AL-05 2009 Q4 Fundraising Numbers
The 2009, 4th quarter FEC reports for Parker Griffith, Mo Brooks, and Les Phillip are in and here’s a look into the numbers…
Unsurprisingly, Parker Griffith has a substantial cash advantage over the competition. His cash on hand is a whopping $714,836 with no debt. He took in $174,005 ($70,105 from individuals and $101,900 from PACs). While this is lot of money it is a substantial drop off from the first three quarters of 2009. He pulled in – or at least recorded – $52,700 in contributions after he switched parties on Dec. 22 ($18,800 of it from individuals). At least 10 donors have contributed the maximum for both the primary and general elections. Only 16% of Griffith’s itemized contributions for the 4th quarter came from zip codes within the 5th district.
Mo Brooks raised $47,709 during Q4 and has raised a total of $114,340 to date (all from individuals). He also has loaned his campaign $100,000. He only has recorded total expenditures of a little over $3,000 to date and has $211,303 cash on hand. Of his itemized contributions for the election cycle, 92% come from zip codes within the 5th district.
Les Phillip raised an impressive $228,535 during Q4 and has raised a total of $313,798 to date (all from individuals). He has loaned his campaign $50,000. He recorded expenditures of just under $200k for the quarter and has $66,108 cash on hand. His expenditures for the quarter included $180,419 for fundraising and mail expenses as well as $146 to a dentist for “campaign medical expenses.” To put it another way, he spent 79% of money he raised for the quarter trying to raise more money. Not great, but a better return on investment than the Huckabee event he hosted last year. Of his itemized contributions for the election cycle, only 23% come from zip codes within the 5th district.
There is an interesting sidebar to Phillip’s contributions: he has an inordinate amount of “unitemized” contributions (only contributions of $200 or more are required to be disclosed). Of his total contributions to date, 77% are unitemized. The other two candidates claim well under 10% in unitemized contributions. It would be interesting to delve inside those numbers for Phillip to see if it breaks down along the same lines as his itemized contributions regarding in-district support. It seems from my vantage point that Phillip is tapping into national fundraising sources, probably through Tea Party channels, while Brooks is relying on local donors and Griffith is shaking down PACs.
I’m going to be very interested to see the 2010 Q1 fundraising numbers when they come out in a few months. That will serve as one of the best barometers of Griffith’s viability as a candidate in the primary. I suspect he’ll continue to bring in PAC money, but outside of well heeled Republican faithful making obligatory “welcome to the party” contributions I don’t see him getting a lot of contributions from individuals within the district. Could be wrong, of course.
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To paraphrase Charlie Wilson from “Charlie Wilson’s War”, “I am elected by donors.” While it might provide some decent rhetoric (I personally don’t believe people really care unless the contributions come from some unpopular organization) it really doesn’t matter if the contributions come from within the district or not. On some small level, I guess, one could use that as some sort of early electoral support barometer, but I tend to think that is always overblown. Griffith will generally be perceived as the front runner for two reasons: a) he already holds the seat, and b) he is raising the most money. I do think (and hope) he is vulnerable to a primary challenge, but his opponents aren’t raising near enough money.
It’s interesting to consider where the money is coming from. Griffith has mostly money from PACs. He’s a career politician already and, well, we all know what Griffith is. Phillip has money has come mostly from across the country, people who don’t really know him and like him in theory. Brooks has mostly raised money from people within the district who know him because he’s represented many of them. I think that’s really going to show when election time comes.
To me Griffith is vulnerable because of the switch, but I just don’t draw that much from these numbers. If his opponents were raising tons of money, then I might, but as of right now it doesn’t look as if some anti-Griffith tidal wave is coming. Again, I do think he is vulnerable, but not because of where his money is coming from or vice versa. Brian does make a good point though, it will indeed be interesting to see where the numbers are after the first quarter. Not so much because of who is giving, but how much.
Talmadge,
Remember these figures ended on Dec. 31st. Parker switched just over a week before that. It would stand to reason that the anti-Griffith movement wouldn’t have picked up until after the New Year because of Christmas.
His money is going to keep him the front runner and major player in this race until the end.
Is Les Phillip really the grassroots candidate? Certainly not AL-05’s grassroots candidate. 77% of his money came from outside of the 5th district. For a campaign claiming to be the “grassroots” campaign, that number is astonishing. Almost as astonishing as the fact that 79% of money he raised for the quarter was spent raising that money. $4 out of every $5 that people thought would go to Les Phillip went to political campaign bureaucracy. In most cases, even more than that as some of the money was raised without professionals. His contributors were 80+% deceived. If I were one of them I would be outraged. Les is getting massively duped by whoever it is that he’s employing… 0% from PACs? What? Is HUCKPAC listed under individuals for some curious reason? How could he get so much money from outside of AL-05 without an organization outside of AL-05?? Sketchy…
Mo Brooks’ numbers show who has real support from AL-05’s voters. 92% of his contributions came from within AL-05. 0% from PACs. Sounds like he should be titled the grassroots candidate to me.
Griffith, well, he has tons of money. Certainly what we all expected. Thankfully, he has no ammo. He could buy Germany’s Paris Gun and all he would be able to shoot out are pretty smiles, fluffs of congressman hair and transparent lies.
The numbers that really matter:
Cash on Hand
Parker Griffith – 715k
Mo Brooks – 211k
Lester Phillip – 66k
Mo Brooks is gaining on Griffith.
Phillip still has 1/3 as much cash on hand as his fellow conservative. Said a different way, Mo’s cash on hand increased by 70k more than Lesters.
Griffith sucked all of the money out of the Democrats street corner but I doubt he’ll find the Republican corner as lustful…
If Phillip’s campaign continues to look so bleak, it may be considered that he really only has $16k on hand. I doubt that he wants to go from ~7% of the vote to ~12% of the vote for $50k out of his own pocket…
Not necessarily. Phillip can be, and in my opinion IS the grassroots candidate in this race. Brooks is a career politician and there are a lot of things that go on with these guys we never hear or know about; unless we can dig it up. Griffith is getting PAC money; or was.
Phillip can be drawing contributions from donors across the country in small amounts. We’ve seen this in several races already this year, most recently the Scott Brown campaign. Tea Party members WILL support the conservative candidate and there’s no doubt who the most conservative candidate is.
Let’s not insinuate that Phillip is doing anything less than honest in his reporting practices. As was noted, unless the donation is over a certain amount, he doesn’t have to report it. Listing $25 and $50 donations could be a time-consuming job at this point.
It will only get better for Phillip. I plan to donate the maximum amount to his campaign, I donated to Scott Brown’s campaign and to the NY23 race. There are millions of Americans who are watching our district right now because of the publicity Griffith’s defection caused. When they check the other two candidates out, Phillip will be the choice of Tea Party Patriots around the country. Just as it has happened all over the U.S.
Les will get a lot of support from all over the United States. True, they can’t vote for him but they can work for him. And, they will.
Les is the more conservative candidate? How do you figure? Les does have a pretty website/pictures/videos – he has spent much more money on it whereas Mo is holding out for a Blitzkrieg near the end of the race – but Mo has much more in substance.
How do you come to trust a person? You get to know them. Mo Brooks has an excellent record that we can see. Let me list a few facts for you:
1) Mo was considered one of the most effective legislators in the Alabama legislature by an Alabama newspaper.
2) Mo ranked #1 out of 140 legislators in the fight against higher taxes by the Alabama Taxpayers’ Defense Fund.
3) Mo was elected House minority leader three different times in the Alabama legislature.
4) Mo fought against the Amendment I tax increase in 2004 (which would have been the largest tax increase in Alabama’s history) that was being pushed by Governor Bob Riley (R) – Mo is more loyal to our conservative principles than he is to GOP big whigs.
5) Mo’s discretionary budget for those he represents (Madison County Commission District 5), increased 19-20 fold from 1996 – 2009. This increase occurred without any General Fund tax increases.
6) In 25+ years of public service, there has never been an ethics complaint filed against Mo to the Alabama Ethics Commission.
7) Mo doesn’t use public money for a county car, car insurance, gas, cell phone, computer, copier, etc (all other county commissioners have some if not all of these paid for by the county). Notably, Les Phillip has already used the people’s money, in the form of donations, to clean his teeth!. To find it, click the link and ctrl + f “dental”
8) Mo has sponsored, promoted and passed legislation before.
9) Mo has a B.S. in economics from Duke University. He understands and is quite outspoken about his beliefs in the free market system.
10) Mo Brooks has promised to “strongly push for a balanced budget Constitutional Amendment (not just co-sign an amendment and passively watch to see what happens).” And as his resume makes plain, he is very capable of doing so effectively.
11) For the last 70 years, every single candidate who has run for Congress, regardless of party, who had not first proven himself in public office lost. Mo Brooks passes that litmus test for Huntsville’s government employees.
There is much more that could be said….
As previously stated, I learn to trust someone by knowing them. The voters of AL-05 can trust Mo because we know him through his record. In 3 decades time his conservatism has not wavered one tick. So please tell me… how is Les Phillip more conservative than Mo Brooks?
Haha, forgive the smiley face. It was meant to be an 8 ). Silly emotes.
The obvious difference between Phillip and Brown is the way they spend their money. Phillip spends almost 80% of his money on raising money, not actually running a campaign. Really, the same comparison could be made between Brooks and Phillip. You attribute this to his rookie status and the difficulties that creates as he raises money. Well, that rookie status follows him if he gets elected. Will he be equally ineffective? Cathy later points out that his aspiration is to vote out Pelosi. What else? How is he going to improve our country? Let’s say the Republicans are able to recapture the House. Will he just vote for whatever they tell him to because he’s unable to come up with his own bills?
Liz,
I’m confused. Are you asking about what Mo or Les will do if elected to Congress? Cathy is talking about Mo’s aspiration but before you brought that up it seemed like you were talking about Les. Regardless, I will tell you some things Mo has stated he intends to do if we bless him with our congressional seat:
1) “…strongly push for a balanced budget Constitutional Amendment (not just co-sign an amendment and passively watch to see what happens).” This would make it unconstitutional to pass a budget where the Congress plans for a deficit.
2)”…remove illegal aliens from America, thereby immediately freeing up millions of jobs for America citizens.” Here is his plan to make this happen:
- The federal government should not bar states and local governments from dealing with the illegal alien issue. If a state or local government has a workable idea, they should be allowed to implement it.
- Taxpayers and those of us who pay for our health care should not be forced to pay for the cost of health care for foreign workers. Employers are the ones who profit from the hiring of foreign workers. Hence, they should be the ones who pay for foreign workers’ health care costs. This additional cost of hiring foreign workers will make American citizens more attractive for employment.
- Similar to the above, American citizens who are victimized by foreign workers (auto wrecks where the foreigner has no insurance, for example) should have recourse against the employer of the foreign worker (the principle being that it is better for the employer who profits from the foreign worker to pay the damages suffered rather than force the innocent victim into bankruptcy). Again, this additional cost (insurance) of hiring foreign workers will make American citizens more attractive for employment.
- States should be allowed to impose “foreign worker employment taxes” on all employers of foreign workers . . . to help offset taxpayer costs created by the foreign worker: schools, jails, health care, AFDC, etc.
3)”…sponsor and vote for a constitutional amendment limiting senator and house member terms to 12 years.” Yes, a politician who wants to restrain his own power. The same politician whose personal income will decrease if elected as Mo and Martha Brooks’ 3 jobs and 3 revenue sources will be exchanged for a congressman’s pay in DC. Admittedly, still not bad pay but who doesn’t want more?
4) Mo says that once in office his two main concerns are 1) out of control budget addressed by the balanced budget amendment mentioned above & 2) protecting our free enterprise system from Socialism. Mo has a B.S. from Duke in Economics. He understands and is very passionate about the free enterprise system (for those just meeting Mo Brooks).
As a side note, I will be VERY surprised if Mo doesn’t seriously rile things up in Congress. Mo is not afraid to speak his mind and WILL make his voice heard. Being a lawyer, Mo is good at logic based, passionate, persuasive speeches (For example) that are sure to get the ball rolling in Washington. Mo doesn’t sell his votes to PACs which makes him a pretty poor politician but if elected, he may very well be the best congressman this district has ever had.
Also interesting of note is that of the $228k that Les raised during the quarter, he did so from donations from over 6,200 individual donors!!! No PACS, No companies! Over 6,200 individual donations with the average donation being $34.22 and the median donation being $25.00. This, on top of his Q3 report with 1,741 donors who contributed an average of $33.34, while the median was again $25.00. To date, Les has over 8,500 donations from separate individuals from across the country (all 50 states including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico), while the other candidates have less than 1,000 combined!
Albeit, Les’ support has come from all across the country, including the 5th Congressional District. My personal sentiment is that this Q4 report signifies the type of candidate that Les Phillip is, one that inspires hope and inspiration from all sorts of people from all sorts of unique places and parts of the country.
Full disclosure, I am a Les Phillip supporter and active with his campaign.
So how did he get so much money from outside of AL-05? Internet ads? I tell ya, whoever is getting employed to do this sort of thing for him is making sizable amounts of money. Maybe even more than Les.
It is really disappointing that a unknown like Les can’t raise more money without wasting so much money. Just think, all of those employed to raise political contributions for ALL politicians could be employed doing something productive (engineering, research, litigation to peaceably solve disputes, construction, use your imagination). It’s like the IRS part 2. Here is an interesting site that may be able to change all of that: http://goooh.com/home.aspx
This site consolidates information about all political candidates (the candidates make their own accounts like facebook or twitter). It puts the candidates on a level playing field. It’s a beautiful idea and I hope anyone reading this passes it on.
Anyways, back to the money spiel. Conservatives should support Mo Brooks. Not only is he the better candidate; he is also the conservative with the best shot at winning this thing. He may only have 3x as much cash as Les… but Les is far behind in another very important area – name recognition. Just for Les to have equal name recognition as Mo he would need to spend at least $100-150k. Right now he trails by $140k. I’m not asking you Phillip’s supporters to back down from our beliefs. I’m asking you to consider supporting a candidate with excellent conservative credentials who has a very good shot at our congressional district.
Phillips is a great candidate. Did it EVER occur to you that his donations are coming from individuals in small amounts? And, probably most of them are from Tea Party members across the U.S.
Anyone “working” for Phillips at this point isn’t making much money. I worked the Sanford campaign and I can tell you, it was a shoestring. Passion, inspiration and hope for a Congressional Representative who will represent our district and work FOR us and not be swayed by political aggression he will face draws people to Les Phillip. He is the perfect candidate for this job.
Most of the arguments I’ve heard about the other candidates; one is a RINO and the other is a career politican. But, his aspiration is to go vote Pelosi out. That doesn’t take “experience” and what experience has he had that qualifies him, in the first place? Local elections and state races. Please. Look at the man. Look at who surrounds him and look at some of the things that have happened during his tenure as Commissioner and there are questions in my mind about him.
I’m not trying to be negative here about anyone so I’ll leave it at that.
That very name recognition you brag about could be exactly what gives the race to the Democrat candidate. It is quite obvious that few people on here actually understand the teaparty conservative. Maybe it should make you wonder why people across the country are willing to donate their money & time to a candidate. Why this candidate is stirring such passion in them, what they recognize in him that is missing from the other candidates?
I think what is stirring such passion is his video’s and other forms of propaganda that say very near to nothing. I could walk around telling everyone that I love the constitution and never want to see it destroyed or subverted. I wouldn’t be lying either. Does that make me Congressman material? No. I have never worked on any sort of legislative body my entire life. I would be a complete rookie. Being an effective congressman requires a skill set which not everyone who loves our country has.
For example:
Wikipedia lists the following as the USA’s official founding fathers: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
Of the seven, five were lawyers. Why lawyers? It is a lawyer’s job to present a logical argument verbally to a group of decision makers. A legislator’s job is much the same. Mo has experience in law and in a legislative body. He has spent his career, in both of his jobs, honing his ability to create logical arguments and verbally expressing them to the end of convincing others the legitimacy of his stance.
To me, Mo’s experience in that end DOES matter because it is important for a congressman to be able to defend his beliefs with skill so that he gains the rapport of other congressmen.
Victoria,
I have been to tea parties before. I enjoy them. I really can’t wait to attend more when the weather gets warmer. I know what being a tea party activist is about. Mo Brooks has spoken at tea parties.
If you would like to see what I consider the tea party at its best, you can find it here.
Quite right Victoria, I don’t get the Tea Party folks at all. If I was to venture to guess, I would say that it is the latest manifestation of the anti-Washington Ross Perot crowd without someone to rally around (and therefore almost infertile). Please, enlighten me on what the Tea Party crowd’s principals are, because to me it looks as if a rag-tag group of pissed off people that have very different beliefs (and thus no/or very few core beliefs) got together and haven’t done much of anything. I think I will save my $560, that by the way doesn’t go towards to “movement”, but for profit, and laugh at Roy Moore from my living room.
Talmadge East – You are right. The Tea Party folks believe a lot of different things. Some are Republicans, some constitutionalists, some libertarians and some are unclassifiable but there is one message that the Tea Party movement has said loud and clear: “No more big government.”
That is a message I can respect and I’m glad that there are others out there who are sick of having to fear that government may take from us our property, our freedoms or our local sovereignty at the behest of a chamber of people that I’ve never met before in a city that I would have no interest in if it wasn’t for the damage it could inflict upon my life.
See Edward, I don’t think they even agree on that. A large number of the Tea Partiers claim to be libertarians, which doesn’t jee-haw with the police-state minded rest of them. Now this is a struggle that has been going on in the GOP itself for quite sometime, but to a much lesser degree, because the law & order crowd has generally kept the upper hand. I believe the only thing they actually agree on is misplaced frustration.
Cathy, what kind of a goal is it to simply vote out Pelosi? Isn’t that the same goal every other conservative candidate has? What makes Les special that anyone should vote for him beyond that?
If there’s some kind of evidence you have that support your claims about Mo Brooks’s time as Commissioner? What are these claims or is this just libel? I would be interested to hear of any wrongdoings (backed up with facts of course). The irony here is your ask people to not insinuate any wrong doings in Les’s campaign as you, in the next breath, do the same thing to Commissioner Brooks.
“Look at the man. Look at who surrounds him.” What is that other than a broad negative attack without substance?
I’m an undecided voter, but if I had simply read this article and these comments, I would be hesitant to vote for Les simply because of your representation.
If you think a candidate is better, fine. List the facts. If you think another candidate is not good. Fine. List the facts. This “He’s a bad guy because I said so and support his opposition” can only hurt your cause.
Talmadge East – The “police-state minded rest of them.” What?? You’ve met tea party activists who want to see America turned into a police state? I think you went to the wrong party.
Recall: The Tea Parties began early in 2009 as a direct response to the federal government’s stimulus package.
As the movement has become more popular, I’m sure that the beliefs of its members have become more diverse but none of them are looking for a Third Reich styled police state. A wide variety of views are held on social issues but a theme common to maybe all of the tea parties has been disgust with the federal bailouts and disgust with the high-handedness of the federal government.
Maybe “police-state” is a little inflammatory, but what I meant to convey is there is a wider schism between those that are more libertarian in their thinking with regard to “law & order” issues or “church/state” issues. As I stated earlier, it is much the same within the GOP itself, but to a heightened degree in the Tea Party movement. This won’t be much of a big deal unless they manage to try and pull themselves together so they cold govern v.s. just shouting nonsensically about things they don’t like.
“Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
I consider any sizable group of active citizens a big deal.
The tea party movement is a very real thing. If these numbers are any indication, we could be seeing the birth of a new political party.
The real test will be electoral in nature, and at a minimum we will need to see what happens in November to begin to understand what the Tea Party movement is or isn’t. Indeed, unless the Tea Party actually takes its name seriously and starts to run its own candidates, it will be difficult to totally disaggregate the exact effect of Tea Party activists from other variables. Something I doubt very much will come to pass.
Oh the hacks.
Yourself included, correct Dan?
I’ll start with the full disclosure, I too am a Les supporter and active campaign volunteer. I also have nothing personal against Mo, and enthusiastically voted for him as county commissioner when I lived in south Huntsville. Were Les not in this race, obviously, I would support Mo. Looking outside the bubble political junkies sometimes get caught in, I believe Les has considerably broader appeal. I am here posting personally, as a voter, not as a representative of the Les Phillip campaign
The spin on this could just as easily favor any one of the 3. It depends entirely on the proclivities of the writer. I don’t suppose any of us is expecting objectivity, either in the articles, or from the comments, on this site. Each of these three candidates has to run a very different campaign from the others, as their backgrounds are as different as 3 candidates from the same party could be. I would love to see a breakdown from a disinterested poli-sci professor.
Fund-raising and Mailing is a broad category… assuming that was all spent on fund-raising specific activities is great for the rhetoric, but rests on some very broad assumptions.
Mo has name recognition, and loyal/long time supporters, but Les has been necessarily running a more active campaign, with more lit, more advertising, and by all appearances more volunteers involved. Just from observation, not 100% of Mo’s recognizance is positive either. No offense if you read this Mo, there will always be a percentage of people that you offend if you’re in politics, I’m just pointing out the balance that more people may know you, but inherently more also dislike you. That ratio will factor in on June 1.
Les’ entire web operation is comparatively phenomenal, in a day when elections are practically won on social media (think Scott Brown). Look at the websites, look at the twitter, youtube, and facebook pages, and think objectively outside of your loyalties to Mo, and you’ll see that from a purely scientific standpoint, Les is doing exactly what someone without a long political career to rest on should do, and doing it effectively. When people in safe districts donate to contested districts, having the appeal to be their candidate of choice is a real asset.
National caliber candidates earn local name recognition much more easily. More people in this district watch Fox News or other national media than read the Huntsville Times. Mo may very well vote identically to Les, but Mo has nothing that would set him apart to ride the “tea party” wave. He’s an attorney and long time politician. Les has a very distinct advantage in the earned media game. Les’ image, being a veteran, legal immigrant, small business owner, and not established as a politician, are all advantages in this political climate. I see the value in Mo’s political experience, but it is in no way a trump-card, especially this year.
Les has proven himself able to raise money. When it comes to beating the Democrat, we want someone who can do that effectively, and without nasty strings attached (like Griffith). Where it comes from geographically is irrelevant except for a very unscientific association between fund-raising and committed votes. Mo should, theoretically, as an established attorney and long time sitting GOP elected official, be able to pick up the phone and collect enough 2400 dollar checks to hit the 200k mark. That’s 84 people out of 635,000 +/- in the district. Obviously very few candidates anywhere are doing that this year, but a certain number of “inner-circle max donors” are expected for a candidate like Mo. That explains a low number of high-dollar donors that are almost exclusively local. If I had to bet, I’d say they are not just 92% in the district, they are probably 80+% in Madison County.
In the end, beating Griffith and beating the Dems is what matters. I say get out and advocate on behalf of either Les or Mo, and one or the other will ultimately sell to the average primary voter. Posturing, spinning, and bickering on here really won’t change many minds, as much as we all enjoy it. Hopefully, we’ll all be campaigning for one or the other on June 2nd.
Vince,
Thank you for the invitation. I will now proceed to advocate for Mo Brooks. In case it isn’t obvious, I am a Mo Brooks supporter and active “cyber volunteer.”
“Les has proven himself able to raise money.” – Vince
In Q4, Les raised $48k to Mo Brooks’ $47k and PG’s $174k. Looks to me that he’s about equal to Mo Brooks if it weren’t for a few things – Mo received $11k+ in unsolicited contributions and hasn’t yet sent out a fund raising letter while Phillip has to spend $4 for everyone $1 gain. Furthermore, Mo’s “sell-ability” and name recognition mean that Les really needs to have much more money than Mo to compete. Recall Mo’s election history in AL05 and Huntsville. Mo is not only well known but also well respected.
“Les’ image, being a veteran, legal immigrant, small business owner, and not established as a politician, are all advantages in this political climate.” -Vince
While some (5-10%) may begrudge Mo for being a local politician, the vast majority of voters won’t care and many that begrudge him at first glance will review his record and promptly change their mind.
To say that “being a veteran, legal immigrant, small business owner, and not established as a politician” is nearly as large of an asset as Mo Brooks’ name identification, campaign coffer and impressive record (part of which is itemized above) is very far fetched.
To compare Les Phillip to Scott Brown is also very far fetched. Sure, both Les and Brown rely heavily on funds outside of their district through online contribution but sixteen days after submitting his name for the senate seat, Brown had $149,712 cash on hand, extensive name recognition, a reviewable record, and as far as “Brown’s image” goes; he has won Cosmopolitan’s “America’s Sexiest Man” contest and used to be a professional model. Eight months into Les’ campaign he has less than half of Brown’s cash in hand and none of the other advantages listed with the possible exception of being a model. In terms of political caliber, Brown and Les are nearly as comparable as Don Quixote and King Arthur.
However, Scott Brown resembles Mo Brooks in many ways:
Scott Brown’s political/private careers of interest:
Military Lawyer
Member of the Wrentham, Massachusetts Board of Selectmen 1995 – 1998
Member of the Massachusetts’ House of Representatives 1998 – 2004
Member of the Massachusetts’ Senate from the Norfolk, Bristol & Middlesex district 2004 – today
Military Lawyer – Perhaps I should switch the order to Lawyer Military. Brown has served a total of 20 days outside of the U.S. for the service. He has been a practicing lawyer on and off for the past 24 years.
Board of Selectmen – A local position similar to our city council. Mo has likewise served at a local level in the capacity of County Commissioner.
Member of the Massachusetts’ House of Representatives – This position is self explanatory. Mo was not only a member but also served as the minority leader in Alabama’s House of Representatives for three terms.
Member of the Massachusetts’ Senate – This position is self explanatory. It is strange that Senator Brown, who has been in politics for 14 years, could win his election with crippling career choices like politician and lawyer!… I contend that having a record and being an effective debater were major assets to Scott Brown and are major assets to Mo Brooks.
Again, Brown had $150k cash in hand three months before the general election. Four months from yesterday is AL-05’s “general primary” (as no Dem has announced and none appear to be so masochistic). Mo has $211k cash on hand, extensive name recognition, a reviewable record and has won “Edward’s Sexiest Man of the Year Award” every year that the event has been held. (I jest. For the record, I have won “Edward’s Sexiest Man of the Year Award” all of those years.)
I’m happy to agree that both Les and Mo are significantly better than Griffith. Nevertheless, I submit to you that it will be a rough road for either Les or Mo to win the primary if the total conservative resources in the 5th district are split between two candidates. Griffith is playing from the handbook of Julius Caesar. He does not want to face a candidate who has been receiving the support of the entire GOP for several months. On our current course, when the voting booths are filled on June 1st, Parker Griffith will meet two conservative candidates; each with only partial support from AL-05’s conservatives; each will have weaker campaigns because of fewer resources.
Mo Brooks has serious advantages over Les Phillip. Hopefully, all AL-05 conservatives will recognize this and support him to unseat Parker Griffith.
Let me give you the cliff notes:
Griffith is rich from Democrat money and is using it against Republicans. (Maybe there is a special place in hell for these kinds of republicans)
Mo hasn’t raised any money. Sorry Mo.
Les has proven he can raise the money, and more importantly – he has proven he can raise more next quarter.
The silly point being made, aside from Edward’s man-crush comment of Mo, is that a whole lot of money is coming from outside the district. If that were the case, would Les’ facebook and twitter followers more or less reflect that amount of cash donated? The followers for that amount isn’t there which makes me believe that we have 6,200 donors giving small donor amounts that pepper the district.
Good gosh, and if that is the case, which is probably is – Next quarter is going to look even better for Les.
Tbeach:
Only if he doesn’t spend 80% of what he raises paying somebody to raise the money.
And, what do you mean Brooks hasn’t raised any money? He’s raised tons of money without paying through the nose to do so. Did you read this blog or are you just randomly saying things that are pro-Phillip?
TBeach – Yeah a lot of his money is coming from outside the district… 77% of it did. Please read the article first and comment second.
Hmm 1 month before election in MA Scott Brown down by 30 points to Martha Coakley. Election day WIN Scott Brown.
Yeah, but that was between a Dem and a Republican. Not comparable, well, unless you’re including Parker Griffith in the analogy… ;)
Griffith = Liberal Democrat err Republican
Mo has shaken down every rich donor he can find in south Huntsville hence his numbers.
Brian, just a quick point of clarification. On the quote above “Of his total contributions to date, 77% are unitemized”. Actually, 100% of Les contributions are itemized, the FEC-generated report just does not provide the detail. Those contributing $1 to the maximum each are reported alike to the FEC with all required information including employer, occupation, address, phone, etc, unless on the very rare occasion that a donor specifically requests otherwise. The FECFile software that is used to generate the actual FEC report is limited in terms of data size/filing pages and internally generates each report that you or I see as the final FEC filing. The campaigns do not have control over how each of these reports is generated. During Q4, Les literally had 6,204 individual donors to the campaign with the median contribution being $25. At three donors per page, which is about the average, Les’ full report would be about 2,000 pages not including the summary or any expenditures.
I think that to characterize his campaign as not being forthcoming in anyway is a bit misleading, but I understand how one can draw that conclusion by just looking at the report without knowing about the sausage making, etc. Also, Les’ campaign has greatly benefitted from everyday individuals like you and me. Those who cannot afford to give the maximum donation, but can afford $5, $10, $25. Hence, it is likely that his future reports will be similar in nature.
To be totally honest, I am not certain how the FEC determines what is or is not shown, but it appears to me to be that all donations above $200 are included and then others below $200 are included up to the point of hitting the maximum page/data size allotment. Looking at Les’ Q4 filing, those additional donors appear to be on a first reported basis, but I could be wrong here.
Just a point of clarification and not meant to ride anyone or anything. As always, Les attempts to be as completely transparent as possible and any and all of his activities are completely open to the public if requested. Please feel free to ask a question offline and the campaign will be more than happy to accommodate.
How did I characterize his campaign as not being forthcoming? By pointing out that he complied with FEC reporting guidelines?
@ Liz – Mo raising $48,000 does not constitute raising a “ton of money”. I seen the Girl Scouts raise more money in a shorter amount of time.
The truth is that Les’ has a message that resonates with the people of the 5th district and proof of that is the amount of low dollar donations.
Sorry guys, Les Phillip is like Alabama’s running game. You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.
Les’s donations have little to do with the 5th District because most of them aren’t from here. Also, it’s a moot point since it cost so much to raise them. It’s kinda like the Huckabee “fundraiser” he had which lost money.
I will agree with you on the quality of Alabama’s running game, though. :)
What I’m looking forward to is seeing what Griffith’s fundraising looks like in the next quarter! My guess is it’s going to look like that nearly vertical water-slide at park!
Tbeach – What is Les’ message?
Les Phillip has entertaining campaign ads that fit as many America symbols in them as possible while saying absolutely nothing. And I quote:
“I have and I will defend the constitution. I will promote all things that empower America and its people. I’m willing to serve my country to restore freedom, liberty and prosperity for my fellow Americans because frankly, it’s time.”
I doubt that you could find a politician in the United States that would refuse to say those lines. Barack Obama would be 100% dandy with repeating that speech word for word. In fact, he would undoubtedly do it better. Sure, Les’ website says he believes in conservative ideals… and so does Parker Griffith’s.
Mo Brooks is the one with a real message: “Big Government, Socialism and massive budget deficits will destroy the USA.”
This message has been the same for all of his years in office as shown by his record:
- Mo ranked #1 out of 140 legislators in the fight against higher taxes by the Alabama Taxpayers’ Defense Fund.
- Mo fought against the Amendment I tax increase in 2004 (which would have been the largest tax increase in Alabama’s history) that was being pushed by Governor Bob Riley (R). Clearly, Mo is more loyal to our conservative principles than he is to GOP power brokers.
- Mo Brooks has promised to “strongly push for a balanced budget Constitutional Amendment (not just co-sign an amendment and passively watch to see what happens).” And as his resume makes plain, he is very capable of doing so effectively.
- Mo Brooks is anti-IRS and a proponent of both the fair tax and the flat tax.
We need a man who we know will do for us as he says he will. It is all about trust. Simple. Mo Brooks has credibility because for nearly 30 years he has stood for conservative principles where others would not and often to his own political detriment.
Les Phillip did not raise all of his money with some grand message. He raised his money by convincing people that he is a good candidate based upon the ad quoted at the top of this post which said absolutely nothing of substance. This is the main difference between Les and Mo Brooks – Mo Brooks relies on logical arguments, his impressive service record and distributing factual pamphlets to gain supporters – Les Phillip relies on pretty ads and photoshop.
Good sir, Edward.
If Mo can raise support and money based on his record, great. Keep on keeping on. I’m sure next quarter will be better. I’ll be rooting for ya.
Mr. Mo Brooks,
I know youre just dying to opine on this blog. =) It was good seeing you in Morgan Co. I’ll be at Lawrence Co GOP tonight though. If it wasn’t a dry county, I’d buy you a beer.
Its an interesting race and whatever the outcome, it will be good to have a Conservative in office.
Edward,
For every person that favors Mo solely because of his experience there will be one that goes for Les because he is a fresh face. You’re underestimating how frustrated the everyday American is with what’s going on in Washington on both sides of the aisle. We keep getting the same results because we elect the same type people over and over again to represent us in D.C. They are seasoned veteran politicians who have experience.
On the flip side, there are some who won’t even consider Les because he doesn’t have experience and some will vote against him solely based on the color of his skin sadly.
It’s going to hurt both Mo and Les when Wayne Parker enters the race for the fourth time. If he wasn’t going to run, why hasn’t he said so by now?
wolfmanjack – I contend that Mo Brooks is not the “same type.” Above (near the top of the page) I have presented 11 impressive statements about Mo’s political career. Just food for thought. How many government officials do you know that have a plate so clean (25+ yrs in the lime light) while at the same time being so effective and electable? Mo is certainly not the “same type.” If you look a little below that I have also posted things that Mo has promised he will do once elected to Congress.
Mo is not an opportunist. His family’s revenue will actually decrease considerably if he gets elected. When he and Martha move to DC they will be trading 3 incomes for 1. At the same time, he has lent his campaign a small fortune. Based on the man’s record and the very uncomfortable extremes he is willing to go to to get elected, it is obvious to me that he is genuinely concerned for the welfare of our country. An experienced leader and legislator who is willing to sacrifice for the opportunity to help his country is exactly who we need in Washington.
I understand that many people feel very disenfranchised and rightfully so. I have attended a few tea parties myself and I think that the concerns they voiced there are completely legitimate. But remember, Mo Brooks is a regular face at the tea party rallies. He MC’d at least one and he has been a speaker more than once. Also, I don’t believe the “no politician” crowd is nearly as large as the “we want experience” crowd. Our country needs Huntsville to be a source of Aerospace innovation. Likewise, Huntsvillians need jobs. Check out 5) and 11) on the list up top. Mo’s credentials will make the Research Park/RSA crowd flock to the polls en masse.
No doubt that Mo’s record is strong and upstanding but John Q. Public isn’t going to take time to research to that effect and sadly the rest of the politicians have tainted it for him.
Mo has plenty of money for brochures and push cards. If they know he is a politician, they will also know that he has been an outstanding advocate of conservative principles and ethical government unless the Les folks make it their objective to use slander and insinuations as a few of them have…
Examples: victoria_29 and USRanger here
Gosh I love campaign season! A few quick points….its obvious that Parker pretty much screwed the democrats. He took all their money and left them with no one credible to run against him or Mo. Another point Id like to hit on is that even though I think Les will finish 3rd in this race. Its a good thing to see african americans stepping forward in the GOP with a conservative message to all voters but especially african americans. Its my understanding that Angela McGlowan with FOX News is going to announce in Corinth next week that she’s running for Congress this year as well. The look of hopelessness on the faces of many low income blacks here in the south is very dreadful. That community desperately needs people like Les and Mr Richardson and Ms McGlowan stepping forward to show them that there is another way to success in life other than depending on a monthly government check.
Cathy = “there are a lot of things that go on with these guys we never hear or know about”
This is one of the things I like about Mo Brooks – he does the right thing even when he thinks no one is watching – I’ve seen him. You could dig all day and wouldn’t find any dirt on Mo…
Well, maybe Mo got pretty dirty when he went canoeing using tips from the Sierra Club magazine.
Clinton – thanks for the insight into the FEC reports.
dan t – thanks – Angela McGlowan’s announcement will be Tuesday, February 9, at noon in Corinth at the Alcorn County Courthouse.
I’m trying to figure out if I can be there then make it to Montgomery by 5PM…
The huge question for Mo, Les, and Parker is whether Wayne Parker will jump in. If he junped in right now, I think he could, i use the word ‘could’ very strongly, raise $500k in a month or so and be the frontrunner. But will he run and will the voters of the 5th district believe that the 4th time is the charm?
The best thing that Wayne could do to beat Parker Griffith is endorse and raise money for Mo Brooks.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I would like to see Parker Griffith get beat. With all due respect to Mo and Les, both of these men have proven that they are unable to raise the necessary funds. A congressional race requires a massive fundraising effort and these guys are just not up to the task. Also, they have both been “campaigning” and fundraising for at least six months now, and neither candidate has gained any traction. That is not a good sign. I have received a mail piece from each candidate – both of which were less than professional. I appreciate all of the Mo and Les supporters getting on here and giving their two cents worth, but the fact is that neither one of these guys is going to be able to beat Parker Griffith because of their inability to raise funds. In order to beat Parker someone is going to have to get in the race that a) can raise $500,000 quickly and b) already has pretty good name id district-wide. Les and Mo have neither.
Wow Young GOP and Daisy – it only took 44 replies for a Wayne (I wish my last name were not) Parker plea. My guess is that you are the same person, but who am I to say?
Listen folks – two things for everyone to remember here:
1. Nobody has to pay to vote: I don’t really care who has more money in the bank, and last I checked, when I go to vote, they don’t tell me that, and it doesn’t matter how much I have either.
2. Not long ago, nobody knew about Les, and that has changed big-time. If I were you Brian, Reactionary, Edward… I would worry a lot more about how many people are wearing Les Phillip button at the establishment meetings and much less about his financials.
Your guy is getting his butt kicked in his own backyard! Open your eyes!
Last – about Wayne Parker. I am one that hopes he gets in the race – because it will all but guarantee the win for Les. I know you guys think I am crazy right now, but remember where you heard it first! Les has the most energized base of any of the three. They are going to budge, well maybe if Ronald Reagan rose from the dead and declared for the seat – but outside of that, he has a solid 15% right now. Add WP and he will only need about 15% more, which is a very reachable goal – once in the run-off, he will wipe out PG.
People need to start understanding that traditional politics have changed and these are new days – Les and his campaign understand that – by the time Mo and WP wrap their minds around it – they will be voting for Les on July 15th to take PG down!
“I know you guys think I am crazy right now…”
I thought you were crazy way before that. What zip code do you live in?
After reviewing all the comments my observation is that the Republican Party still needs a viable candidate. Les raises alot of money but spends most of it raising money, cash on hand is the bottom line and he only has $66,000 to show for it, and Les’s contributions are from a professional fundraiser group and the contributors are from out of the district, this doesnt show an overwhelming support for Les. You have to raise money from the district to win.
Mo has raised some m0ney but his efforts are not impressive this late in the race. Wayne Parker although has lost three times, could be the Republican’s best choice. Parker Griffith wins if he gets the nomination, political wisdom says if Mo or Les gets it, the Democrats have a better chance to win. You can talk about Harry Ried and Nancy Pelosi all day, but it is what you can do for the district like bring jobs, industry and roads. Don’t confuse activity on blogs or money raised as who is going to win, it is about how much the candidate can raise and how much support district wide the candidate can garner.
Right now, Parker Griffith has the money, the position and name recognition to win. Mo has the religious issue of being a Mormon that doesnt play well among the Bible Belt and Les can”t seem to raise enough money to support an all out campaign. Republicans need Wayne Parker or someone else that can bring all factions of the party together and raise money. If you cant do it in the primary you cant do it in November!
This is about reality. No matter who your candidate is, you have to raise the money and build the support one without the other is a recipe for losing.
politicalhack,
“…it is what you can do for the district like bring jobs, industry and roads.”
Recall: Parker Griffith lost all of his committee assignments. He can bring NOTHING to the district. The Democrats have made him their number one target. They have to keep their soldiers in line. When one defects they have to punish him so that others won’t follow suit. Parker Griffith’s effectiveness in Washington has been dismal.
He has been caught lying on several occasions.
1) “Griffith said Wednesday that his office hadn’t sponsored a poll to gauge his electability as a Democrat, nor did he commission anyone else. That contradicts a report in Congressional Quarterly that said Griffith’s office confirmed Wednesday that he did commission a poll, though “he declined to release the specific polling questions or the results of the survey.” Huntsville Times, December 24, 2009.
2) GRIFFITH MISREPRESENTED COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENT FACTS TO THE MEDIA
“After a news conference where he announced his party switch, Griffith said it wasn’t a given that he’ll lose his committee assignments. He said to take that away from him could make Democrats look “small and punitive,” and he doesn’t believe the party will want to appear petty.” Huntsville Times, December 23, 2009.
Griffith loses his committee seats on Science and Technology, Small Business & Transportation and Infrastructure. Huntsville Times, December 23, 2009.
“Griffith’s staff at the start of January had told The Times he anticipated new assignments by Jan. 12. Ten days ago, Griffith told The Times that North Alabama would be pleased when he finally does receive those seats.” Huntsville Times, January 31, 2010.
“In a letter dated Dec. 20 to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, or two days before his announcement, Griffith officially resigned his (committee) seats by rule.” Huntsville Times, January 31, 2010.
Griffith still has no committee assignments. February 2, 2010.
3) GRIFFITH BREAKS PROMISES TO REFUND CONTRIBUTIONS BY DEMOCRATS.
Story #1; Day 1: GRIFFITH PROMISED TO RETURN ALL CONTRIBUTIONS TO ALL WHO REQUEST THEM. “The congressman, who held a news conference in his Twickenham home, said he’ll give back any of those contributions if people ask him to. He said they’d have to fill out a request form, and he’d return it. Griffith has more than $600,000 left in his war chest.” Huntsville Times, December 23, 2009.
Story #2; Day 2: GRIFFITH EXCLUDES DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE FROM HIS REFUND OFFER. The next day, on December 23, 2009, Griffith “excluded money spent on his behalf by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.” Huntsville Times, January 14, 2010.
Story#3; Day 22. GRIFFITH DENIES REFUNDS TO ALL 2008 CONTRIBUTORS. ”U.S. Rep Parker Griffith neglected to mention the fine print attached to his seemingly broad offer to refund campaign contributions. Griffith . . . initially said he’s return the campaign cash of disappointed supporters. On Tuesday, Griffith referred questions about his return policy to a staff member. She then referred questions back to Griffith. On Wednesday, Griffith told the Times: ‘There is no cutoff date.’ But this week many supporters who asked for their money back were surprised to be turned away with a form e-mail, which says that the money given in 2008 (will not be refunded).” Huntsville Times, January 14, 2010.
REMEMBER HE SAYS THAT HIS VIEWS ARE STILL THE SAME :
Parker Griffith states, “I have not changed a bit” since his 2008 campaign and election. (Huntsville Times; January 14, 2010).
1) Griffith pledged in writing to support raising income and inheritance taxes by repealing the Bush tax cuts. Huntsville Times; January 12, 2010
2) Griffith pledged in writing to deny employees the right to a secret ballot in votes on whether to unionize (i.e. – pledged support for “Card Check”). Huntsville Times; January 12, 2010.
3) Griffith pledged in writing to impose a deadline date for leaving Iraq, regardless of whether the job was done or victory was obtained. Huntsville Times; January 12, 2010.
4) Griffith actively campaigned for government run health care (then known as “Universal Health Care”) in his 2006 campaign for Alabama Senate and 2008 campaign for Congress. Huntsville Times, May 31, 2006 & August 25, 2009; Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee News Release, January 21, 2010.
After pushing Universal Health Care, he claims to be leaving the Democratic side because of the Health Care Bill on the table right now. What??? Not everyone will be covered by the current bill, therefore, his old position was actually more liberal than the one the Democrats are pushing today. Griffith claimed to have switched because the Democratic Party moved away from him. The facts presented clearly show that Parker Griffith’s switch was done for political, not ideological reasons. When it comes down to it, the guy just can not be trusted.
Sure, Parker Griffith has TONS of money but he does not have anything to say.
Mo Brooks and Les Phillip have few funds but they will get more bang for their buck.
Another important fact: Many local media outlets are intentionally targeting Parker Griffith.
Mo Brooks certainly has a chance. I have seen 2 estimates for the final tally – 1 by Dale Jackson on his blog – and in both case the junkies picked Mo Brooks to win by about +9 on Parker Griffith without a runoff.
Ajay,
First off I assure you that I am not “Daisy”. I have been reading and posting on here for over a year. In full disclosure, I did volunteer for WP in last year’s election but I did not imply that I support him in 2010. In fact, I can say with all honesty that if he did run in the primary I most likely would not vote for him. I think that the voter fatigue is too much, the 4th time has never been the charm for a politician. WP is a good respectable man and would ahve done great things for us in Congress but he has had his chance, actually 3 of them. Its time for new blood on the GOP side. I am currently leaning towards Les but still have a very open mind.
Young GOP,
Above (near the top of the page) I have presented 11 impressive statements about Mo’s political career. A few posts below that are promises Mo Brooks has made about his intentions if he is elected. I encourage you to review Mo Brooks’ accomplishments and promises with an open mind and compare them to the accomplishments and promises of Les Phillip.
p.s. I’ve seen you comment under the pen name “Young GOP” on other blogs/al.com as well. You seem like a reasonable guy. Why do you like Les Phillip the most? I have not heard many (if any) compelling arguments to support Les. I’m not trying to rag on him but so far the only pros for Les that I’ve heard are that he is a businessman (although I’ve also heard that it is his wife that owns the business) and that he was in the Navy (I’m curious why he quit). The “he’s the right guy” thing is also a popular one. I think that serving our country is very respectable but I know of other politicians who did more in the military (John Kerry & McCain for starters) that I dislike so being ex-navy isn’t enough for me. I have provided a substantial list of Mo’s advantages. Do you mind itemizing a list of Les’ for me?
Thanks,
Mo Brooks volunteer
I think I will have to side with ajay’s prediction that WP getting in the race will help secure Les’ victory.
He does make another good point that at any GOP meeting there are tons of people wearing Les Phillip buttons and stickers. In the Lawrence Co GOP meeting last night over half the room had Les Phillip pins on. In the Morgan Co GOP meeting there were a substantial amount of Les Phillip pins on coats. At the Melting Pot get-together there were tons of people with Les Phillip pins and stickers on clothing.
Les does have a good number of very motivated supporters, no doubt. I personally know quite a few of them. I do see a lot of parallels, though, between Phillip’s campaign and Ron Paul’s presidential campaign. (Full disclosure: I supported Paul.) Strong, diffuse fundraising by tapping into the patriot (or Tea Party now) network. Lots of very vocal, visible supporters at political meetings. Over eager and often obnoxious internet supporters.
Some of Paul’s positions, most notably those relating to foreign policy, kept him from being accepted by the rank and file in the GOP and Les doesn’t have that same weakness as a candidate. Paul did have political experience, though, and you could see how he voted on issues when it counted (some might disparagingly refer to him as a “career politician”) whereas Les has no on-the-record votes. But observing the two campaigns I see lots of similarities, so I’m a bit skeptical about the extent of Les’ support at this point.
You guys, are you serious?
Parker Griffith, never voted with Obama on ANY major spending bills. You guys wanted a republican so bad for the 5th congressional district now you have one and your still bitching I dont get it.Obama cut the Ares program and I believe BRAC 2015 is seriously in jeopardy.
Ok, Ok, most of you will argue that he’s not a “conservative”, yet, Les Phillip has PAID to get Huckabee endorsement and loss money at the event. He claims to be a defender of true conservatives but how can he be when he is willing to spend more money than he makes doesnt that make him a democrat. How can he be expected to “Protect” the Constitution when he is paying an outfit out of Washington approximately 80% of the money he raised to stay in this contest.
Of all of the candidates in the race I expect Moe Brooks to do the best. He is a politician and right now we need someone with experience to bring money back to this district. Les Phillip continues to wave the flag and the Constitution around as a distraction to the fact that he is not educated on the needs of this district nor has he raised any significant money in this district. Moe has a proven track record and shown that he is willing to stay true to his convictions regardless of how unpopular they maybe.
Les’ henchmen have repeatedly whispered that Mo is a mormon and somehow unfit to lead, that is a cowardly, cowardly way to run a campaign especially from a guy hailing from a military academy. If he were such a shining star of a patriot while serving tell me why he got out of the service? Dont most of those guys go on to be leaders in our nations military? Im voting for Mo come June. He is the best answer for this district.