"GOP insider’s Tea Party role raises some questions; Critics wonder about Russo’s commitment" by Janie Lorber and Eric Lipton, New York Times | September 19, 2010
WASHINGTON — In the days leading up to the Delaware primary, Sal Russo hosted a radio fund-raiser, organized a rally, and pressed the case with reporters that Christine O’Donnell was the Tea Party’s choice for the US Senate. He also set off what he calls a “money bomb,’’ pouring at least $250,000 into TV and other advertisements promoting the little-known candidate.
Related: O’Donnell Is Doable
With O’Donnell’s upset victory in the Republican primary on Tuesday, Russo, the chief strategist behind an upstart group called the Tea Party Express, had racked up another win.
At least they didn't use the word insurgents.
But in becoming one of the movement’s most successful players by helping Tea Party favorites oust incumbents or trounce rivals in four states, Russo is also fast becoming among the most divisive.
Unlike many of the newly energized outsiders who have embraced Tea Party ideals, Russo, 63, is a longtime Republican operative who got his start as an aide to Ronald Reagan and later raised money for a string of other politicians, including George E. Pataki, a former governor of New York. His history and spending practices have prompted some former employees and other Tea Party activists to question whether he is committed to, or merely exploiting, their cause.
Expecting exploitation doesn't necessarily mean betrayal, NYT.
Russo’s group, based in California, is now the single biggest independent supporter of Tea Party candidates, raising more than $5.2 million in donations since January 2009, according to federal records. But at least $3 million of that total has since been paid to Russo’s political consulting firm or to one controlled by his wife, according to federal records.
He's ripping them off?
While most of that money passed through the firms to cover advertising and other expenses, that kind of self-dealing raises red flags about possible lax oversight and excessive fees for the firms, campaign finance specialists said.
Political system is full of such rot.
“They are the classic top-down organization run by GOP consultants, and it is the antithesis of what the Tea Party movement is about,’’ said Mark Meckler, a national spokesman for Tea Party Patriots, a coalition of grass-roots organizations that does not endorse or contribute to candidates.
I knew something stunk inside the bag.
Russo’s group is also under attack from Republican Party leaders in Delaware, who have accused the Tea Party Express of improperly collaborating with O’Donnell’s campaign....
What SORE LOSERS!!
Russo dismisses all the criticism, saying he and his group have done nothing wrong. The Delaware party leaders are simply poor losers, he says, and his Tea Party critics are envious of his success....
Since last July, the Tea Party Express has made three bus tours around the country. And its fund-raising — much of it coming from donors contributing $20 to $50 — has proved remarkably successful, equipping Russo with a hefty war chest.
Why is it his war chest (given by the GOOD PEOPLE of this country)!!?
As in Delaware, the group has moved into states and paid for media blitzes for favored candidates in the final weeks before voting.
In other words, it's regular politics.
During this election cycle, the Tea Party Express has spent nearly $1 million in Nevada alone — $547,000 to support Sharron Angle, the Republican Senate candidate, and $385,000 in opposing Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader.
Related: Tea Party Takes Angle on Harry Reid
In Massachusetts, the group spent nearly $350,000 to back Scott Brown, now the state’s Republican senator.
Russo estimated that Russo & Marsh, and his wife’s company, King Media Group, had been paid $250,000 a year for their work with the Tea Party cause.
An analysis of Federal Election Commission records by The Times puts the total amount paid at nearly $700,000 in the past 20 months, or about 13 percent of the $5.2 million the committee has spent. (By comparison, media buyers for candidates’ campaigns typically take a 6 to 15 percent commission, according to one consultant.)
So what is the exact problem?
But the campaign finance records for the Tea Party Express also showed payments totaling more than $10,000 for stays at casino hotels, as well as bills for meals at expensive restaurants near Russo’s offices.
“I was kind of shocked,’’ said Kelly Eustis, who served as political director at the Tea Party Express until leaving last fall. “It kind of turned me off.’’
Russo disputes that there was any lavish spending. “This has not been a profitable activity for us. We have plowed every penny back into this thing.’’
Except for the quarter-of-a-mil paycheck.
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I'm glad I drink coffee.
