Meet and Greets. When did this term show up?

[The Backlash Cometh]

I'm seeing this more often. Rainmakers, or the people that bring politicians together with the people that can write big checks, claim they are not doing anything that needs to be tracked by campaign laws because there is no money exchanged at these meetings. So, the rainmaker can help the politician indirectly raise funds for his campaign without actually throwing a campaign fund raiser. In return, the politician can appoint the rainmaker to a cushy government board and technically, it's not patronage. Or is it?

Anybody have any thoughts on this because it looks like a glaring loophole.

And you know, where there's a loophole, there's a lawyer.

[tnlefty]

1. I'm not sure what you're referencing regarding money. I've hosted

Meet and Greets before and it is to get Dems in my area together to meet and ask questions with a potential candidate for office, or someone who had won a primary. If any decided to support that person then they could volunteer, make contributions, or just talk the person up in the community, but nothing was expected.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Interesting.

Do you think some people may be exploiting these meetings?

[tnlefty]

3. I'm not sure what you mean by exploiting these meetings...

mine were as stated, and we had forms available for anyone who needed to fill one out for the FEC, but in my area that wasn't a concern ever. I wasn't trying to bundle money for a candidate, just trying to get face time and to try to get a feel of support for a candidate.

Tough questions were asked, which helps going into either a primary or facing a debate or the media.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. You said that FEC forms were available.

Doesn't that suggest that meet and greets are fund raisers?

[tnlefty]

7. Not neccesarily, we had them available for anyone who wanted to

make a contribution, but I also stated that donations weren't the purpose of the ones we hosted.

I also mentioned bundling of contributions, which I've never done, but those gatherings are usually designated as a fundraiser.:shrug:

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. What is bundling contributions?

Can someone contribute collectively without identifying themselves?

[tnlefty]

10. From what I learned years ago,

yes, as long as the person had a registered PAC with the state of TN. I didn't and don't.

But when I was the treasurer of our local Democratic Women's Club, by unanimous vote we could write a check to the Young Dems, organizations that support Dems, or young women attending seminars, etc., but by vote anything that was written to a local, state, or US candidate had to be voted on, earmarked (if you will) for a particular candidate to our county party, because our club wasn't registered with the state as a PAC.

It gets clear as mud sometimes, eh?

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. LOL! Yes. Clear as mud.

Thanks for the info.

[mmonk]

5. It's pre 2007.

I attended a meet & greet with Stephanie Miller then. Not sure when it started but it isn't contained to politicians.

[tnlefty]

14. I am soooooo jealous...

now if Jim Ward was there double plus jealous. Just sayin'.

[w8liftinglady]

6. We had a Meet-and-Greet with Bill White where I live...never any request for donations

That doesn't mean it CAN'T happen...just hasn't been my experience.Now,the banquets...that's a different story.

[Recursion]

9. A prostitute could also "sell you a pencil" for $100

If it comes down to it, it's about whether 12 randomly-selected people believe something illegal happened.

[Angry Dragon]

13. Buy a $100 pencil, get a free roll??

[KharmaTrain]

12. 40 Plus Years and Counting...

What you've just described is your typical fundraiser. The money can go many ways...to the candidate, to the party, to a PAC...a variation of all three. Dare I say this includes Democrats. I've met and gotten calls from plenty of these "rainmakers"...including some who were friends working for a candidate they believed in.

Right now there are no rules...it's every candidate for themselves and the more money the better. When it costs upwards of $1 million for a House seat and 10 million plus for the senate, that money has to come from somehwere.

[Odin2005]

15. I first heard it at least 10 years ago as something my local NBC news folks did at fairs.