Iowa Patch Poll: Who Should Pay the Costs for Political Campaign Stops?
Frequent campaign stops can rack up bills for communities playing host to political candidates, such as President Barack Obama or GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Who should pay?
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Campaign stops add up, and so do the bills for the cities and states playing host: security, traffic control, disruption of city services.
Some communities are trying to bill the campaigns. On Tuesday, the city council in Portsmouth, NH, voted 5-4 to bill the campaigns for President Barack Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney for any extra fees from campaign stops between now and the General Election. Selectmen in Windham, NH, debated sending the $5,000-plus bill for a stop last month to the Obama campaign, but decided against it.
Newport Beach, CA billed the Obama campaign $35,000 for security services rendered, and later $10,000 to the Romney camp for keeping the peace and closing streets. Meanwhile, last month, the DNC refused to reimburse $14,000 to Westport, CT, for expenses from an Obama stop.
Iowa communities have hosted Obama and Romney, and their surrogates, dozens of times this year. Just Friday, Obama was in Iowa City with VP Joe Biden and their spouses. The same day Romney descended on Orange City.
Is it worth the price for front-row seats to presidential politics, or should the campaigns dip into their multimillion-dollar war chests to pay their way?
Kurt B.
8:07 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
In theory, one would think the respective campaign funds are paying for this. And, for Romney, this is probably true. For Obama , or anyone else in office, you can bet they are putting some of this on the taxpayers. Such as the extra security required, the shipping of the campaign bus on a military transport plane, shutting down of vendors near where the pres. will be ( remember the guy at the State Fair who lost 4+ hours of business on a busy busy day ?? ). And, all of these darn commercials on TV - what a huge waste of whoevers money it is. We could help out a lot of unemployed people if we were to actually concentrate on eliminating the waste.
Maria Houser Conzemius
8:16 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
Who should pay for campaign costs is a Gordian knot. If the president visits distressed communities hit by a natural disaster during the year he runs for reelection, is that a cost that should be borne by his campaign or the taxpayers? I can just imagine all the fights that would result from trying to decide who should pay in that case and others. Gives me a headache just thinking about it.
Jack F
7:04 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
Set a time... Anywhere he goes for public appearances 6 months prior to election comes out of his campaign. An election ethics committee of 6 republicans 6 Dems and 2 independents could settle any disputes.
j s
8:36 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
It seems like the campaigns should foot the bill for stops, when there is extra cost incurred because of it. Do they have any plan ahead of time for the community involved? It seems like if someone were going to have a campaign stop, their advance team would be requesting the resources needed. This would be a good opportunity to either say a) here's what we need and here's the x dollars to pay for it or b) community says, since you need this, it is going to cost x dollars...then negotiate and figure out how much the campaign will really pay.
On the other hand, it is unfortunate that we have live during times were we have to shut down streets and add extra security so that our leaders are safe during a campaign stop, and it seems that the campaign paying for a campaign stop is contradictory to democracy where only the affluent would be able to campaign.
Jack F
7:05 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
He should not pay for the extra security because of the office. Just what a normal candidate costs.
Tim
8:58 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
obama bin laden has been on the re-election trail since taking office, he should be paying the travel bills. If he spent as much time working on our issues as trying to get re-elected he might be more than a one term loser.
CFBusinessOwner
9:11 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
Dear Tim,
Your snarky label for President Obama only help remind us all which president helped rid the earth of Osama Bin Laden. Sometimes disrespect backfires.
Tim
12:27 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
Unlike NOBAMA I know the Seals took out bin laden. They are the one I respect.
Joe Stutler
9:54 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Dear Tim,
Your continued rudeness tells us all we need to know about you. One question remains: Did your mother not raise you right or did you dispose of your manners more recently?
Matthew Georges
9:11 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
Let them pay for their own security. If they want to be safe, pay for it themselves... Otherwise take the risk and hope you chose a town that likes you.
David Leonard
10:03 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
If Romney gets elected, I look forward to you same people complaining about this when he visits communities in his re-election campaign. I won't be holding my breath, however.
John Bemming
11:46 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
Yep. Taxpayers are always on the hook for security cost regardless of party. It is kind of a lousy deal but even lousier would be the ramifications fiscally,socially and economically if candidates were easily bumped off.
B.A. Morelli
5:36 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
It would be a terrible distinction to have a candidate meet tragedy in your hometown, but with the amount of money these campaigns are raising - $114 million for Obama and $111 million for Romney in August - are they better prepared to cover the costs than the towns?
Maria Houser Conzemius
11:49 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
+1, David Leonard! We can't have a big fight about who pays for campaign visits by incumbent presidents because it's too difficult to figure out when a visit by a sitting president is a "campaign" visit versus a presidential visit to people in need. We fight about enough things already, and idiotic snarking like "obama bin laden" is just too depressingly ignorant.
Hay Farmer
1:37 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
VETERANS be aware that Ryan has cut VA benefits and the Senate has voted it through. Congressional District #1 Republican Candidate Randy Altschuler and a few other Republican candidates around the nation are needed to pass this bill in the House in the next session. They only need a hand full of seats to get it done. Republican candidates, like Altschuler, are the key link. Read the NY Times today. Take your time, it's a bit complicated, which is what Romney and Ryan hoped for, so us veterans wouldn't be able to understand it. It comes down to one thing and one thing only: Either Romney and Ryan tell us veterans "There are NO CUTS in the Ryan Budget to VA benefits" or they're lying to us. The Times and Congressional Budget Office make it clear...HUGE CUTS have been made. Read the article: http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/edsall-the-ryan-sinkhole/?nl=opinion&emc=edit_ty_20120910
This is a game changer for this Republican. My family has many veterans and cutting their benefits is like the enemy cutting their throats. I never thought the Republicans would do this to us, but they have. It's already been voted upon in the Senate, but thanks to Democrats, it was stopped in the House. Read the Times and be careful voting for Republicans...they do not support veterans like they say they do and the proof is in their work in 2012.
Maria Houser Conzemius
2:55 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
+1, Hay Farmer! Thanks for giving us this valuable information.
Shawn Wolfe
5:23 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
Before you jump on that bandwagon I am a retired 20 year active duty Air Force member and in the four years I have been retired the President has denied my annual raise based on cost of living each year and this year in addition he raised my insurance premiums. I have not read the article so I won't speak to it but the Democrat in office doesn't support veterans either.
Maria Houser Conzemius
3:07 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
Hay Farmer, just read the NYT article about the Ryan budget. What's amazing is that the Democrats haven't managed to turn the Romney/Ryan team's duplicity and betrayal of veterans and seniors into a major campaign issue.
Jack F
7:10 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
Come on Maria....NYT????? Really, no Dem leanings there. Using the NYT as a source is like saying, "well its on the Internet so it must be true."
Jack F
7:11 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
BTW--- Mr. Wolfe..... Thank you for your service.
Jim Zupan
4:53 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Come on people...you can only depend on the NYT to bring you left wing news. Think for yourselves, do not believe the media. Listening to the NYT is like listening to RUSH. They are extremist the both of them. Unfortunately in this election people are voting based on the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, or their religious beliefs, not on what is best for the country as a whole. This election makes me sick.
Nurse Ratchet
9:13 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
VETERANS BEWARE...Ryan has cut VA benefits and the Senate has voted it through. Republican desperately need their Congressional candidates to win in order for them to pass this bill in the House, They only need a hand full of seats. Altschuler is the key link. Read the NY Times today. Take your time, it's a bit complicated, which is what Romney and Ryan hoped for, so us veterans wouldn't be able to understand it. It comes down to one thing and one thing only: Both Romney and Ryan must tell the truth to veterans "There are NO CUTS in the Ryan Budget to VA benefits" or they're lying to us. The NYTimes and Congressional Budget Office make it clear...HUGE CUTS have been made. Read the article: http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/edsall-the-ryan-sinkhole/?nl=opinion&emc=edit_ty_20120910
Let Romney and Ryan deny it. We HAVE read the article all the way through and it was the Romney Campaign that has sent a mumbo-jumbo of non-denial denials.
Maria Houser Conzemius
12:16 pm on Saturday, September 22, 2012
+1, Nurse Ratchet!! I read your link and it IS difficult to understand, but I think I get it. If would-be Twit Romney and Maul Ryan ever spit out all of the things they're for and all of the things they're against, I think even the Far Right would recoil in horror. Needless to say, they tell us "details to come after the election."
Not good enough for me.
Maria Houser Conzemius
7:09 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Shawn Wolfe, I am very sorry to hear that the President has denied your annual raise based on the cost of living each year and this year he also raised your insurance premiums. President Obama is a huge disappointment, but Romney/Ryan would be much, much worse. Once again, we will have to choose between the lesser of two evils, and sad to say, Obama is much the lesser of two evils. Have you read Hay Farmer's link to the New York Times above? Veterans are targeted by the Ryan budget.
Kurt B.
7:57 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
To each, his/her own opinion. I do agree..... we are in trouble with either choice. I do believe if Obama gets in again, our already out of control national debt crisis will sink the ship. The whole Obamacare thing has many many surprises in it that I don't believe anyone realizes yet ( and they won't until 2014 ). Most of the jabs at the american people are meant to take more of our money away ( a 3.8% federal tax when you sell your house ??? ). Businesses will suffer with increased fees. Since the unemployment issue has not improved any with Obama, who is to say it won't go to 12% , or 15 % or higher ?
V. Scheurich
5:14 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The President has a "Spine of Steel". When will the Obama/Clinton/Biden "Apology Tour" start all over again? How much more of our money is Barack going to give Egypt ($1.5 Billion already).
V.P. Joe Biden: "General Motors is alive and Osama bin Laden is dead......and so is Ambassador Christopher Stevens"!
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKCwQnIygcw
2. Apologies: http://weaselzippers.us/2012/09/12/allen-west-shreds-obama-over-libya-killings-says-his-appeasement-towards-the-islamic-world-has-manifested-itself-into-unconscionable-hatred/
3. Rules of Engagement policy by Barack Obama on Muslims: Rubber bullets at our embassy in Tunisia. How would you like your son to have rubber bullets defending sovereign territory? http://weaselzippers.us/2012/09/12/breaking-tunisians-protesting-mohammed-movie-attempt-to-storm-u-s-embassy-police-fire-tea-gas-and-rubber-bullets-to-disperse-protesters/
4. Spiking the football by Barack Obama has sparked these killings! http://hotair.com/archives/2011/08/07/opening-on-october-12-2012-the-obama-is-totally-awesome-blockbuster-movie/
Maria Houser Conzemius
12:19 pm on Saturday, September 22, 2012
V. Scheurich, if Seal Team Six can give grudging support for Pres. Obama's call to get Osama bin Laden, despite all of the risks, why can't you? Read "No Easy Day" about Seal Team Six's raid and the credit given to Jen, a CIA officer, for finding Osama bin Laden after looking for him for almost a decade.
She was "100% certain" that bin Laden was "the Pacer," and she was right.
Geronimo!!