Uh oh...bit of trouble for Russ Feingold...

[Archae]

Seems a PAC he helped create did what we complain about conservative PACS like Sarah Palin's.

Gave $350,000 to candidates, paid Feingold $1.5 million and spent millions more on fundraising.

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/russ-feingolds-pac-funded-salaries-for-former-staffers-himself-b99518602z1-307322531.html

[xfundy]

1. If there's illegal activity, jail. Or punishment more than a slapped wrist.

The law should cover all, no exceptions.

[NaturalHigh]

7. Agreed. One standard for all.

[hfojvt]

2. I didn't read where Feingold got nearly that much money

His former staffers were doing very well though - $200,000 + for two years of work.

[joshcryer]

3. It's not illegal but it's ugly.

He can point out that he believed it could raise more money than it did and that operating expenses are all a part of PACs.

But it's a tough sell.

[dembotoz]

4. His pac was hardly a secret

[HereSince1628]

5. Let's consider the source...

Daniel Bice...the JS muckraker wannabe that tried to build a scandal under Sen Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

The PAC was organized around both direct (money) and indirect support of progressive candidates...aka...developing and sharing progressive ideas and positions which involved mostly surveys, information mailings and petitions.

Personally, I think the PAC never lived up to hopes of it organizing the progressive movement that people had for it.

[Archae]

8. I first heard about this on channel 12 news out of Milwaukee.

Couldn't find any web site URL's at WISN.com.

Still nothing on their web site I can find.

[HereSince1628]

9. The SO saw the story in the JS, I think yesterday.

[RiverLover]

6. GOP is attacking to divert attention & they're skewing facts. Not all PACs are for direct campaign

contributions.

...Feingold aides say it's not fair to compare its organization to corporate PACs or candidate leadership committees, because its focus is member-driven and based on advocacy more than direct campaign contributions.

The campaign argued that the organization encouraged its members to donate directly to campaigns, resulting in $1.6 million raised. Of that, $700,000 benefited Wisconsin candidates.

It also touted its work on issues, including a push to encourage members to advocate for net neutrality rules and an effort to fight a merger between Time Warner and Comcast.

The nonprofit organization shut its doors last year and the Progressives United PAC suspended its fundraising shortly after Feingold announced his candidacy. The Wisconsin PAC submitted a request for termination to the state Government Accountability Board on April 29.

Feingold's campaign accused Johnson of trying to distract from the fact that he hasn't signed the Badger Pledge proposed by Feingold.

"The Republicans are going on the attack to draw attention away from the fact that Ron Johnson won't answer whether he'd sign the Badger Pledge to get special interest money and dark money out of this election," Russell said in a statement....

Also, its interesting that Progressive Change Campaign Committee & DFA have similar records for spending little on direct campaign contributions & more on promoting issues~

Two similar organizations — Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee — showed similar levels of direct campaign contributions for the same time period.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, about 5.8 percent of money spent by DFA went directly to candidates and parties in the 2012 and 2014 election cycles. For the same time period, PCCC gave 0.7 percent in direct contributions.

While Feingold's critics go after him with charges of hypocrisy, the former senator is still calling on his opponent, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, to sign a pledge promising to keep outside spending out of their race.

http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/russ-feingold-ron-johnson-clash-over-pac-spending-campaign-pledge/article_4ab365a0-0f3b-5396-a955-71fdbb663a9c.html

[gratuitous]

10. If this is the new standard for "trouble"

I'd like to see the Journal-Sentinel use the same standard for, oh, let's say the state's chief executive.