perry122006
On the homepage
Sunday's paper
Out There
Gophers
Commuter rail
Tuesday: Swift Boat contributor funded ads against Hatch
Bob Perry, a Houston homebuilder, provided two-thirds of the money for TV ads attacking DFLer Mike Hatch.
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on Digg
A Houston homebuilder who helped finance the Swift Boat veterans campaign against former presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004 was the primary bankroller of a Minnesota group that ran a harsh advertising blitz against Mike Hatch, the unsuccessful DFL candidate for governor this fall.
A spokesman for the group, the Minnesota chapter of A Stronger America, said Tuesday that Bob Perry contributed two-thirds of the $750,000 that was spent on TV ads and direct mail.
"I received a call from A Stronger America in Washington, which is where the bank account was held, informing me that a half a million dollars was wired into the account," said Joe Weber, a spokesman for the Minnesota chapter. "At which point we sprung into action."
Weber said the infusion of Texas cash came about three weeks before the Nov. 7 election. That timing allowed the group to avoid reporting the contributions before the election.
It also allowed the group to mount an extensive television campaign that it otherwise might not have been able to muster.
"This made it a bigger deal," Weber said of Perry's contribution.
Some of the ads accused Hatch of two decades of "intimidation, arrogance and abuse of power," and asserted that he was under investigation for "influence peddling" in a dispute with a judge.
Perry had helped finance the Swift Boat campaign against Kerry, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
There were other connections between that Swift Boat campaign and the efforts against Hatch. A Stronger America-Minnesota is registered in Minnesota with an Alexandria, Va., address. Hatch said before the election that he discovered that an insurance-industry backed group, Americans for Job Security, shared the same address.
The attorney for Americans for Job Security is Benjamin Ginsberg, who was the attorney for the 2004 Bush campaign and for the Swift Boat Veterans.
Seeking like-minded people
Hatch said Tuesday the election was over, and it was time to move on.
"But the lesson learned is that the disclosure laws need to be updated so that people know who is participating in a campaign," he said. "The way our laws are currently structured, you don't find out until after the election."
Mike Krueger, Pawlenty's political director, said, "Minnesota is known for having some of the best disclosure requirements in the country, but perhaps there are ways that even Minnesota could improve."
Asked if he thought the group's participation made a difference in the election, Hatch said, "I'm not the one to make that analysis. Anything has an effect, but the participants are the worst commentators."
Weber described Perry as "a generous Republican. He looks for like-minded people around the country to support his pro-growth economic polices. Tim Pawlenty is one of them, and he's in a tight race."
A two-week gap between the last day of the final reporting period (Oct. 23 this year) and Election Day allowed for late contributions to Minnesota political committees to go undisclosed until the end of January.
In a Nov. 1 interview, Weber said his group would not disclose its donors but that it is mostly a "local fund." However, he declined to say whether most of the money would come from Minnesotans or from out-of-state donors.
Weber said Tuesday that he never intended to suggest that most of the money would come from Minnesotans. "I said there was a great deal of money from Minnesota, and that the majority of contributors were from Minnesota."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210 • pdoyle@startribune.com
Recent Politically Connected stories
Obama signs executive order that aims to transform govt into model employer of US veterans - December 20, 2006
Obama signs executive order that aims to transform govt into model employer of US veterans - The White House launched an effort Monday that it says will turn the government into a model employer of military veterans and possibly provide encouragement for private employers to do the same. More
- Klobuchar rating at 58%; Franken is making gains
- Obama reaches out to Asia
- Forceful Franni Franken embraces new life on Hill
- House Roll Call: How they voted on abortion issue
- No guarantees on Senate health bill's public plan
- Palin says she didn't know Bristol was having sex
- State's poor being shifted to different medical plan
- Republican in NY House race suspends campaign
The Whistleblower blog has moved
The Star Tribune is still blowing the whistle, but our look and location have changed. Click here to get to the new blog. If you want the actual URL, it’s www.startribune.com/blogs/whistleblower.html. Our blog posts will now be easier to search on the web site, but you’ll need to register to post a comment. In the [...]
Recent posts
 Open House ShowcaseThousands of homes open this weekend!View all open houses >> View all homes for sale >> |
Comment on this story | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments