Dead Woman Donated Thousands To Tea Party Express

[Zephie]

Source: The Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- Joan Snyder Holmes has been dead for nearly four years. But during the past two years, she's managed to make thousands of dollars in donations to one of the country's premier Tea Party organizations.

Those donations, uncovered by the Center for Responsive Politics in a report released Friday, gives an alternate, more cryptic meaning to the term grassroots.

According to the money-in-politics investigative organization, Tea Party Express' PAC reported receiving three donations from Holmes in autumn 2009 for a total of $2,500. An additional lump-sum donation of $5,000 was made in September of that year.

Had Holmes not died of cancer on Feb. 1, 2007 -- she was cremated, and her ashes are at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia -- this would have all be relatively unremarkable. As it is, neither her husband nor the Tea Party express could conjure up any explanation for the money.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/14/tea-party-dead-donor-joan-holmes_n_809165.html

[xchrom]

1. wowzer -

'As it is, neither her husband nor the Tea Party express could conjure up any explanation for the money.'

[Gman]

2. The credit card was likely still in her name

[DCKit]

3. It's not CC fraud, it's money laundering.

Where was Tom Delay?

[Gman]

5. Smells like it

but I'd like to see a pattern.

[defendandprotect]

36. +1000%

[elehhhhna]

41. ding ding ding we have a winner!

[Poll_Blind]

46. +1

PB

[conspirator]

54. That was my immediate thought n/t

[NMDemDist2]

4. well I thought I'd send you to the Greatest, but it seems the

unrec goblins are busy this morning

[Brickbat]

6. HA! I clicked on this because I figured it was an old lady who left the thousands that no one knew

she had to the Tea Party. This is a MUCH more interesting story and deserves a better headline!

[pacalo]

48. Same here! The high number of rec's made me curious enough to check it out.

[DBoon]

7. I've described Tea Partiers as right wing zombies

but I never meant it so literally!

[old mark]

8. I wonder how many times she voted...and how many GOP voters are

actually completely dead, not just brain dead...

K&R
mark

[Crowman1979]

9. I knew it!

This is probably the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what kind of fraud the teabaggers will perpetrate next.

[bongbong]

10. Why are all the criminals in the repig party?

Answer: Because they know they never get caught, or if they get caught, they can just ignore subpoenas.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

31. why do dogs piss on trees?

(hint: there is no forest fire to put out)

[MaeScott]

11. Keep digging, CRP. Keep digging. nt

[bullwinkle428]

12. Repuke official : "LOOK OVER THERE AT THAT BROWN PERSON - VOTER FRAUD!!!1!"

[Joanne98]

60. Ding ding ding!!!!!!

[ehrnst]

13. So THAT'S what they mean when they say 'Grassroots' support.(nt)

[rfranklin]

16. LOL good one!

[DFW]

14. Next time I hear someone accuse Republicans of being zombies

I won't scoff as loudly.

Seriously, does ANYONE think this is an isolated case? Do this twenty thousand times with computer-generated
lists of deceased Americans, and you just had Karl Rove launder one hundred million dollars of illegal money
straight into the campaigns of extremist Republican candidates. If Tom Delay got three years for this, then
Rove and the Kochs should be out on parole "in the year 2525," with good behavior.

[joneschick]

15. our donations can help Center for Responsive Politics

https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=17127 :hi:

[The Doctor.]

17. Yep, it has 'laundering' written all over it.

[greiner3]

18. No one has heard of the Republican;

'Way back machine?'

[foxfeet]

19. Forget "grassroots;" that's "pushing up daisies" support.

[bushisanidiot]

20. She's probably still voting too

the repukes will stoop to any level to win. i'm sure they've got dead people voting.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

38. Not limited to Republicans

I think in Chicago, the dead almost always vote Democratic. At least once.

:hi:

[ThomThom]

52. your name says it all

ignore

[MindandSoul]

59. They want you at "FOX NATION," what are you doing here?

[sabrina 1]

21. It's a miracle!

[valerief]

22. K&R

[Kingofalldems]

23. Special Prosecutor needed--subpoena all records

[hootinholler]

24. I guess I was wrong thinking they were astroturf.

:shrug:

-Hoot

[Blue Owl]

25. Time to Koch-block these illegal donations

n/t

[paparush]

26. Oh those naughty, Naughty, NAUGHTY TeaPublicans!

I don't recall money laundering being enumerated as right and privilege in our Constitution.

[pnwmom]

27. And all this time we only joked that they were brain dead.

Now it turns out to be true!

[MindandSoul]

58. Very good! I like your sense of humor! Very clever! (smile!)

[EC]

28. Catch that last paragraph...

A USA Today report from 2007 found "more than 160 dead people who have given more than $540,000 to political committees and candidates for the White House and Congress over the past eight years, an analysis of political donations shows."

[jmowreader]

43. And let me guess...

all 160 of them just happen to be Republicans.

[boppers]

45. Nope.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-11-27-DeadDonors_N.htm

"The Democratic committee received the most campaign money from deceased donors, nearly $225,000, according to USA TODAY's tally of federal campaign-finance data compiled by CQ MoneyLine, a non-partisan group. The Republican National Committee was the second-largest recipient, with about $93,000."

[1American]

29. Checks come from the Dead Letter Office?

Maybe the donations from her were really loans she took out on her new digs.

[katty]

30. sounds like the movie Chinatown: dead people buying land

[Historic NY]

32. Its called an end run.

[azurnoir]

33. so now we know where they got the idea about dead people n/t

[tanyev]

34. “Oh no, the dead have risen and they're voting Republican!”

[defendandprotect]

35. GOP always finds a way ....

[Soylent Brice]

37. i am so shocked. really. i am so shocked.

:sarcasm:

[pepperbear]

39. THIS IS ACORN'S DOING! oh...wait a tic.....

[demigoddess]

40. money laundering,

I bet there are dozens of dead people donating money that came from some rich guy.

[saras]

42. What of it?

If corporations can have human rights, why not dead people? Or machines? Or fantasies?

Given that they desperately want brains, but don't know what to do with them when they get them, I think the Republicans already have the zombie vote sewed up.

[scarletwoman]

44. Republican Death Panels - researching names of dead people for use in money laundering. (nt)

[The Wizard]

47. It's like the

Saudi Royal family sponsoring terrorists.
Who is funding the domestic terrorists?

[L. Coyote]

49. Zombies for Palin?

:rofl:

Humor gauntlet! O.K. guys, I know you can out do that one.

[Dover]

50. Sure seems like after the recent changes to campaign finance laws that

make contributions so much less transparent or easy to trace, that these kinds of money laundering
efforts are moot and unnecessary. In other words, what was once a crime is now accepted by law.
The criminals are writing our laws.

[glinda]

51. Sadly true. We must not stand for it. I think we are all tired of this crap.

[felix_numinous]

53. To disrespect the dead

is not only a religious taboo but a social one. They're haunted.

[AlbertCat]

57. To disrespect the dead

You don't deserve respect just because you died. Everybody does it eventually.

[Hubert Flottz]

55. Dead-heads for dip-shits.

[justiceischeap]

56. I'm calling foul on the husband

I think he donated in his wife's name and isn't telling anyone or it's a case of identity theft.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

61. yep

That's my take on it too. This guy donated under his own name, then 'stuck it to the damn gov'nment' by purposely breaking the rules and donating in his wife's name.

Too bad that this practice seems to be even more prevalent on the dem side. :(

[Arkana]

62. Fraudulent donations for an astroturf organization.

You'll forgive me if I'm not surprised.