Clinton Spent $6M on Mark Penn in February, and for What?

[Stephanie]

She paid Penn $4M and owes him another $2M. And what has Penn
done for her? Dragged her down in the mud, where she remains. 

Below are some of her February campaign expenses that piqued
my curiousity. Did they not pay their insurance bill? What is
the $10M to Media Strategies? And when do they plan to pay the
Boston Symphony? 



EXPENSES

Beverly Wilshire Hotel................43,903.99  
Bluestreet Productions, LLC...........59,956.00  
Campaign Organizing, LLC.............284,672.18  
CapAd Communications, Inc............233,946.54  
Electrum Productions, LLC............955,967.91  
Financial Innovations, Inc............90,276.61  
Gotham Acme..........................266,666.67  
Grunwald Communications..............761,785.70 
Hotel Bel-Air..........................7,221.56 
Hy-Vee, Inc. .........................95,387.37  
JBG/Fairfax Drive, LLC...............214,686.68  
Landmark Strategies, Inc.............312,899.96  
Mayfield Strategy Group..............189,842.39  
Media Strategies and Research......9,945,267.00 
Next Big Thing.......................324,487.90  
O'Brien McConnell & Pearson..........237,422.58 
Pan-Ark, Inc. .......................130,000.00  
Penn, Schoen & Berland Assoc. .....3,807,718.31
QRS Newmedia.........................247,000.00 
Sunrise Communications...............275,057.24 
The Spoken Hub, LLC...................97,119.97  

http://query.nictusa.com/pres/2008/M2/C00431569/B_PAYEE_C00431569.html


DEBTS

Aetna Healthcare....................213,085.25 
Aircraft Services Group.............359,720.70  
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc.......29,617.70  
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield......299,455.02 
Grunwald Communications.............239,519.69  
Landmark Strategies, Inc.............99,117.30 
MSHC Partners, Inc..................997,146.99  
O'Brien McConnell & Pearson.........179,899.54  
Penn, Schoen & Berland Assoc......2,106,900.00
The Spoken Hub, LLC.................315,857.10 

http://query.nictusa.com/pres/2008/M2/C00431569/D_DEBTS_C00431569.html

[karynnj]

1. My bet - he is the reincarnation of Rasputin N/t

[Faygo Kid]

9. Historically interesting. That makes Hillary the Empress Alexandra?

Actually, I can't possibly imagine why Penn is being paid millions for his incompetence. But, I see the resemblance.

[karynnj]

22. There is some resemblence there

HRC as the reincarnation of Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Alexandra? hum.

[SoCalDem]

43. HRH HRC

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. And I thought Eliot Spitzer was bad at spending his money.

Yeesh.

[KAZ]

5. Yeah, but you didn't see Penn's Boys Gone Wild video.

[musicblind]

3. Mark Penn was a bad decision

that's coming from a Hillary supporter. Bad bad bad bad bad bad. She might be winning this thing if it weren't for Penn. Just watching the guy talk on MSNBC makes me want to take a bath. Now it is wrong to judge or hire based on the way someone looks... but his strategy certainly hasn't panned out for her either.

[slinkerwink]

she doesn't even pay healthcare for her own employees!

[sampsonblk]

4. She should be able to sue him for political malpractice

But then again, she should have known better.

[KAZ]

7. Yeah, an ass-action lawsuit! That would be a BIG case..

[Herman Munster]

6. bulk mail and other things

she's not paying his firm just for polling, they do a lot of other stuff.

[KAZ]

8. No. no, no. You meant bulk male.

[Stephanie]

12. of course - there's also the bloviating

and the smearing

[KAZ]

10. Kick for the Clinton supporters to see where their money is going.

[book_worm]

11. So he could insult Gov. Richardson in March?

[XemaSab]

13. You'd think she'd get a volume discount

:crazy:

[Yael]

14. Another $10mm down the "political strategist" hole

Media Strategies and Research = http://www.mediastrategies.com/

[CreekDog]

15. I'm sure Dr. Kevorkian charges less for the same service

:crazy:

[uponit7771]

16. isn't Penn a GOPer? Thx in advance

[Life Long Dem]

17. I thought it was a terrible campaign. Too bad the script sucked.

[Elidor]

18. Paying him allows her fantasy to continue

And that's about all it does.

[chocome]

19. Internal Polling...i guess you didnt even see the West Wing..what a obama bot

[cali]

53. gee, hillbot

Obama's campaign does internal polling too, and they don't spend even half as much on "consultants". And hilly is deep in debt. Obama? Not so much. One campaign in properly run, the other is run for shit.

[C_U_L8R]

20. If I was an HRC donor I'd be pissed off

Hillary is clearly wasting their money.

Not just on nincompoops like Penn, but HRC herself is yucking it up
at the Beverly Wilshire on donor dollars.
C'mon, this doesn't piss off Hillary fans ??
YOU are paying for thirty-five dollar shrimp cocktails and luxury suites !!!!!
At the Beverly Wilshire for chrissakes !!!!

[slinkerwink]

21. the rich Clinton staffers get richer at the expense of poor Hillary working class donors

[samdogmom]

24. Well put! My thoughts, exactly! n/t

[slinkerwink]

25. they also stiff small businesses by not paying their bills

[Stephanie]

27. Yes. I bet the Boy's Club & Carol's Cake & Catering would like their money

Here are just a few examples of small folks she hasn't paid. When was the Iowa State Fair?

Boys and Girls Club of Black Hawk County 1,000.00
Boys Club of Sioux City 625.00
Carol's Cake and Catering 695.50
Cesar Chavez High School Attn: Scott Gayman 800.00
Democratic National Committee 33,750.00
El Mundo Newsapaper 1,000.00
Iowa Falls Community School District 640.00
Iowa Farmers Union 575.00
Iowa State Fair 6,055.00
Leger's Catering 8,764.77
Missouri Valley Community School District 900.00
Souhegan High School Attn: Sally Varanka 1,415.00
YWCA of Manchester 600.00

http://query.nictusa.com/pres/2008/M2/C00431569/D_DEBTS_C00431569.html

[slinkerwink]

31. man, look at all those people being stiffed by the Clintons

[Stephanie]

32. those are just a few of them

there are dozens and dozens. click the link for more. when was the Iowa State Fair anyway? August?

[KaptBunnyPants]

29. I wouldn't be.

Hillary's supporters are wealthy right wing elites and under-informed voters. The under-informed voters aren't committed enough to contribute monetarily, and the right wingers are getting their monies worth by the damage done to the Democratic nominee.

[Pisces]

23. Penn is an obnoxious parasite, Fire him!!

[KaptBunnyPants]

26. He earned his money in Febuary.

When all this is said and done, I'll bet it was his firm that created the viral videos. Giving it to Faux was probably just a convenient way to obfuscate the source.

[Stephanie]

28. I'm sure you're right about that.

[NJSecularist]

30. She should have hired Bob Shrum instead - at least he knows how to win a nomination.

[Stephanie]

37. At least his candidate's don't desperately troll in the gutter

[NJSecularist]

51. Bob Shrum is a good man who has an unfortunate 0-fer streak. n/t

[Medusa]

33. Isn't Grunwald's family filthy rich?

Yeah, those are the kind of people Hillary wants to help in this economy. Her already rich buddies.

[bicentennial_baby]

46. And, she's married to Matt Cooper...of Plamegate fame

:eyes:

[40ozDonkey]

34. K&R ...

Is this a demonstration of the financial prowess I'm supposed to be in awe of?

[Hepburn]

35. OMG........gag.........

.....with that kind of money, don't ya think he should at least get a tummy tuck???



:puke:

Ya know, he is the kind of guy that every gal must have at the top of her Mercy Fuck list.

[slinkerwink]

36. EWWWWWW!

You should never mention him as a mercy fuck!

[Hepburn]

39. I guess that should have been....

..the NO FUCK list! :rofl:

[Coexist]

38. Wall Street Journal reports that she is cutting back after donor complaints

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120612639749954097.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox

[bicentennial_baby]

40. I didn't realize that Maggie Willams was working for free...

Hm

[Coexist]

41. that certainly caught my eye - and the fact that donors were complaining about their lavishness

not good at all.

[bicentennial_baby]

42. And the fact that she's paying Penn so much for so little return overall

and meanwhile, Williams gets nothing.

Maybe that's why the National Dir. of Operations for her campaign left this week...not getting paid?

[Coexist]

44. just what the hell does Penn do that is worth that much?

didn't he run away and hide and disavow himself of her campaign recently?

If Ploufe did that, I would be pissed.

[Stephanie]

45. Holy cow!

---snip---

While raising less, Sen. Clinton has been spending at a faster clip: She burned through 92% of her campaign receipts in February, while Sen. Obama spent only 77 % of his contributions.

Even so, the Clinton campaign did cut back on expenses after big donors complained it was spending too much on hotels and catering. Sen. Clinton has begun holding more intimate campaign gatherings at supporters' houses and fewer lavish big events. Staff and reporters flying on her chartered campaign plane are getting cheaper boxed lunches instead of higher-end catered meals.

Staffers are staying at less-expensive hotels, too. In January, the campaign spent $38,000 at relatively plush Radisson Hotels, but only $11,000 at them in February. Spending at Holiday Inns rose to $61,000 in February from $21,000 in January.

Top staffers are also being paid less. Communications director Howard Wolfson's consulting firm was paid $267,000 in January, after picking up $421,000 in 2007. In February, Mr. Wolfson got $33,000.

Top advisor Mark Penn's firm made $3.8 million in January and $3.1 million in February. Media advisor Mandy Grunwald's firm was paid $761,000 in January and $608,000 in February.

Sen. Clinton's previous campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, was paid far more than her counterparts on the Obama and McCain campaigns, earning about $12,000 a month before she resigned from that position in February amid a campaign shake-up. Sen. Clinton's new campaign manager, Maggie Williams, is working without pay.

Clinton campaign payroll expenses dropped 24% from January to February, while Obama's campaign payroll remained constant. In absolute numbers, Sen. Clinton spent $2.4 million on payroll in February while Sen. Obama spent $2.6 million.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120612639749954097.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox

[Danger Mouse]

47. 6 mil on an utter dirtbag? what a waste of money.

:puke:

[rainbow4321]

48. She's not paying the health insurance company?

Aetna Healthcare....................213,085.25


Try skipping a month of YOUR health insurance premium and see what happens....never mind a $200,000 bill!! So are her workers now without insurance?

[AP]

49. Well, it's interesting that that's a company willing not to get paid up front by a political

campaign.

A lot of printers ask for their cash up front. But the healthcare company doesn't?

[slinkerwink]

50. that should be used in a political ad

[Stephanie]

52. She's not paying Blue Cross either -

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield......299,455.02

[Whisp]

54. they probably have a deal with him, where he 'reimburses'

part of it to the Clintons in some shady manner and they put it in their personal account.

in other words, thanks sucker donators!

[JeffR]

55. 2nd place n/t