Sorry for the Cavuto in the title, I just couldn’t help myself. So although Ron Paul is de facto out of the run for the Republican nomination, he’s still getting boatloads of donations. Where’s all that money going? Well it turns out it’s going to his family! How? Well, he simply hired half of his family as part of his campaign staff. Long quote coming.
Paul’s granddaughter Valori Pyeatt helps organize fundraising receptions and has been paid $17,157. Another granddaughter, Laura Paul ($2,724), handles orders for Ron Paul merchandise. Grandson Matthew Pyeatt ($3,251) manages Paul’s MySpace profile. Daughter Peggy Paul ($2,224) helps with campaign logistics. The candidate’s sons Randall and Robert and his daughter Joy Paul LeBlanc have all been paid for campaign travel and for appearing as surrogates at political events.
Who keeps track of all these finances? Paul’s brother and daughter, naturally, who have been paid a combined $62,740 to handle the campaign’s accounting.
Campaign aides said they discussed the possibility that involving so many family members could create the impression that nepotism was driving hiring decisions, but ultimately they saw no problem with the practice.
“You always think about those kinds of things,” said Jesse Benton, Paul’s spokesman and, it just so happens, the fiance of one of the candidate’s granddaughters (he has been paid $54,573). “But his family is very important to him. There is something important about having a family element involved in a campaign. Having people around you that you can unconditionally trust.”
Think about that the next time you donate to the campaign. Ask yourself if your $150 is going toward helping the Ron Paul Revolution, or if it’s helping buy little Matthew Pyeatt a new Xbox game.
Normally I’d think a really principled candidate who bases his campaign on open, honest, and ethical government would stop accepting donations for his presidential campaign once the campaign dies, but Paul took the opportunity to help out the fam. Good on him, way to take advantage of the suckers!
5 responses so far ↓
pissinginthetent.com // May 27, 2008 at 9:37 pm |
Well, I would rather his family get paid for the work rather than someone else. Someone has to get paid.
Hanlon // May 27, 2008 at 9:59 pm |
But you have to ask yourself: why is it his family? Is it because he has jobs to be done and his family is perfect, so he’s accepting help? Or is he taking the donations of supporters and using it to go straight into his family’s wallet, which the law would normally prevent from happening?
Daniel // May 28, 2008 at 12:22 am |
LOL, so roughly 150,000 dollors out of, 35 million in donations, oh he just conned us right out of our money. You guys crack me up!! When Paul becomes President, and appoints daughter Peggy Paul to Supreme Court, you can call that nepotism.
OMG little Matthew Pyeatt handles the myspace account, you seem to think its better they paid a profesional company twice as much to handle something, that anybody 25 and younger could do.
Daniel // May 28, 2008 at 12:34 am |
Oh yeah, and I forgot to add, since Ron Paul is only in it to make his family rich, why did he send 3 children to medical school with no student loans?
Jay // November 9, 2009 at 6:25 am |
Actually, when words like million and billion are usually thrown around with these people, a few thousand dollars doesn’t sound all that unreasonable, as long as those aren’t per hour rates that is.