Via Goon Qu Appelle:
Seems like there’s a group called Californians for Obama. Pretty upstanding group, right? They’re raising a lot of money for Barack Obama through fundraisers, like a “Women of Power” cruise, “…which boasts star attendees like singer Eartha Kitt, poet Maya Angelou and Rep. Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles.”
Except for one problem.
None of the fundraising money has actually gotten to Obama.
Cash’s “Californians for Obama” boasted an official-looking Web site (www.californiansforobama.com) that was graced by a smiling photo of the candidate. The site pitched a star-studded Obama “Women of Power” cruise for 2,000 to Mexico that attracted donors like a 65-year-old woman from Compton (Los Angeles County), who said she has paid the $2,423 cruise fee believing the funds would help support her candidate.
But a Chronicle examination of the latest Federal Election Commission records on file for the organization for the reporting period ending June 30 shows that while Cash has raised nearly $10,000 this year, not one dollar has gone to the Obama campaign — or any other political candidate.
The Obama campaign issued a statement, asking Cash to stop. Unfortunately:
The Federal Election Commission says that such independent fundraising groups have existed for decades and are entirely legal — as long as they cannot be directly connected to campaigns or fraudulently suggest such a connection to gather donations.
It’s important to remember here that neither Obama nor his election campaign had anything to do with this, and be be careful who you give you money to.
