Only $2.9 million to go

Big Time Dick Cheney is coming to town to help Shelley Sekula Gibbs' futile write-in campaign.

The national Republican Party has joined the fight to replace former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, donating more than $100,000 to the Republican candidate's write-in candidacy and sending Vice President Dick Cheney to a Houston fundraiser for her next week.

Although the party has yet to deliver anywhere near the $3 million once claimed by state GOP Chairwoman Tina Benkhiser, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee confirmed Wednesday that the group had donated $99,465 to assist the campaign of GOP candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.

Cheney is scheduled to appear in Houston on Oct. 4.

Perhaps he can expand on Shelley's remarks to City Council yesterday. I'm sure he'll have just the healing words for the situation.

It wasn't on the independent expenditures report as of a couple of days ago, but I'm told that the $99K indicated in the story is going to the firm of Feather, Larson & Synhorst DCI. They sound like exactly the right kind of organization for Shelley:

FLS-DCI specializes in creating phony front groups to make it appear as if there's a groundswell of support for its clients' issues.

One of its most prominent front groups is Voices for Choices. This fake coalition of conservative groups is runing ads nationwide in support of AT&T's key issues. AT&T, which has donated millions to the Republican Party and the Bush Campaign in 2004 - and whose general counsel served on Bush's transition team, is one of FLS-DCI's largest and most important clients.

Other FLS-DCI phony productions include Responsible Electronic Communications Alliance and Hands Off the Internet.

Hands Off The Internet was an astroturf group that opposed Net Neutrality earlier this year. You can read more about them here. Like I said, this is a perfect fit for Shelley.

Prior to this, back in August, the NRCC spent $21K on a poll in CD22. I'm not sure if that's the infamous Baselice poll or another one whose results did not get released. According to this accounting, that money went to Public Opinion Strategies (search for Sekula to find the entry).

Anyway. Those of you who will be attending this event with Cheney, be sure to remember your face masks and bulletproof vests. The rest of you, read In the Pink for the funny.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on September 28, 2006 to Election 2006 | TrackBack