Playing Politics

Aug. 2, 2006

Okay, I’m reading in the Traverse City Record-Eagle that state Senator Jason Allen has raised more than $500,000 for his campaign, and I wonder why he needs that much money. After all, most people can’t even name the Democrats who are running against him.
Senator Allen’s answer: He’s giving chunks of money to other Republicans who are running for office, especially candidates who are running for an open seat or duking it out with a strong Democrat contender.
That way the state senate will remain dominated by Republicans.
The other reason, which was offered up by political guru Bill Ballenger, is that Allen—and anyone else who wants to nail a leadership post—believe that their financial gift will be thanked when it comes time for the leadership vote.
When I asked Senator Allen about this second motivation, he laughed at such an idea. His contributions were only meant to help candidates in tight races. Victory is even more vital, he explained, because term limits move people in and out of office so swiftly. After the election, he plans to ask for the support of his peers who agree with his views, but it has nothing to do with money.
But Ballenger, editor of the newsletter “Inside Michigan Politics,“ was quite insistent—money is part of the way the system works.
“Let’s put it this way—that’s what ‘s going on, whether he admits it or not, and it’s no big deal.“ Ballenger said. “...It’s completely legal. These leadership PACs, they’re really modeled on congressional leadership PACS where people like Dennis Hastert and Tom DeLay and all these characters you read about in the paper -- the speakers, the majority leaders -- build these PACs and get enormous amounts of money, and they use the money to dispense favors on people, candidates who support their values and might reciprocate by voting for them, and in Jason Allen’s case, vote for them as the majority leader.
“It’s smart politics for Jason Allen, who basically has no contest of his own to worry about,“ Ballenger added. “To raise money and turn around and give it away to Republicans in marginal districts where there are open seats or where the Republican and Democrat are going at it hammer and tongs, and if the Republican wins, it will either confirm or expand the Republican majority in the Senate. And while they’re at it, they’ll think, ‘Gee, I might not have been elected if Jason Allen didn’t come through with $5,000 in the last week.’ And the others who are running for majority leader, they have PACs too, and they’re giving money, at least if they’re smart. They’re competing against him for votes.”
Contributing to a candidates campaign coffer is “not as crass as, ‘I have to buy votes to become a leader,’ but these would-be leaders are consciously personalizing their contributions instead of giving their money to a PAC set up by the state Republican caucus,” said Rich Robinson, executive director of the watchdog group, the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.
In fact, Allen’s leadership PAC did give $42,500 to the Senate Republicans and the Michigan Republicans political action committees. It also gave $65,500 in total to these Republican candidates: Bruce Patterson, $10,000; Roger Kahn, $10,000; Tony Stamas, $10,000; Jud Gilbert, $8,000; Laura Toy, $5,000; Randy Richardville, $10,000; Tom George, $5,000; and Gerald Van Woerkom, $7,500.
Robinson agreed with Allen that all of these people are running for hotly contested or open seats. Now the question is whether Allen will contribute to even more candidates before November; candidates who are not in tight races, but will simply provide him with the leadership votes he needs. But the answer to that will never rise to the top of the news mill because it’s legal and the way our political system works. As one of Allen’s key supporters explained, “If Allen doesn’t play the game, he won’t get to the leadership position, leaving it potentially to a sleazeball who will play the game. It’s the way it is.”
So is it a waste of time to connect the dots to Allen’s contributions to candidates and their subsequent votes for majority leader?
“Sometimes I’m not sure anybody cares. It’s like the readers have given up on this political stuff, as if they’re thinking,‘We know we’re going to get screwed, and it’s even more painful if we understand how it happens,’” Robinson said.
The real problem, at least to my mind, is that the system rewards fundraising more than true leadership. And that’s what the state sorely needs right now—leadership to pound out a bi-partisan economic plan to get this state back into business. Yet it seems that our Republican legislators actually revel in the joblessness statistics rather than sitting down with the governor to actually solve the problem.
Ballenger said that the other two top contenders for senate majority leader are Wayne Kuipers from Holland and Mike Bishop from Oakland County, both who have raised much less PAC money than Allen.
“I think [Allen’s] probably considered the favorite,“ he said.
Allen will be term-limited in 2010, fueling speculation that he may run for governor. So I decided to ask him about that, too.
“I don’t know right now. I could be back selling shirts and ties,” Allen said, referring to his family business, Captain’s Quarters, a men’s store in downtown TC. “I gotta look at what’s in God’s plan. I pray for that answer everyday.”