Left in the Heartland

On the eve of the RPM meeting to elect state officers, a squabble has broken out in the Kingdom of the Pachyderm Blogs.

Now, most of the coverage concerns the race for the chair, where there's actually a contest. However, although none of the mainstream media has picked up on the issues surrounding Eibensteiner's running mate, rightie bloggers have picked up the topic.

Samples of the discussion can found here, here, here, and here. The last blog contains scans of a letter sent out by Glen Menze and Eric Hoplin's response. I read the latter document with fascination.

Now, as a celebrated Southern poet once wrote, take your shoes off, this is going to be a long one, as I try to outline and document the long tail of the CRNC scandal.

Eric Hoplin is casting himself as hero in the CRNC-RDI senior citizen fundraising scandal, claiming that one of his first acts as chair was to move to end RDI's 1992 contract. But it just took too long, doggone it.

Funny, but the CRNC's fundraising efforts (along with that of the rest of the right-wing begathon) drew criticism as early as 1993, in this first person account from the WaPo's Ken Ringel:

The Washington Post
July 4, 1993
How GOP Computers Got My Mama;And How They Might Get You
Ken Ringle

I FIRST realized my mother wasn't equipped for the age of junk-mail politics the day she tried to RSVP a mass mailing from the Reagan White House.

"I want you to know," she told me over the phone one day in the early 1980s. "I've been invited to a reception for the president."

"You have?"

"Yes, it says I'm one of a select group invited out to Andrews Air Force Base to welcome President Reagan home from his historic European trip. But you know, I can't leave your stepfather alone after his stroke. I'll have to write and send my regrets."

"Mother," I said, "I don't really think they expect an RSVP. They've sent thousands of those out. They want a crowd for the cameras."

"Don't be ridiculous!" she said. "It has my name right here in the middle of the invitation."

I let it go. I had tried in the past to tell Mother about the cynical realities of computerized voter manipulation, but she wouldn't buy it. She comes from a gentler time and spent most of the century as a Navy wife, deeply imbued with the ethos of duty-honor-country. Her sole fling at partisan politics had come 20 years before when friends, hoping to distract her from grief after my father's death, had her named an alternate Louisiana delegate to the 1964 GOP convention. She had returned delighted with her adventure but appalled that in the convention fervor she'd ended up among the mob booing Nelson Rockefeller, a man she actually admired.

She was never politically active again, but out of a sense of patriotic duty she sent off the occasional modest contribution to the GOP in answer to a fundraising letter. Which, of course, started it all.

"I wish you'd do something about the Republican Party," she began telling me around 1987. "Honestly, I send them money but they just keep asking for more and more."

"Mother, each time you contribute, the computer kicks you onto a more valuable list," I told her. "Each time you send in a contribution you look like a bigger pigeon to them and touch off even more appeals for money. If you want the letters to stop, just stop sending money."

I mailed her a 1983 article I'd done on the mechanics of direct mail fundraising. But her complaints continued. I didn't recognize them as cries for help.

Around 1990, Mother began to evidence occasional periods of anxiety. She was then 83, still indomitable and upbeat, the same little white-glove lady who in her lifetime had both danced with royalty and driven cattle and, in her 65th year, ridden an elephant in Ankor Wat. But on her frequent visits north she'd start fretting, almost upon arrival, about the need to return home to "take care of my papers." Since we children knew her affairs were far from complicated, we couldn't imagine what these papers were, and decided they involved projects with the church in which she'd always been active. We noticed the increasing political detritus around her house -- videos about Oliver North, books about the communist menace -- but since Mother appeared neither to watch, read nor even notice any of it, we ignored it too.

Then last year Mother became ill and asked my sister to handle her bills and mail. "It's just too much worry," Mother said. "I get so very frustrated with it."

The "papers" that worried her so, we discovered, were an avalanche of junk mail -- mail begging, pleading, demanding money. The appeals ranged from the American Council for Indian Youth to the Wilderness Society, but 90 percent came from the National Republican Party, one of its numerous fund-raising subsidiaries, or some strident conservative cause. In a single 30-day period this year she received 65 such first-class letters. There was no counting the third-class mail.

There were letters from the Republican National Committee, the Republican Senatorial Committee, the Committee for Republican Leadership, the College Republican National Committee, the President's Club, the President's Dinner and something called the Republican Presidential Task Force about which we were to learn more.

There were letters from the National Security Center, the National Tax Limitation Committee, the National Taxpayers Union, the National Legal and Policy Center, the Citizens Against Government Waste, Citizens for a Sound Economy, Americans for Freedom, the National Citizens Task Force Opposed to Homosexuals in the Military, the National Right to Work Foundation, the U.S. Justice Foundation and soon-to-be Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, whose literature trumpeted an endorsement from Rush Limbaugh.

But more significant than the number and source of such letters -- and the list above is by no means complete -- was their tone and content. Often alarmist, sometimes unctuously flattering, other times cozily clubby and almost always misleading, they appeared targeted specificially to elderly people -- to the vulnerability of those to whom the Depression and World War II remain traumatic memories and all mail comes freighted with significance.

""Don't you think," asked one, "that you and other concerned Americans like you should know who 'The 25 Most Dangerous Enemies of Traditional Values in Washington' are? V-PAC does -- details inside."

"Dear Friend," wrote J. Peter Grace of the Citizens Against Government Waste, "I'm writing to recruit your help in what could be our last chance to eliminate the deficit before it sets off a very serious economic crisis."

Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice wrote that "the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, N.O.W. and other groups are dedicated to the destruction of the American family . . . . Help us defend liberty, life and the family . . . ."

Peter T. Flaherty of something called the National Legal and Policy Center pleaded for money to help remove Sen. Edward Kennedy from the Senate Armed Services Committee, not only for his "public drunkenness and lewd behavior" but because of his "love for communism." "From Vietnam to Nicaragua to Angola, Kennedy . . . never met a communist he didn't like."

The letters frequently would send a "membership card" together with an announcement that Mother's "dues" were "overdue" -- a ploy especially effective with a generation raised to take debt and obligations seriously.

They were also skillfully packaged to look "official," and even nonpartisan, frequently in the guise of a ballot or survey. Paul Jacob, who identifies himself as executive director of something called U.S. Term Limits, designed his fund appeal to look like a government mailing, complete with yellow-brown foldover envelope stamped "OFFICIAL FEDERAL PETITION ENCLOSED."

The Republican National Committee designed its "U.S. TAXPAYER BALLOT ON CONGRESSIONAL PORK BARREL SPENDING" to look like a real absentee ballot, complete with meaningless but official looking "Postal Audit" and ballot numbers and "pork-barrel veto pen" that writes in red ink.

The Republicans, in fact, put together all aspects of the distortion and deception business better than any other of Mother's direct mail entreaters. A March 31 letter from Albert E. Mitchler, executive director of the Republican Presidential Task Force, for example, was enclosed in a windowed-envelope easily mistaken for one containing an income tax refund or a Social Security payment. Her address even appeared through the cellophane window on blue-green paper similar in color to a government check.

Inside, the letter from Mitchler informed her that her "membership status" in the task force was "presently listed as LAPSED." The threatening looking return envelope was stamped in red "Attention: Comptroller" and the enclosure looked and read like a bill despite the small print at the bottom reading "This is not a bill."

I was musing in fascination over another letter, Mother's official nomination by Sen. Phil Gramm to the Republican Senatorial Inner Circle, when my sister called.

"You're not going to believe this," she said. "Guess how much those people have gotten from her in the past year?" She mentioned a four-figure sum, modest in the major leagues of political fund-raising but considerable to Mother. Yet that wasn't the big news. "That's more than she gave the church," my sister said.

To understand the significance of that, you would have to know my mother, how much her faith means to her and how generously and fervently she works to shape her life and her actions to its tenets. What would horrify her, we both realized, was not just the sum she'd mailed out but what it appeared to say, in comparison with her church contributions, about the priorities in her life. We knew there was no way she could have done that on purpose.

My sister, a political conservative who votes Republican as often as not, was appalled. On her suggestion, I called a lawyer friend in Washington who had managed affairs for my elderly godparents and admires Mother immensely. He was furious.

"I see those letters all the time," he said, "and they are despicable. Those letters aren't sent to you and me. They are designed to prey on the moral sense of that particular generation for whom obligations are sacred and debt is a plague. Write and tell them to get their hands off her."

Before I could, my sister called back.

"They've tapped into her checking account," she said.

"What?" I said.

"They've been taking out $ 20 a month automatically." She had checked with Mother's banker in Louisiana, a very conservative Republican and a close friend for many years. "He was furious," she said. "He says he thinks it's illegal."

The account-tappers, it turned out, were the ubiquitous Republican Presidential Task Force, the address of which was 425 2nd Street NE, home base of the Republican Senatorial Committee. I rang up the committee and was eventually connected to Will Black, who identified himself as a staff assistant. He was very polite and agreeable.

The task force was set up by Ronald Reagan in 1981, he said, as a branch of the Senatorial Committee. Obviously, it solicits separate contributions from the same people. Mother had signed an authorization for automatic deduction in 1989. Since then -- he paused to check his computer records -- she had contributed more than $ 900.

"It's all perfectly legal," he said. "It's set up that way so she won't be bothered with a lot of fundraising mail."

I let the flatulent falsity of that statement pass unremarked (the GOP was currently dunning Mother at the rate of three letters a week) and informed him that Mother was ill and that my sister, who had her power of attorney, wanted the deduction stopped immediately.

"No problem," he said. "I'll make a note of it right away."

As I hung up the phone I tried to keep things in perspective, to remind myself that it's a caveat emptor world out there and that everyone, even one's mother, is accountable for their actions. I reminded myself that the Democrats, after all, had started fear-mongering the elderly years ago by waving around the prospect of GOP repeal of Social Security. I reminded myself of the apocalyptic money appeals I wastebasket daily from all sorts of liberal and environmental causes, many of which paint dark visions of conspiracies from the political right, and I asked myself how and why all this was any different.

Because they're messing with your momma, I said. And she deserves better, especially from people she believed in.

On March 25, Mother received a letter from one Brett Babson-Doss, electronic funds transfer director of the Presidential Task Force. She apologized for "any misunderstanding that may have developed regarding this program." And then asked for more money. A week later the GOP tried to reach Mother directly via registered mail.

By this time she was much better and decided to take over her checkbook again. We asked her if she wanted to renew her contributions to the GOP.

"Oh, my Lord, no. Keep all that away from me. I don't want them even to know where I am."

On June 17, the Presidential Task Force finally fulfilled my request for a copy of Mother's authorization for the automatic electronic fund transfer from her bank account. It is clearly signed in her handwriting and includes, in print so tiny as to be almost unreadable, the conditions of the agreement. One interesting feature, listed in large capitals with a box for the donor to initial is INFLATION GUARD. The tiny print explains that this feature authorizes the task force "to increase monthly charge by 10 percent factor on each 12-month anniversary of the initial charge." There is no requirement that inflation actually be occurring. To her great credit, Mother didn't initial the box.

"You know," she told me last month in Louisiana, "I just can't understand how I lost control of those contributions so. I thought Ronald Reagan was just great, and I had such hopes for George Bush. You know he was a neighbor of some friends of ours and I was very fond of him and his wife. But I was so disappointed in him this last campaign, and I got so frustrated and confused with all these demands for money. I would send them something with the best intent and here would come another letter for something else. I'm just glad to be rid of it." The following night there was a long distance call for Mother. The caller initially refused to identify herself. My sister insisted.

"It's somebody from the Presidential Task Force," my sister said. "Would you like to talk to her?"

"Oh, Lord, no!" said Mother. "You handle it."

She's always been a very strong woman. But there was something very like fear in her eyes.

Ken Ringle is a Washington Post reporter.

More complaints were aired in this 2002 article in the Fort
Fort Wayne News Sentinel, but heh, second verse, same as the first:

April 5, 2002
Senior scams; Seniors such as a Fort Wayne woman with dementia who gave away thousands of dollars are vulnerable to solicitations.
Jennifer L. Boen

A Fort Wayne woman with dementia wrote nearly $50,000 in checks within six months, mostly to political organizations. She doesn't recall making the donations, but her family wants the money back.

The more Mary donated, the more money the organizations pleaded for. They told the 82-year-old our nation is in danger of communist takeover and implied the letter writers had close ties with President Bush and other high-ranking government officials.

All the solicitations were through the mail.

And, even though one organization quickly acknowledged Mary's donations, it apparently did not report them on the required IRS form. Republican Strategy Headquarters cashed seven of her $1,000 checks during the first six months of 2001, but the organization's IRS Form 8871 does not include them among its list of 17 donations exceeding $200.

It's a family's worst nightmare, said niece Jan Rediger of Leo, who asked that her aunt's full name not be published.

Last summer, her aunt told her, "The bank has stolen $30,000."

"I knew things were going downhill when I stopped by to see her and there were stacks of mail everywhere, especially from Republican groups.

"There were hundreds of letters, most of them addressing her by her first name. She thought they were letters to her personally. She didn't realize they were form letters. They all asked for money," Rediger said.

"When she sent them checks, they sent thank-you's and requested larger amounts. She didn't remember writing the checks."

NUMEROUS REQUESTS A DAY
A longtime Republican, Mary had donated to the Republican National Committee and other conservative causes through the years. But the most she had donated annually was $500 - until 2001.

Last year, she began getting more letters from the College Republican National Committee, which is affiliated with the Republican National Committee.

Mary also received 20-30 letters a day from lesser-known GOP groups, including the National Republican Victory Campaign, Republican Strategy Headquarters, Republican Headquarters 2001 and the National Republican Leadership Committee.

All her checks were deposited and cashed, including several Mary made out to individuals listed as directors of the organizations.

Mary had worked for a large Fort Wayne corporation, rising to a well-paid position in which she wrote checks and handled large sums of money. She and her husband, who died in 1995, had no children. Her closest relatives are two nieces and an elderly brother.

"She was fiercely independent. She had invested their money and done very well," Rediger said. "But I knew things weren't right whenever I stopped by. She got very defensive if I asked her about anything financial."

Then came the day last fall when Mary could not account for $30,000 missing from her savings account. Her nieces began checking her bank statements. They discovered she had written many checks, sometimes $1,000 to the same political group in one day.

"I realized she'd spent nearly $50,000, but (she) had no idea what she'd done," Rediger said. She contacted her aunt's bank.

The nieces filed for emergency guardianship so they could take charge of Mary's account.

"I'm a Republican and so is my sister," Rediger said. "We don't care if she gives to the Republicans, but this issue is about how the organizations are going about getting the donations."

URGENT REQUESTS
One letters said:

"I need you to send your $200 contribtuion immediately. If I don't hear back from you, I will be forced to shut down several critical Republican programs." The undated letter was signed Scott Stewart, chairman of College Republican National Committee.

In another letter:

"I feel that we have gotten to know each other well enough that I may write to you using your Christian name . . . It always brings a smile to my face when I open a letter from Fort Wayne, Indiana because I know that it is from you. Mary, I am writing to you and sharing all of this with you because I have nowhere to turn. I am writing to you to ask you if you will make a major commitment to Republican Strategy Headquarters now to help President Bush in the amount of $25,000. . .

"This is the true amount that I need within the next three weeks if I am to help the president's proposals pass through the Senate . . . I beseech you, send $25,000 now. Or if you cannot send it all at once, perhaps $5,000 now and the rest in a little while." The letter, dated June 15, 2001, is signed: "Your sincere friend, David Harris, director of Republican Strategy Headquarters, PO Box 4442 Salisbury, MD 21803.

Although Mary did not send the requested $25,000, within a few months she did send nearly $13,000 to Republican Strategy Headquarters, which listed a different Washington, D.C., post office box on some letters.

GROUPS 'NOT CONNECTED'
Neither the family nor The News-Sentinel has been able to track down a street address or telephone number for the organization. The Better Business Bureau of Washington, D.C., has no record of them, nor did several other nonprofit resource groups.

The College Republican National Committee "is not in any way connected" to Republican Strategy Headquarters, said committee Chairman Stewart.

But the family wonders why, in the June 15 letter, Harris writes: "You have been enormously generous toward me in the past and also to Chris, Scott and others." Chris Tiedeman is general chairman of the National Republican Victory Campaign, a project of the College Republican National Committee.

Stewart said he had no explanation and "is going to be seriously looking into it."

He said the national committee "does not ask for large sums of money," adding solicitations usually are for $25 to $50.

In a March 28, 2001, letter, Stewart urges Mary to "rush me back $300 right now. . . . If we delay then the Rule of Law may be dead and America may turn into a Communist police state."

Marcie Ridgeway, media representative for the Republican National Committee, said although the college group is allied with her organization, "they are their own entity. They have their own administration. The only thing we have control of is the GOP and RNC," as far as name usage and party affiliation.

When shown a copy of the June 15 letter and its reference to "Chris and Scott," Ridgeway said, "There's concern about a lot of different issues." She declined to elaborate.

COPING DIFFICULT
As the letters to Mary's house increased and her dementia worsened, Mary told her nieces she'd been to the White House.

In December, Rediger and her sister, Jackie Boyle of Cleveland, asked the court to name a financial institution as power of attorney for their aunt's financial affairs.

In January, Mary was admitted to a long-term care facility, diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She is somewhat aware now that she was duped, and is angry, Rediger said.

"If our talking about it helps someone prevent their loved one from having to go through this, then we're willing to talk about it," Rediger said.

"This isn't about the Republicans. I'm still a Republican," Rediger said. "I know the Democrats raise money like this too. It's not right that they prey on the elderly."

Aron Reina, finance coordinator for Young Democrats of America, said his group solicits by mail.

"YDA does calculate how much to ask donors for based on the same type of info a college might use for its alumni - net worth, when known, giving history, and causation for a donation," Reina said.

Stewart told Mary's family the College Republican National Committee "has acted completely in good faith in communicating" with her, and she made her donations fully aware of what she was doing.

In January, an attorney hired by the nieces wrote the College Republican National Committee, asking it to return $41,212 paid by Mary to the committee, the Republican Strategy Headquarters, and three other groups.

In a letter to Stewart, the attorney wrote: "It is a basic legal principle that since she had no mental capacity to make these gifts to you, they are void and must be returned."

College Republican National Committee attorneys requested copies of Mary's medical records and the checks.

Yep, no one noticed any problems between 1993 and 2001.

And we were astonished to find Chris Tiedeman's name in the article above, since he sends letters to the Star Tribune like this:

September 1, 2003
Anderson's glass house

It appears that Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, is being forced to learn a very valuable lesson about throwing stones while sitting in her fragile glass house.

Last week the State Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board found that she failed to properly disclose securities she obtained in 2000 and ordered her to amend her campaign's financial disclosures. Meanwhile, the board dismissed nearly every charge against Gov. Tim Pawlenty _ charges filed by the DFL and turned into a political circus this summer by the very same Sen. Anderson.

Chris Tiedeman,
Crookston, Minn.

Looks like he's put his on-the-job ethical training at the CRNC to good use!

But back to our story. The Fort Wayne News Sentinel published an update in July 2002:

June 17, 2002
Groups returning donations to woman; Senior with dementia doesn't remember writing checks.
Jennifer L. Boen

An 82-year-old Fort Wayne woman with dementia is getting back more than $38,000 in donations she made - but doesn't remember - to the College Republican National Committee, Republican Strategy Headquarters and affiliated groups. But her family wants more. They want the organizations to change how they solicit for funds.

For six months in 2001, the woman wrote dozens of checks - sometimes more than one $1,000 check on the same day - to several Republican organizations and other conservative political groups in response to their pleas for donations.

The more she gave, the more the groups returned for more - sending her dozens of letters a week.

The News-Sentinel published a story about her donations April 5. Her nieces - she lives alone and has no children - contacted a lawyer to help them reclaim money from the two groups she gave the most to.

The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) and Republican Strategy Headquarters have agreed to refund all donations she made in 2001.

CRNC sent a $26,568.34 check last week for her donations to four affiliated groups, and Republican Strategy Headquarters said it will refund $11,720.

"That will pay for about 10 months of her care," said her niece, Jan Rediger of Leo-Cedarville, who joined her sister, Jackie Boyle, who lives in Cleveland, in the fight to get back the money. Their aunt now lives in a long-term-care facility.

Their aunt's donations for the six months totaled nearly $50,000, but Rediger said they have no plans to go after smaller sums from various other groups.

To make their case, the nieces hired Fort Wayne attorney Robert Rhee, who gathered their aunt's medical and psychological records to show increasingly serious dementia. Rediger now is the legal guardian of her aunt, and a bank has financial power of attorney.

According to the Indiana Attorney General's Office, to prove fraud on the part of such organizations, it would have to be shown they knew the aunt had dementia and that they used that knowledge to seek larger donations from her.

CRNC attorney Mackenzie Canter III said paying back the money is not an admission of wrongdoing by his client but because of the "compelling presentation" the woman's dementia affected her judgment in making the donations.

"They did a good job making their case," said Canter, who is based in Washington, D.C. "I talked to our client and we decided to voluntarily refund the money."

Canter said CRNC had no way of knowing about the woman's dementia because it used a direct-mail company to solicit funds and receive and deposit checks.

Although the nieces are pleased the money is being returned, they hope such groups will change how they solicit donations, particularly in light of the growing elderly population.

"Unless they've changed what they're doing, it's not going to affect anybody else but my aunt," Rediger said. "We're still extremely upset about their technique and the number of letters they send."

For example, letters signed by CRNC Chairman Scott Stewart and addressed to their aunt by name, said critical Republican programs would be shut down if she didn't send $200 immediately.

Stewart also wrote: "Rush me back $300 right now . . . if we delay then the Rule of Law may be dead and America may turn into a Communist police state."

Cantor said such letters are "standard, direct-mail process . . . very much in the mainstream.

"The mail is opened in these sorting rooms. These (checks) are deposited and put into an account. The bottom line is we have no way of knowing someone is not competent."

But the family doubts that's true.

"I know they go after people. If (people) donate a little, they aggressively go after them for more," Rediger said.

Another attorney and adviser for CRNC said the organization is reviewing the mail solicitation process. "That is an ongoing discussion," Craig Engle said, adding this is the first time someone has requested donations be returned under these circumstances.

Rediger and her sister are most concerned about Republican Strategy Headquarters, which has never revealed more than a Salisbury, Md., post office box.

Treasurer Michael Andersen wrote to Rhee on blank paper, no letterhead: "We do not have the full amount in cash now . . . we will send the balance of $9,000 during the next nine months." The first installment has arrived.

"I still think there's definitely a connection between CRNC and Republican Strategy headquarters - definitely there is," Rediger said, referring to letters in which Republican Strategy Chairman Phil Dacey wrote he knew how much the woman had helped Chairman Stewart and others at CRNC.

"I don't know exactly what the connection is, and we may never get to the bottom of it." Canter denies there is a connection.

The IRS Form 8871 for tax-exempt political organizations indicates no acknowledgement by Republican Strategy Headquarters of the woman's more than $7,000 in donations in the first six months of 2001. The form does list donations from 17 other people of $200 or more during that reporting period.

The family and The News-Sentinel have been unable to reach anyone from that organization.

Eric Hoplin was elected chair of the CRNC in 2003.

In September 2003, the Center for Public Integrity reported:

Young Money
College Republicans show how to play the fund-raising game

By Meghan O'Donnell

WASHINGTON, September 25, 2003 — A group made up entirely of college students and recent graduates—the College Republican National Committee—has become one of the most successful youth-oriented fund-raisers in the country, spending more than $10.6 million during the past two years to promote Republican candidates and issues.

Since separating from the Republican National Committee in October 2001 and becoming a Section 527 committee, the CRNC launched an aggressive direct-mail fundraising campaign that relies on thousands of individual donors. The $10 million in spending since mid-2000 puts CRNC in 11th place among the 471 committees the Center for Public Integrity analyzed.

Most of that money was spent on operational expenses: it helped to cover the group's expensive mail fundraising effort, to pay its more than 30 full-time field representatives and to support its at least 1,100 college chapters nationwide. Prominent Republicans credit the CRNC for turning out young supporters in the November 2002 elections that resulted in the GOP's victory in the House and Senate.

"We could not have had such a successful victory if it had not been for all of your efforts," wrote House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois in a July 2003 letter to the organization.

As a 527 committee, the CRNC is an independent actor. Its Democratic counterpart, the College Democrats of America, is the "official college outreach arm of the Democratic Party" and remains tied to the resources of the Democratic National Committee. The CDA claims at least 500 chapters on its official Web site and also conducts voter registration drives.

The CRNC, on the other hand, relies on a broad base of individual donors, most of whom give less than $100. But a smaller circle of generous benefactors, usually older Republicans, have also given tens of thousands to the committee. Four individuals or couples have contributed at least $100,000 each, records show. Indiana retirees O.E. and Mary Pacey of Brookston have contributed the most—$177,964.50.

The group says it spent $700,000 in 2002, to send 33 full-time field representatives—either recent graduates or students taking a semester off—across the nation for 12 weeks to set up new chapters and to strengthen floundering ones.

While the CRNC isn't officially tied to the RNC, the national party has supported it in the past, including a $25,000 donation in 2002. Ryan Call, the group's co-chair until July 2003, said that the RNC may have made the unexpected contribution in recognition of the CRNC's success in the 2002 elections and of the major impact the youth vote can have.

Since it does not accept corporation or PAC money, the CRNC solicits individual donors. The committee's fundraising has reaped $8,445,902.57 since the CRNC's registration with the Internal Revenue Service as a 527 in October 2001. Kris Hart, finance director for seven months between 2002 and 2003, said the average check amount was $28. At the other end of the spectrum, some of the top donors are over 80 years old and appear to have little idea of how their money was being used.

Several major donors contacted by the Center via telephone or through the mail could not recall giving money to the CRNC, though they did know that they'd given money to Republican groups requesting financial support.

Domenic Guerrera of Newport, Rhode Island, who contributed $114,432.34, said that although he expected the Republican groups receiving his money to use it as he intended, "they could have been giving it to the Salvation Army for all I knew."

Hart denied focusing on elderly donors, saying that the CRNC "targets anyone who will give to the Republican Party. If that was college students that would give money, then they would target college students" with their mailings.

Since October 2001, the CRNC has paid more than $7 million to Response Dynamics Inc., a Vienna, Va., firm that provides direct mail and other fundraising services. The Washington Intelligence Bureau, which receives all returned mail, endorses checks and deposits the contributions into the proper accounts, got $295,018.02. Other expenses go toward training recruits and volunteers, organizing chapters and mobilizing volunteers for campaigns and issues. The CRNC also gives block grants to chapter groups, but does not contribute money to PACs or campaigns.

"It costs so much to fund a group solely on direct mail solicitation and small individual donations," Call said. The CRNC has to spend millions on direct mailing just to break even, he added.

Since its inception at the University of Michigan in 1892, the student-run, primarily volunteer CRNC has given manpower aid to the national Republican Party and first breaks to many prominent Republicans, including Karl Rove, Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, and Lee Atwater.

The CRNC is expected to play a role in organizing voters for the 2004 presidential election. The committee's biennial convention last July, billed "Working to Win for W" in reference to next year's election, hosted more than 1,000 Republican college students for speeches by Karl Rove, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and others. All stressed the crucial role the College Republicans can play in key states.

The Seattle Times cames out with a story about the fundraising issue in late october 2004, as did the Durham Herald Sun. Here's the Seattle Times story:

October 28, 2004
Fund-raising group milks vulnerable senior citizens;
Tiny percentage of donations makes it to GOP election efforts - Some leaders of College Republicans objected to tactics of their direct-mail firm
David Postman and Jim Brunner, Seattle Times staff reporters
The College Republican National Committee has raised $6.3 million this year through an aggressive and misleading fund-raising campaign that collected money from senior citizens who thought they were giving to the election efforts of President Bush and other top Republicans.

Many of the top donors were in their 80s and 90s. The donors wrote checks — sometimes hundreds and, in at least one case, totaling more than $100,000 — to groups with official sounding-names such as "Republican Headquarters 2004," "Republican Elections Committee" and the "National Republican Campaign Fund."

But all of those groups, according to the small print on the letters, were simply projects of the College Republicans, who collected all of the checks.

And little of the money went to election efforts.

Of the money spent by the group this year, nearly 90 percent went to direct-mail vendors and postage expenses, according to records filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Some of the elderly donors, meanwhile, wound up bouncing checks and emptying their bank accounts.

"I don't have any more money," said Cecilia Barbier, a 90-year-old retired church council worker in New York City. "I'm stopping giving to everybody. That was all my savings that they got."

Barbier said she "wised up." But not before she made more than 300 donations totaling nearly $100,000 this year, the group's fund-raising records show.

Now, she said, "I'm really scrounging."

In Van Buren, Ark., Monda Jo Millsap, 68, said she emptied her savings account by writing checks to College Republicans, then got a bank loan of $5,000 and sent that, too, before totaling her donations at more than $59,000.

College Republicans serve as the party's outreach organization on college campuses. The group has been a starting place for many prominent conservatives, including Bush adviser Karl Rove, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist and former Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed.

Once a part of the Republican National Committee, the group is now independent. It is set to help get out the vote for Tuesday's election.

Officers of the College Republican National Committee did not respond to questions about their fund raising.

"I think the College Republican National Committee is an amazing organization which is getting a lot of young people involved in the political process," said Paul Gourley, the group's treasurer, who signed many of the fund-raising letters.

He referred questions to the group's communications director, Alison Aikele, who declined to comment.

An attorney and adviser to the group defended the fund raising.

"We have tens of thousands of donors, and I wouldn't extrapolate a message about an entire organization by sampling less than a tenth of a percent of the donors," said Craig Engle, a Washington, D.C., attorney and outside adviser to the College Republicans.

"There are tens of thousands of very, very satisfied and happy donors that enjoy a relationship with the College Republicans and their fund-raising process."

Internal dissent

But since at least 2001, some leaders of College Republicans have objected to the tone and targeting of the fund raising done by Response Dynamics, the Virginia company that handles the direct-mail campaign.

Response Dynamics officials could not be reached for comment.

"We felt their fund-raising practices were deceptive, to say the least," said George Gunning, former treasurer of the College Republicans.

Gunning said he and two other board members fought to cut ties with Response Dynamics but were blocked by other leaders led by Scott Stewart, the chairman of the College Republicans from 1999 to 2003. As chairman, Stewart was the paid, full-time manager of the organization. Gunning said he was assured that fund-raising tactics would change.

The board debated the fund-raising practices after the family of an elderly Indiana woman with Alzheimer's disease demanded that her donations be returned. The woman's family said it had sent a registered letter asking that she be taken off the mailing list, but the solicitations continued.

Only after a newspaper reported on the story did the College Republicans refund $40,000 to the family, according to Jackie Boyle, one of the woman's nieces.

"I think this is a nationwide scam," Boyle said on hearing of recent complaints. "They're covering the whole country ... they need to be investigated."

Stewart is the director of Bush's Nevada campaign operation, and campaign officials said he would not be available to comment for this story.

The Washington State Attorney General's Office received at least six complaints about the College Republicans fund-raising letters from 2000 to 2002, but has no record of any complaints since then. The complaints cited "fund raising representations" and "senior exploitation." The Attorney General's Office wrote letters to the College Republicans, but a spokeswoman could not determine the outcome of the complaints yesterday.

In response to the Indiana family's complaints, College Republicans worked to be able to keep more of the money raised by Response Dynamics, got more oversight of the content of the letters and had been working to improve "the message of our solicitations and to change the contract further so that our letters target a wider age spectrum," according to a summary of a 2001 College Republicans board retreat.

The group considered ending its affiliation with Response Dynamics and was preparing a financial plan "so that we might terminate the contract in the future," the summary said.

But the young Republicans and the veteran fund-raisers stayed together.

This year, as millions of dollars flowed in, College Republicans falsely claimed in letters that checks were only trickling in and that the group was in a constant budget crisis.

And the elderly continued to be a major source of donations.

There are far more retired people giving to College Republicans than to any other IRS-regulated independent political committee, IRS records indicate.

The Times was able to determine the ages of 49 of the top 50 individual donors to the College Republicans. The median age of the donors is 85, and 14 of them are 90 or older.

"That can't be true"

Donors interviewed this week frequently expressed disbelief when they were told how much they gave to the College Republicans.

"That can't be true," said Francis Lehar, a 91-year-old retired music publisher, when he was told records showed he gave the College Republicans nearly $23,000. "I have donated to dozens of Republican causes. Some of them might be the Republican Party organizations."

From January through September, the Massachusetts man wrote 90 checks to the group, records show.

"It surprises me that it goes to them and not to the other names that they had," he said. "I admire their skill in writing letters."

The letters are computer-generated, personalized form letters, but the recipients often view them as personal correspondence.

"All the kids that were the head of this organization, they would keep saying, `You've got to keep on or we won't be able to keep up with Kerry.' So they kept on me," said a retired bookkeeper who was one of the group's most generous donors.

She spoke on the condition she not be identified.

She grew concerned when repeated letters came earlier this year asking for donations for a "Republican Headquarters 2004 Membership Card."

The card was merely a block of text inside a dotted line on the back of the letter. The holder was supposed to cut it out and carry it with her.

But the letter was infused with urgency.

"If I do not have your completed RH membership renewal form within the next ten days, your membership will be put on suspension," one letter said.

"President Bush cannot afford your membership and involvement in the Republican Party to be wavering at this crucial time."

The group wanted a donation of $25 to $500 for the card. If the donor declined, he or she was urged to send at least $5 "to cover the cost of having the card printed for you."

"You had to pay something for the membership card," the retired bookkeeper said. "I sent in four different checks to him and every time he said he didn't receive them."

The four checks totaled $1,105.

"He kept saying he was going to cancel me. He was constantly asking for money."

For her and other donors, the mail was part nuisance, part companion. Several spoke of sorting the mail and writing checks almost as their job this campaign year. And many thought their work alone would make the difference in a Bush victory.

"And they kept telling me I've got to do this or we can't win," the retired bookkeeper said. "You see, I was the only one. They said the others had quit. I was the only one they were writing to, I thought."

Where the money goes

The College Republicans had another warning in September 2003, when the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group, issued a report on the explosive fund-raising growth by the College Republicans. The report noted that several elderly donors who were contacted did not appear to know to whom they had given money.

Response Dynamics, its affiliates and other companies related to the fund raising get most of the money raised by the College Republicans.

About $9 million of the College Republicans' reported spending this year appeared to go into fund-raising expenses, according to a Times analysis of reports filed with the IRS.

About $313,000, roughly 3 percent, went for travel, convention expenses and "hospitality." About $210,000 went to payroll expenses, helping pay for campus organizers who have been drumming up support for the GOP ticket among young people.

The large amount of money devoted to fund raising, and the small amount for political activities, is unusual among the top ranks of the burgeoning field of so-called 527 independent political groups.

Of the $20 million the anti-Bush group MoveOn.org spent, according to its filings, 93 percent went to media, advertising, marketing and polling.

Of the $13.7 million spent by the anti-John Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, 90 percent went to media, advertising and media consulting.

Who signs the letters

Most of the College Republicans' fund-raising appeals come signed by two young Republicans who, in the letters, are billed as directors and officers of the projects needing money.

"National officers for the College Republicans have to wear a lot of hats," said Gourley, one of the signers, who is a junior at the University of South Dakota.

He would not answer specific questions about the fund raising.

He said he knows his name appears on letters sent from Washington, D.C. Asked if he approves each letter, he said, "We have certain processes set up."

Matthew Kennicott, listed in spending reports as the College Republicans' political director, also signs letters. He could not be reached.

Ryan Call, former co-chairman of the College Republicans, said that when he was there, the group didn't have a lot of involvement in crafting messages for fund-raising letters.

"When you contract stuff out, you cede a lot of control away to the people you are working with," said Call, 28, a law student at the University of Denver.

Officials of Response Dynamics have publicly described their strategy.

"Direct mail fund raising means asking for money and asking for it often," company President Ron Kanfer wrote in a 1991 article on the art of the pitch.

"You must literally force them to send money."

Breathless tone

An August fund-raising letter showed that aggressive approach, telling donors there was a Democratic conspiracy to intercept the committee's mail:

"Given what I've learned, you and I must take every precaution necessary.

"Apparently the Democrats don't have any concern about hurting you, your family or America.

"Their sole concern is revenge — vengeance — retribution."

With the approach of Tuesday's election, the letters have become even more breathless.

Last Saturday, a donor received what appears to be a photocopied handwritten note from the director of one committee: "Please understand I have no one else to turn to. This is serious: We will have to close our doors!

"I need your help now!"

Group growing

While the vast majority of the money raised goes to pay fund-raising expenses, the College Republicans have used some money to expand operations.

The group says it has tripled in size in recent years, with 120,000 members on 1,148 campuses.

Rove, Bush's top political strategist, spoke to College Republican leaders during the GOP Convention, and said the group's organizing was "absolutely vital to the election."

The group goes door-to-door at college dorms and fraternity and sorority houses to register voters and recruit volunteers.

The College Republicans this year got $220,000 from another GOP group, the Republican State Leadership Committee.

They also received large donations from two more-traditional political donors, businessmen John Templeton, who gave $400,000, and Carl Lindner, owner of the Cincinnati Reds, who gave $375,000.

The College Republicans themselves are rarely mentioned in the group's fund-raising letters. There is the occasional letter on College Republican National Committee letterhead that talks about the organizing work on college campuses.

The focus is on the presidential campaign, congressional races and the constant threat of what they portray as likely liberal victories in November.

The letters imply close connections to Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Republican leaders and the party organization. The pitches sometimes promise that special messages will be hand-delivered to Bush or others if they are sent back with a donation.

Most donors interviewed said they get up to 50 solicitations in the mail each day. That pile can include four or more from the College Republicans.

"My house looks like a post office, and I'm not exaggerating," said Anne Kravic, a retired school-district employee in Parma, Ohio.

Kravic rubber-bands each day's mail and marks the top of the pile with the date. As the bundles take over the house, she has stopped inviting people over.

"I wouldn't say that a single week passed I didn't send something and sometimes twice a week, depending on how serious the situation was according to them," she said.

Her small monthly pension cannot keep up with the life of a political financier.

"I'm tired of it. I'm quitting. It is too much for me. My bank account has been overdrawn already," she said.

Elliot Baines is an 84-year-old Florida retiree who says he has a hard time just carrying the mail he gets each day now.

"It's almost too much for me to handle," he said.

Baines was surprised to hear he had given more than $63,000 and that it had all gone to College Republicans. He said he was swayed to give, sometimes against his better instincts, by the power of the letters.

"I thought if I paid them off once it would send them away, but it just encourages them to send more," he said. "It is just a rat race in this house to pay off these people and hope that they quit.

"But they don't. They keep sending."

David Postman: 360-943-9882 or dpostman@seattletimes.com

Staff researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report.

Profile

College Republicans

Serves as the party's outreach organization on college campuses. It has been a starting place for many prominent conservatives, including Bush campaign adviser Karl Rove.

Spending

About 90 percent of College Republicans' reported spending this year appeared to go into fund-raising expenses, according to a Times analysis of reports filed with the IRS.

Contrast with other 527 groups

Of the $20 million the anti-Bush group MoveOn.org spent, according to its filings, 93 percent went to media, advertising, marketing and polling. Of the $13.7 million spent by the anti-John Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, 90 percent went to media, advertising and media consulting.

And there's been more. The CRNC executive board voted to sever ties with RDI in November 2004:

The Seattle Times
November 25, 2004
College Republicans to cut direct-mail firm's contract
Jim Brunner And David Postman, Seattle Times staff reporters

Under pressure over misleading fund-raising letters to elderly donors, officials of the College Republican National Committee said at a weekend board meeting that they will terminate the group's contract with a Virginia direct-mail company.

The move came as dissidents in the young conservatives group were pressuring their leaders to distance themselves from the controversial fund raising done by Response Dynamics (RDI).

Before those critics could offer a resolution condemning the fund-raising practices and calling for immediate termination of the contract, however, Eric Hoplin, chairman of the CRNC, pushed through a verbal resolution that he said would have the group out of their contract by April.

The RDI contract will be "terminated," Hoplin said at the board meeting as he hammered the gavel after passing the measure, according to several state chairmen who attended the New Orleans meeting.

Exactly when the contract will be ended is unclear. The resolution was not written down, and a spokeswoman for the College Republican group offered no details.

"We are now working with our legal counsel on our contract with RDI," said Alison Aikele, communications director for the group.

Some state chapter chairmen remain concerned about their relationship to RDI.

"I don't care if the CRNC gets sued for breach of contract, this is about right and wrong," said Dan Centinello, chairman of the New York College Republicans, who was among those pushing for an immediate end to the RDI contract. "To prolong this is just wrong."

The Seattle Times reported last month that many donors to the CRNC were surprised to learn their money had gone to the College Republicans.

Many of the solicitations sent out by the group bear other names, such as "Republican Headquarters 2004," "Republican Elections Committee" and the "National Republican Campaign Fund," with only small print saying those are "projects" of the College Republican National Committee.

Many of the letters make misleading claims of close ties to President Bush and warn of dire consequences if donations are not made — suggesting, for example, that a donor's membership in the Republican Party is in jeopardy. Some elderly donors and their families have complained about the tactics and said the CRNC has not responded to their requests for the mail to cease.

Ron Kanfer, president of RDI, did not return telephone calls this week. He previously has said the College Republicans are in control of their fund-raising message and that the group's leaders, whose names appear on many of the letters, approved the content.

College Republicans became one of the country's best-funded independent "527" committees this election year. The group raised more than $6.3 million before the election and nearly $15 million since 2001, according to the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group.

However, nearly 90 percent of the money raised went directly into the fund-raising operation, according to filings with the IRS. Most of that was paid to RDI and four affiliated firms. The College Republican organization's financial records indicate more expenses than revenue over the past three years, and Centinello said he was concerned that the CRNC might have been locked into a shoddy contract.

Hoplin was not available for comment yesterday, and his voice mail said he was out of the country. Before the weekend board meeting, he had dismissed criticism of the CRNC fund raising. In an e-mail to other CRNC leaders last month, he called stories about the fund raising full of "lies and distortions."

Some College Republican leaders question why Hoplin waited so long to deal with the fund-raising issues despite complaints dating to at least 2001. Hoplin was the group's paid executive director for two years before being elected chairman last year.

"I commend the CRNC for taking this step. I do think this should have been dealt with a long time ago," said Jordan D'Angelo, chairman of the Kansas Federation of College Republicans.

The actual break occurred in March 2005:

Seattle Times
March 2, 2005
College Republicans dump aggressive fund-raising firm

The College Republican National Committee said yesterday it has terminated a long-term contract with a direct-mail fund-raising company that brought the young-conservatives group a steady income but also complaints about aggressive and misleading solicitations.

The Seattle Times and the Durham, N.C., Herald-Sun reported in October that the College Republicans and Response Dynamics Inc. were raising millions of dollars from donors, many in their 80s and 90s, using a barrage of letters that convinced the donors they were helping President Bush's re-election campaign.

As part of a negotiated end to a relationship that began 13 years ago, Response Dynamics will continue raising money on behalf of the College Republicans for three more months and will continue to take the vast majority of the money raised, said Eric Hoplin, chairman of the College Republican National Committee.

Hoplin said he has been trying to end the contract for years. But it was written in a way that made that difficult because College Republicans were kept in debt to the Virginia direct-mail company, he said. The relationship continued, Hoplin said, despite misgivings about the tone and tenor of the fund raising.

Many contributors interviewed by The Times last fall said they hadn't known they were giving to the College Republicans. Some said they had felt pressured into giving more than they could afford because of the constant appeals arriving in the mail.

Hoplin said the College Republicans would discuss refunds with unhappy donors and said he wants to hear from anyone unhappy with fund-raising practices. He said the group has asked Response Dynamics to refund about $ 15,000 total to four donors. Still pending are requests for about $ 200,000 in refunds from three other donors.

College Republicans organize and recruit volunteers on college campuses, aiding in local and national campaigns. The group says it has tripled in size in recent years, with 120,000 members on more than 1,100 campuses across the country.

The group's fund-raising letters often made it sound like the donors were making crucial contributions to the presidential race and in some cases implied Bush himself was counting on the money. But in fact, the money went to College Republicans, with about 90 percent of donations going back to fund-raising costs and fees to Response Dynamics and affiliated firms, according to reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Hoplin said the College Republicans were terminating a relationship with Response Dynamics that started in 1992. The groups' contract featured an automatic two-year renewal clause and a guarantee that Response Dynamics could continue raising money until it paid off debts from initial fund-raising expenses.

"I'm certainly proud to say this: Response Dynamics and College Republicans started their relationship when I was 13 years old. I inherited this problem and I fixed the problem," said Hoplin, who has been chairman of College Republicans since July 2003. A new company has been hired to help raise money, and Hoplin said fund raising will be done in a far different style. He said College Republicans will be able to keep a larger share of the money raised.

No more will the group raise money under various "projects" that were used in fund-raising letters and that made it difficult to know where the money was going.

Groups such as "Republican Headquarters 2004" and "Republican Leadership Committee," with vaguely different missions, were names on letterhead crafted by Response Dynamics and signed by various people with multiple titles.

In the new fund-raising letters, "There are no project names whatsoever," Hoplin said. "I sign every letter and it comes out with our logo that says College Republican National Committee."

"The volume, the tone, of the mail is different," he said. "Response Dynamics relies on a very aggressive tone, an emergency tone."

Ron Kanfer, president of Response Dynamics, yesterday would say little about his company's relationship with College Republicans. But he said the company never did anything without the group's OK.

"Everything that was done was done with the express written approval of the College Republicans," he said.

When asked about the contract termination, Kanfer said, "I don't know anything about that." He told a reporter to talk to the attorney for College Republican National Committee.

The attorney, Craig Engle, said Hoplin was not trying to "bury RDI or anybody." He said Hoplin wants people to know about the campaign work College Republicans have done.

"He is out there to explain to not only the press, the public, his donors, members of College Republicans and, indirectly, the Bush campaign, here's what we were able to do," Engle said of the group's 2004 activities.

Hoplin said yesterday that College Republicans didn't always know what Response Dynamics was sending out under the group's name. The contract called for approval of all mail by College Republicans, but the outgoing letters were so numerous, the group couldn't keep up, he said.

If the material was not reviewed in a timely manner, the contract allowed Response Dynamics to mail it out without review, Hoplin said.

He said he takes responsibility for not seeing some of the aggressive appeals.

"I took Response Dynamics for granted," Hoplin said. "It took me a little while to figure out that this was something I didn't want representing us."

The fund-raising practices have triggered a feud within the College Republicans, with critics arguing that Hoplin did not do enough to stop the practices until after the news media exposed them.

Dan Centinello, chairman of the New York College Republicans, applauded Hoplin for severing the fund-raising contract but said it didn't erase the culpability of the group's leaders.

"Being a Republican, we believe in personal responsibility, and they still have not taken responsibility for what has happened," Centinello said.

The controversy has clouded the group's elections for a chairman to replace Hoplin, who is leaving after four years to run for deputy chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party. While volunteers fill most of the group's positions, the salaried position of national chairman is considered a prestigious steppingstone for young conservative leaders.

Paul Gourley, the group's treasurer, is running to succeed Hoplin as chairman. But Gourley's signature appeared on some of the group's most questionable fund-raising letters.

They included a letter that suggested to an elderly woman that Bush, at the national GOP convention, would wear an American flag lapel pin that the woman had prayed over -- if only she would send the pin back to the College Republican National Committee with $ 1,000, plus $ 10 for shipping.

"Once I read that letter, I almost fell over," Centinello said.

Some critics of Hoplin and Gourley are throwing their support behind Michael Davidson, chairman of the California College Republicans.

Two things to bear in mind with the 21st Century CRNC scandals. First, the CRNC became an independent 527 in 2001. If there were concerns with the long-standing RDI contract, as Gunning suggests, why was a brand new entity, the CRNC in its new 527 form, forced to maintain the RDI contract?

Second, the CRNC didn't start raising massive amounts of money with RDI's help until the advent of the Stewart and Hoplin administrations. The CRNC budget was quite small until the time of the Scott Stewart/Eric Hoplin administration. Acording to the July 26, 2003, Economist

These footsoldiers also represent the future of the Republican Party. One reason why Britain's Conservative Party is in such a sorry state is that the average age of its members is almost 70. The young conservatives who crowded into Washington this week suggest a sprightlier future for the Republicans. In the 1970s and 1980s the likes of Karl Rove and Grover Norquist turned the College Republicans from a social club into a well-oiled political machine. Their successors continue to fine-tune the machine: Scott Stewart, the group's chairman since 1999, has increased its operating budget from $250,000 a year to $1.4m.

As other reports above suggest, the pace didn't slacken under Hoplin.

Nor are financial issues in the CRNC uniques to the 21st Century.
Roll Call reported in late 1999:

Roll Call
December 9, 1999
Audit Slams College Republicans
By Rachel Van Dongen

On the heels of an audit that showed the group's finances in shambles, the College Republican National Committee has requested more money from its main benefactor, the Republican National Committee, and is aggressively attempting to become the main youth group behind the Republican presidential nominee in 2000.

A Sept. 10 audit of the CRNC found numerous problems with the group's finances, including missing checks, possible tax violations and a lack of a formal accounting system.

The audit, covering the period between Aug. 1, 1997, and June 30, 1999, was conducted by the accounting firm Quinn Lynch & Lobel and reported that conditions at the CRNC "appear to exist that are contrary to sound business control practices."

The audit covered the term of former CRNC Chairman Adam Brohimer, a 25-year- old graduate of the University of Nebraska. The new chairman, Scott Stewart, made clear that steps had been taken to reform the group's finances.

In fact, Quinn Lynch & Lobel conducted an informal review from July 1999 to October 1999 of the CRNC's finances that noted some significant changes. And several critics of the previous administration praised Stewart's financial reforms and party-building activities.

Furthermore, yearly audits were added to the CRNC's constitution in November.

"It's terribly unfortunate," Stewart, a 24-year-old Yale University graduate, said in an interview. "The problem is that sufficient records just simply were not kept on hand. Certainly, to Brohimer's credit, that was never required of him in the past in any way, shape or form."

Stewart is aggressively trying to revamp the troubled group, and sent an Aug. 25 memo to the campaign of presidential frontrunner George W. Bush (R) in which the College Republicans offered their services in the 2000 campaign.

"We intend to convert that fighting force of 150,000 College Republicans into a youth machine for the prospective Republican presidential nominee, George W. Bush," wrote Stewart and CRNC Executive Director John Yob, son of Republican National Committeeman Chuck Yob.

The memo noted that the CRNC was not bound by federal or state election law, meaning it would not drain the Bush campaign of hard dollars.

"In short, we can take anything from anybody at any time," the memo said. " With your assistance, we should be able to seek out corporations that might be interested in making significant contributions to the youth of the Republican party."

Stewart said that similar memos were delivered to other prospective GOP presidential contenders.

He added that the CRNC was doing nothing wrong by soliciting soft money for party-building activities. "It's not like we can give any contributions. We give no contributions, all we do is run youth efforts for the party."

Previously, the RNC has given the CRNC a $100,000 annual budget, which covers in-kind expenses such as staff salaries and office space.

But the CRNC is requesting a budget increase to $262,400 for 2000. The RNC Budget Committee met on Monday, according to Stewart, and granted initial approval for "additional" funding.

"The latest internal audit that the College Republicans did showed that past concerns have been rectified, and the College Republicans have done a tremendous job establishing 220 new clubs," RNC spokesman Mark Pfeifle said. " They're recruiting thousands of new members and that will go a long ways towards energizing the youth vote and electing more Republicans."

Several College Republicans familiar with the previous administration said Brohimer had misused the money for his own political purposes.

They accused Brohimer, now living in Omaha, Neb., of excessive national travel on the group's tab, flying allies to national conventions and even cutting checks to former national officers before he left office in July 1999.

"Adam Brohimer got excited because he had a pot of gold he was sitting on and he thought he could spend it just as he saw fit," said Patrick McHenry, the national treasurer under Brohimer who said he never saw the CRNC's checkbook during his two-year term in office.

Buzz Jacobs, who ran against Stewart to become national chairman this year, said the lack of financial documentation could not be accidental.

"I don't think it was anybody being young. I think Adam was well aware of what he was doing the whole entire time," Jacobs said. "I think the errors were large in number. It's not like there was one or two things that were overlooked."

Reached at home in Nebraska, Brohimer denied that he had done anything improper with the CRNC's money. He claimed that further financial documentation from his time as chairman did exist, but that it had not been turned over to the accountant, although he refused to explain why.

"I have information that proves that not all information was either turned over or was looked at," Brohimer contended. "I'm a little bit mystified, I'll be honest with you, as to where that information went."

And several Brohimer allies and former members of his administration denied there had been any wrongdoing.

"Adam was very frugal with the way he spent his money," said former CRNC Second Vice Chairman Joe Sinagra, who denied he'd received a check at the end of his term. "He's a devoted Catholic man and a person that's very honest."

"I worked closely with Adam Brohimer. I can assure you that there were no other motives behind just poor record-keeping," said former National Legislative Director Chris Tiedeman, who is now CRNC treasurer.

According to the audit, 53 percent of the 461 transactions by the CRNC in amounts greater than $499 "failed to have appropriate supporting documentation."

The accounting firm examined records from two First Union CRNC accounts and one account at Riggs Bank. The audit stated that it did not "come across any evidence that employees were submitting expense reports," and the accountant found no documentation for transactions made with the group's American Express card.

Furthermore, the audit stated that several payments were made to non- employees and former employees for consulting services, and that the income of these consultants and possible personal expenses contained in expense reports must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

The audit went on to state that there had been "late payments" to vendors and that the CRNC did not have a "formal accounting system with which transactions are recorded and summarized."

"The checkbook appears to be the only record of transactions that the organization maintains, and it does not appear that all transactions are being recorded properly therein," the audit said.

Brohimer replied that the CRNC had kept financial documentation, although he admitted it might not be up to the accounting company's standards. "We did have an accounting system. I don't happen to be an accountant," he said. " Whether or not our accounting system would have met specific guidelines ... that would be something for an accountant to answer."

The CRNC appears to have been rife with financial and political discord until recently. During the July 1997 convention that elected Brohimer, for instance, approximately one-third of the state delegates walked out of the convention in protest of the way the delegates to the convention were selected.

Since then, the election process has been reformed and an independent authority has been appointed to oversee it. In 1995, then-RNC Chairman Haley Barbour cut off funding to the CRNCcompletely.

In a Jan. 15 letter to Brohimer, McHenry -then national treasurer - wrote that it was an "outrage that you have not allowed me to review, examine or inspect financial records of the CRNC, as our Constitution dictates."

"Though the CRNC Constitution now mandates openness in the organization, especially in financial matters, you have been unwilling to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding our organization's finances."

McHenry said he believed it was "hypocritical" for young Republicans, who support more openness in campaign finance reporting requirements, to hide financial documents.

"What the problem was is we elected a poor national chairman who allowed himself to be corrupted. I don't think it's an organizational problem," McHenry said. "This organization has turned on a dime with the election of Scott Stewart."

In his budget proposal to the RNC, Stewart admitted the College Republicans had been on a "downward spiral for years," but pointed out he planned to start 240 new clubs in the next 10 weeks and double the group's membership to 150,000 by April 2000.

In their memo to the Bush campaign, Stewart and Yob wrote that they were ready to launch a "mass-based" youth campaign for Bush with a budget of $1.6 million from July 1, 2000, to Nov. 20, 2000.

The program would include 60 activists in 30 to 35 states, and it would aim to register 400,000 new voters, provide 500 absentee ballots to Bush supporters in each House district and hold 300 mock elections on college campuses nationwide.

"Youth support for Bush is essential to this election," Stewart and Yob wrote. "We should not allow the opportunity to have a full-fledged youth effort in the campaign slip by, especially when that opportunity is basically free to the campaign."

The Nov. 30 review of Stewart's first months in office by Quinn Lynch & Lobel showed some significant changes have been implemented, including the presence of an on-site "Transaction Notebook," which contained all cash expenses, receipts and payroll reports.

The review found that new expense report forms had been created, while no former employees were currently on the payroll. But the review made further recommendations, including reconciling bank accounts using computer software.

CORRECTION:
A Dec. 9, 1999, Roll Call article, "Audit Slams College Republicans," reported that the findings were limited due to a lack of documentation. Former College Republican National Committee Chairman Adam Brohimer says he was not informed that financial records were missing or otherwise unavailable to the accountants until after the audit was completed. In addition, the audit did not find personal wrongdoing on anyone's part.

Note this promise:

The new chairman, Scott Stewart, made clear that steps had been taken to reform the group's finances.

Even more interesting is this pre-McCain Feingold passage:

The memo noted that the CRNC was not bound by federal or state election law, meaning it would not drain the Bush campaign of hard dollars.

"In short, we can take anything from anybody at any time," the memo said. " With your assistance, we should be able to seek out corporations that might be interested in making significant contributions to the youth of the Republican party."

Perhaps Guning is confused, and Stewart just didn't get around to ditching RDI, given the hard work of setting up the CRNC as a 527 and another pesky administrative problem that came up, as reported by the AP.

April 4, 2001
Republican Party retains embattled college GOP head
By JENNIFER LOVEN
The Republican Party is allowing the head of its college recruitment arm, accused of sexually harassing female colleagues and misusing party funds, to keep his job with an apology.

The Republican National Committee said Wednesday it found no evidence that the actions of Scott Stewart, who holds the $50,000-a-year post of chairman of the college Republicans organization, met the legal definition of sexual harassment. However, the investigation by the party and an outside law firm concluded Stewart's conduct was "unprofessional and inappropriate for a work setting."

The RNC gave Stewart a warning and ordered him to apologize in writing to the three women whose complaints, first reported by The Associated Press, led to the inquiry.

"We are firmly committed to ensuring that any organization with which we work operates in accordance with the same principles that govern the RNC," spokesman Mark Miner said.

The RNC provides the College Republican National Committee, which has 1,000 campus chapters and 100,000 members who recruit, register and train students for GOP causes, with office space and a majority of its $200,000-a-year budget.

Stewart, who previously denied what he called "frivolous" allegations, said in a statement he was relieved the investigation was over. He did not return calls requesting further comment.

Others said keeping Stewart in charge of the GOP's main youth outreach effort sends a bad message.

"It's another reminder from the Republican hierarchy that they don't care about the harassment of women unless it's from the other side of the aisle and they can use it for political gain," said Kim Gandy, executive vice president of the National Organization for Women. "I find it disturbing but I, unfortunately, don't find it surprising."

Former CRNC executive director John Yob said it is troubling to have someone who has acknowledged inappropriate behavior with the apology in such a position. "We need a change," said Yob, who is challenging Stewart's bid for a second two-year term in elections in July.

Jennifer Gorski, Kathleen Kirst and Youmna Salameh alleged in affidavits that Stewart made frequent unwanted sexual advances and regularly spoke obscenely to and about female employees. They also alleged Stewart authorized the use of several thousand dollars in GOP funds to pay for his and others' personal expenses, such as cellular telephone bills, plane tickets and campaign mailings.

Gorski was an office manager who was fired by Stewart last year. Kirst was an intern in 1999. Salameh worked at another RNC-affiliated organization next door to the college Republicans.

Their accusations did not result in Stewart's ouster at a college Republicans meeting in New Orleans in mid-November, so they took their sworn statements to the Republican National Committee in January.

In mid-February, the RNC promised prompt action but then postponed the case by referring its six-week inquiry to the law firm.

Jason Zanetti, the CRNC's Northeastern caucus chairman who has been speaking for the women, said they were unable to comment on the RNC's decision. The women earlier had suggested they might sue if the RNC did not remove Stewart.

The Salt Lake Tribune had more fun with the story:

April 7, 2001
COLLEGE POLITICS: Clintonesque Charges Dog GOP Candidate
GREG BURTON, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Here's a political quiz. Name a national candidate up for re-election who had to buck charges of bawdy behavior and affidavits from three women claiming the candidate made unwanted sexual advances.

Think again.

Try Scott Stewart, a former Brigham Young University student battling what he calls "petty, sniping and frivolous claims" by party operatives who want to derail his candidacy for chairman of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC).

Stewart, who recently transferred to Yale University from BYU, emerged stung but not destroyed this week after an investigation of the claims by the Republican National Committee, which partially funds the college Republicans, who pay Stewart $ 50,000 a year to coordinate campus recruiting.

On Wednesday, the RNC said Stewart's behavior was "unprofessional," but did not meet the legal definition of sexual harassment. However, in order to keep his job, Stewart must apologize to the women.

Stewart, who has yet to comment on the RNC's findings, is scheduled to attend today's convention of the Utah College Republicans at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

"Nobody has withdrawn their support for him -- he has done a phenomenal job," says Daniel Marriott, a senior at BYU and Stewart's co-chairman at the CRNC.

BYU, once home to the largest College Republican machine in the country, controls a large block of votes among the roughly 100,000 members nationwide. Stewart shouldn't fear a backlash, Marriott says. Former CRNC executive director John Yob of the University of Michigan says Stewart should step down. "Anyone who claims Stewart is innocent is just as immoral as the people who publicly defended Bill Clinton after knowing he was guilty," says Yob, who plans to run against Stewart during the CRNC's July convention in Washington.

Other aren't so sure. Utah College Republican chairwoman Natalie Noel knows Stewart and one of the women who claims he spoke obscenely in the CRNC office.

"I trust her, but certainly I was not there when the alleged incidents happened," says Noel, a senior at the University of Utah. "You would think in a College Republican organization this sort of thing would happen less often, but it's probably happening more often than on a real political level."

Indeed. Another former Utah student and chairman of the national College Republicans once admitted swiping stationery from Illinois Democrats and forging invitations to a candidate function promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing."

College political pranks that year, 1972, were overshadowed by dirty tricks by the professional plumbers who handled the Watergate break-in.

That Utah student? Karl Rove, chief strategist for President Bush's 2000 campaign. Rove, now the chief White House adviser, is scheduled to speak at the CRNC's national convention this July, when Yob and Stewart square off.

It promises to be a spirited convention.

"Now College Republicans will decide for themselves whether they want an RNC-disciplined sexual harasser in charge of the organization," Yob says. "Most College Republicans believe it is time for change."

I can't say that I share the social conservative values of many of the righty bloggers who are concerned about the rise of Hoplin in the RPM. However, the ascent of Hoplin and his young friends in Minnesota politics, given the longstanding "corporate culture" of the CRNC, should give everybody pause.