Do Democrats really have 'Ghost Money'?
I have noticed with amusement the Democrats’ absolute terror over money they deem to be dark money. This is any money that finds its way into Republican coffers. But, I notice their alacrity in accommodating their own unaccounted money. It order to explain this money I will refer to it as “Ghost Money.”
What is Ghost Money? Ghost monies are funds that mysteriously appear and then disappear in Democrat candidates’ coffers with no explanation. Later, they reappear with a whole new pedigree that just magically materialized.
The first time I saw an example of Ghost Money was in regards to Gov. Brian Schweitzer and his Council for Sustainable America. It was reported that more than $330,000 was deposited into the coffers by the Democratic Governors Association in 2009 (this was the same time that Brian Schweitzer was the chairman of the DGA). Supposedly, $60,000 went for “opinion” polls in 2010, and $90,000 went to Global Strategy Group (Brian is one of Global Strategy Group’s clients).
When Council for Sustainable America disappeared, the remaining money $306,000 appeared in the coffers of a Washington group calling itself the American Sustainability Project. The American Sustainability Project shut down its Washington offices in 2012 and moved to Helena.
What is interesting is that the ghost money has disappeared. According to NonProfit Facts, the American Sustainability Project in Helena, Montana, has $0 in its coffers. Where did the money go?
Another interesting tidbit is that Brian’s website, used when he was considering a run for Max Baucus’ vacated Senate seat, the Council for Sustainable America, and the American Sustainability Project all shared the same address, a Helena P.O. Box 1742.
I wonder if Gov. Bullock’s steamroller, Jonathan Motl, the so-called Commissioner of Political Practices, will invest any time in researching this, or is he too busy trying to overthrow the duly elected members of the state government who dare to disagree with the governor? —Richard Funk, Kalispell