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Politico Reports That the Minutemen Sell Their Endorsements for Cash

Posted May 27, 2010 by Patrick Young, Esq.
Categories: Hate Watch

Politico today says that the Minuteman Project sells its endorsement to Republican politicians for cold hard cash—No pesos, please.

Jim Gilchrist, who co-founded the weird and often feuding network of organizations that make up the Minutemen, heads the Minuteman Project. While many Minuteman splinters hate him, he has been the persistent national face of the movement, often appearing on FOX News and campaigning prominently two years ago with Mike Huckabee during the preacher’s drive for the presidency.

Last year, Gilchrists reputation took a major hit when an ally of his, Shawna Forde, and members of the Minuteman American Defense killed a little girl and her father in an operation designed to raise funds for Minuteman operations. She and two associates are currently in jail in Arizona awaiting trial on murder charges.

Here is the latest from Politico on the pay-for-endorsement scandal at the Minuteman Project:

To win the endorsement of the Minuteman Project and its founder, Jim Gilchrist, you need to believe in federal troop deployments to stop illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. and stepped-up deportations of those who do.

You may also need to pay several thousand dollars, according to documents from three Republican campaigns that sought Gilchrist’s endorsement.

[T]o Republicans staking out a hard line on immigration, his endorsement is the gold standard. This election cycle, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Utah Senate candidate Tim Bridgewater and Democrat-turned-Republican Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith have been among those accepting his support.

But Republicans in Griffith’s Huntsville district and in one other state say support for a border fence and stepped-up deportation aren’t enough to win Gilchrist’s endorsement: They also were told bluntly that they would need to hire a consulting firm closely linked to the Minuteman founder and run by the project’s political director, Mississippi political consultant Howie Morgan.

When they didn’t hire Morgan, the endorsements didn’t materialize — and in one case, Gilchrist went on to endorse a rival.

Mo Brooks, a Griffith primary challenger, and his campaign manager Bruce Tucker both told POLITICO that Morgan — whom they were interviewing to be their campaign consultant — made the connection clear.

“He clearly stated that hiring him would bring the endorsement of Jim Gilchrist, the Minuteman founder. That was listed as one of the several motivators for us hiring him,” recalled Tucker. His account matched that of Brooks, who also was at the December 30 meeting.

In an interview, Morgan denied he had directly promised Gilchrist’s endorsement and said he had promised only that he would give Brooks an “inside track” to the endorsement. He also told Brooks — in an e-mail provided to POLITICO by Brooks — that he would help him “crush the imposter Republican,” referring to Griffith.

Brooks decided not to hire Morgan’s Election Impact Group for a proposed $2,000 monthly retainer and “another $18,000 should Brooks win the primary.” Brooks parted amicably but got an e-mail from Morgan saying, “while I am disappointed that I was not hired in your campaign, I still believe in the candidacy and campaign you are bringing forth.”

Five months later, Gilchrist endorsed Griffith, whom Brooks and other conservatives had been attacking from the right for the former Democrat’s past positions on immigration.

The endorsement came two weeks after Griffith paid $6,500 to Morgan’s Election Impact, according to campaign finance records.

Morgan said the Minuteman Project typically endorses incumbents with solid voting records, which he said Griffith had in his single term in Congress though he had taken a softer line before reaching federal office.

Morgan said Gilchrist would not speak to POLITICO about the allegations because, he said, he’s convinced the media will “screw him over.”

But earlier this week, Gilchrist was interviewed by Dale Jackson, a Huntsville radio host who supports Brooks. Gilchrist denied he had “shopped” his endorsement. He suggested that Morgan’s fees were not just for travel but also for “screening” candidates for his approval.

“If they want to compensate an election campaign manager for his help in screening them, that’s between them and the election campaign manager,” Gilchrist said.

Jackson pressed Gilchrist on Griffith’s indifference to the immigration issue just two years earlier. “That was then, this is now — and, in my opinion, this is a different man,” Gilchrist replied.

Jackson wasn’t convinced.

“Jim Gilchrist and his Minuteman organization is a sham front group that is clearly selling endorsements to whoever will buy them,” Jackson wrote after the interview.

The close links between Morgan’s firm and Gilchrist’s endorsements appear to fit a pattern. The six 2010 clients listed on the website of Morgan’s firm have Gilchrist’s endorsement, as Jackson first noted.

But two other Republican campaigns failed to land Gilchrist’s nod after talks with Morgan broke down over money. Their correspondence was provided to POLITICO by a Republican outside the campaigns on the condition of anonymity.

Politico continues:

But Morgan also said that paying for Gilchrist to visit the state isn’t merely incidental to an endorsement. The Minuteman Project founder, he said, takes that costly interest as a sign of passion about a shared cause.

“I find that campaigns that are serious about this issue really want us to come out here, they want it to be as serious part of their campaign,” Morgan said.

“There are too many campaigns out here that want to check the box on immigration and say we’re endorsed. Screw you.”

Tags : hate watch, jim gilchrist, minuteman, minuteman project, minutemen, republicans

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