Rick Boucher’s Slush Fund

By Alan Moore | Wednesday, October 20th, 2010 | Politics

Is it time for Rick Boucher to channel his inner Richard Nixon and make a speech similar to the infamous “Checkers” defense? We have detailed how Rep. Rick Boucher thought it prudent to buy a car with campaign dollars, but it looks like there is much more to the story. Today the Washington Examiner’s David Freddoso published an expose on the luxuries afforded to Mr. Boucher:

“Boucher’s leadership PAC, the Committee for Southwest Virginia, has spent something north of $40,000 this cycle for lodging, catering, airfare and car rental for what appear to be late-winter jaunts to the Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa in Avon, Colo.

“There appear to have been two trips, apparently fundraisers, taken in early 2009 and 2010. (Boucher’s campaign spokeswoman did not respond to my inquiries in time for publication.)

“The combined hotel bill at the Westin is $36,000. Catering from Chef De Cuisine Epicurean Services, the Juniper Restaurant in nearby Edwards, and Vail Catering Concepts, cost $4,100.”

Didn’t realize the 9th District stretched all the way to Avon, CO? Wait, it gets better! The stated purpose of the Committee for Southwest Virginia is to dish out money to like-minded liberal candidates. Freddosso updates the progress of this purpose:

“Having raised more than $300,000 this cycle, the Committee for Southwest Virginia has given just $9,000 to U.S. House candidates (not counting the $5,000 he gave his own campaign). It also gave $25,500 for Virginia’s local and state elections in 2009.”

“Before 2009, the Committee for Southwest Virginia had never been a political powerhouse. It had never raised more than $61,000 in a single election cycle, and it relied on a handful of corporate PACs to supply nearly the whole amount. You could count its individual contributors on one hand. When it did spend, most (or, as in 2006, all) of the money went to other Democrats.

“This changed in early 2009. Boucher, the third-ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, served as the floor manager for an important telecommunications bill. The Committee for Southwest Virginia suddenly came to life and raised five times its previous record.

“Employees of DISH Network kicked in $23,000, and the company’s PAC contributed $5,000 more, as did the PAC of its rival, DirecTV. Comcast’s PAC maxed out with $10,000, as did the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the Consumer Electronics Association, CenturyLink, Qwest Communications, T-Mobile, AT&T and GoDaddy.com.

“The PACs of Sprint, Viacom and Verizon chipped in between $5,000 and $7,500 apiece. Lobbyists from several high-profile firms became first-time donors. When you add it up, that’s enough for a whole fleet of SUVs.”

So much for the Republican Party being a shill for big corporations, huh?

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