisi and Todd Olsen in 2000, so that he could dedicate himself to Bush. The company is tightly woven into the fabric of
TX and GOP politics.

Direct Mail and The Mama Grizzly

The PAC has again invested in direct mail efforts to raise funds. The costs of direct mail campaigns likely include printing, postage, thank-you correspondence, and direct mail firm services. It is unclear if Passcode developed a new video to promote Palin, or if the 2 payments seen in the 4th quarter are remaining amounts due from the Mama Grizzly video.

Four entries documenting likely duplicate transactions appear on page 4 of 5, Schedule B Itemized Disbursements, 11/23 – 12/31. These are big amounts but it is just sloppy, very, very sloppy. There are only 11 or 12 entries per page and just 5 pages total. Timothy Crawford, McLean, VA was reimbursed for postage in the amount of $980 on 12/02/2010. The Arlington, VA postmaster was paid $980 for stamps on 12/17/2010. The Wasilla, AK postmaster was paid $456 for PO Box rental and postage on 11/22/2010. Marilyn Lane, Wasilla, AK was reimbursed for PO Box rental and postage in the amount of $456 on 11/24/2010. They sure look like dupes to me, or were they acutally paid twice?

Trinkets and Meat

The PAC did not invest in any trinkets, photos or holiday gifts during the last quarter. Wasn’t there a book tour? Notrinkets? No photographs? I am not going to talk about the meat again.

Books and More Books

What do you read?

The second book didn’t do so well. Our friend Jason Easley at Politicususa summarized the doldrums surrounding America By Heart.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The PAC is still not itemizing expenses covered under the Visa bill; 24% of travel expenses are not itemized as required by FEC regulations. Three private charters were used during the fourth quarter. There are no travel expenses for December. Again, it looks like Palin runs a tab with airlines and hotels. Or she is getting someone else to pay?

PAC Business

There were credits for uncashed checks to the Michele Bachmann for Congress, MN, campaign (2500) and the Coffman for Congress, CO, campaign (5000). Did these candidates have scruples?

Several small reimbursements were made during the quarter to SarahPAC contributors.

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A big thank you to mxm for doing this analysis with such good humour. You can uncross your eyes now, mxm. Give them a good rest.
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