Look in the mirror. Every time you attempt to persuade via the omission of facts or via spin, you are lying. Perhaps you will not be convicted in court, but the Man upstairs knows. And so do I for whatever that is worth in blog land.

Besides, I really do have a job…one that actually pays me…sometimes.

The point of correction about Phil Townsend did need to be clarified. He is a great guy with a true love for the party and feels someone had to step up and call for transparency.

You correct that error but fail to clarify your personal knowledge that McCain himself has filed multiple campaign finance AMENDED reports as many or most candidates (and state and county parties nationwide) do each year.

That’s what I’m talking about with regards to a lack of integrity from the McCain / RINO camp.

McCain + DEMs = True Love

Shoot. McCain himself has filed multiple amended reports. This is a McCain hit against Pullen and the AZGOP.

Anyway, the story first broke here apparently on SA last week

http://sonoranalliance.com/2010/01/15/fire-or-just-smoke-azgop/
which links to
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Opinion/063868-2010-01-15-mccain-planned-ambush-of-azgop-state-convention-antimccain-boocrew.htm

GOP official wants “fraud audit” of party’s books

by Dennis Welch
The Arizona Guardian
Thursday, 21 January 2010
http://www.arizonaguardian.com/azg/

An official with the Arizona Republican Party wants a comprehensive audit of the party’s books to discover whether GOP leaders are mishandling money.

Phil Townsend, chairman of the Yuma County Republican Party, is seeking an independent review to answer concerns that have surfaced during the past month about the GOP’s financial recordkeeping.

In a letter mailed this week to rank-and-file members across the state, Townsend cites several stories published by the Guardian detailing transfers of cash and outstanding debts that were never reported.

State and federal laws require political parties to record all transactions as well as any money owed when filing campaign finance reports.

Randy Pullen, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, said all the money has been accounted for in the party’s internal records, but he has not explained why it didn’t show up on the legally required financial reports.

Supporters of the chairman are accusing Sen. John McCain of leading a political attack against Pullen, who has been an outspoken critic of the longtime U.S. senator.

But there are many other party members who want to clear up any questions because they fear the Federal Elections Commission could step in, which could put the credibility of the party at risk.

“Perhaps on our own motion, without waiting for a formal demand from the FEC we should consider having a fraud audit conducted,” Townsend said in a letter mailed this week to members of the executive committee of the Republican Party.

In the letter, Townsend accused Pullen of ignoring a critical function of the state party, which is building grassroots support and increasing voter registration.

The Republican National Committee had transferred $50,000 to the state party to help with those efforts. Federal records show the money being transferred out of the RNC’s account but the state party never reported receiving the cash.

Pullen and other officials said the party would be filing an amended report showing the transaction. As of Wednesday, the party had not done so. Brett Mecum, the executive director of the party, could not say why an anemded report hadn’t been filed.

Townsend said in the letter that Pullen intentionally kept the $50,000 transaction off the books so he could pay for a large amount of unreported debt instead of building a stronger base of grassroots support. Townsend told the Guardian that he’ll push for an audit Saturday at the annual state GOP meeting in Phoenix.

The Guardian reported that during the past year, the party carried roughly $120,000 in unreported debt to a pair of companies for political work. Penalties can range from $5,000 to $10,000 for every violation.

The party owed Nathan Sproul, a local Republican tactician, $70,000 for work on the partisan Tucson City Council races, according to records obtained by the Guardian. The GOP also owed a Minnesota-based firm, Strategic Fundraising, about $50,000 for help raising money.

Representatives with Strategic Fundraising and Sproul confirmed the party owed them money. Both said much of the debt has been paid down, but would not reveal how much was left on the account.

Pullen did not return repeated calls Wednesday. But Rob Haney, chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Committee, said this was a political hit job by McCain and his supporters.

“All of this is coming from the McCain cabal,” Haney said Wednesday. “He’s out there trying to take the true conservatives out and bankrupt the party.”

Haney said he has complete trust in Pullen and he doesn’t believe what he reads in the media. Until there is absolute proof, he said, “he’s not going to believe anything coming from the McCain camp.”

Since Pullen was elected in 2007, he’s been a controversial figure within the party. Critics accuse him of being too ideologically driven and not focused enough on raising money.

Since he took over as chairman, fundraising is down. According to the latest FEC reports, the party had about $49,000 in cash on hand. The figure is far below where the party was in prior years, when it had balances in the six figures.

The state Democratic Party has also struggled to raise money. Officials with both parties say the poor economy is largely responsible for the lackluster fundraising efforts.

Still there are many Republicans, like Haney, who are proud supporters of Pullen. Before he was elected, Pullen was a critic of McCain on a number of issues, including illegal immigration.

The feud between the two has continued. Most recently, they appeared to be battling over control of a pool of money meant to help with this year’s efforts to drive more Republican voters to the polls.

That money is known as the Victory Fund. Most of the cash comes from the RNC and is not supposed to be used on individual candidates, but rather for wider political purposes. For example, the money could be used to provide voters with information about early voting and polling locations.

Executive members of the state Republican Party recently voted down one plan for the money because some were concerned about its legality. The fight has exposed a deep rift within the party between McCain supporters and opponents.

A straw poll taken at last week’s Maricopa County Republican Committee meeting showed 82 percent of those in attendance disapproved of McCain, according to Haney. Nearly 70 percent of those polled had positive views of former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth, McCain’s potential challenger.

Regardless of the political infighting, Kim Owens, secretary of the Maricopa County Republican Committee, said a financial review of the state party’s books should be conducted.

Owens, who voted against Pullen the two times he ran for chairman, said it needs to be done to end the speculation. She said she’s always tried to help Pullen despite having voted against him because “he was my chairman and I wanted him to succeed.”

She added that the audit was not about choosing between the party political factions, but rather about what’s in the party’s best interest.

“It’s about what’s the right thing to do,” she said. “If you’ve got nothing to hide then there’s nothing to worry about.”

If you add up all the cash on hand balances, and then look at the debt and payroll pattern, it appears that Pullen has less than $5,000 cash on hand between the federal and state accounts!

It’ll be interesting to see how they pay for their big dinner tomorrow night, as rumors are swirling around that they have not yet paid their deposits to the hotel.

The bottom line is the AZGOP is flat broke and Pullen has been pulln’ the wool over the eyes of everyone over the past few years. The only way is for Randy to produce the actual bank statements to the Executive Commitee showing the cash on hand in the account. Why is that such a big deal?

It shouldn’t be, but Randy knows he will finally be caught in his tangled web of deception and will have to come clean about how he has mismanaged the AZGOP finances.