Well, well, well..... While the American tax payers are flying President Obama all over America for fundraisers, it appears we have been footing the bill for Vice President Biden to do the same without our knowledge. I for one am sick of footing the bill for this. How about you? Heres the story. Vice President Joe Biden has been crisscrossing the country attending closed-door fundraisers and donor events for Democratic House candidates — but you won’t find many on his schedule. In Seattle, Biden worked a photo line at Boeing Field before taking off on Air Force Two. In New York, Biden hit up donors at a hotel in lower Manhattan after addressing the Goldman Sachs energy conference. After a speech in a Philadelphia hotel ballroom, Biden slipped off to a separate room to meet with campaign donors. None of these side events were on the official public schedule — and they came with strict rules for the elite group of participants from Biden’s office: No emails. No Facebook or Twitter posts, before or after. Phone is best, they tell everyone involved. Nothing written at all — that would complicate security and require approval from the White House. (Also on POLITICO: House to spend $350K on Obama suit) All told, Biden’s done more than two dozen of these unofficial events, tacked on to government and campaign trips, with more under-the-radar appearances already planned, according to people familiar with his activities. The vice president’s office doesnt even want to call these events fundraisers. But they have a clear purpose: Biden remains a major draw for core members of the Democratic Party — and for a man still holding open the option of a 2016 presidential run, the events give him yet another way of supporting Democrats in the midterms while keeping in touch with important players around the country. The events are coordinated with the campaigns, which pay for any costs of the events and list them on their own FEC filings. Biden’s office also does not generally make formal invitations to photo lines, which he tends to do at nearly every official and political event (The Secret Service has been known to block windows at his events not so much for security, but to keep Biden from seeing more people outside and going out to work the crowd). (Also on POLITICO: Local, state Democrats go rogue) “The vice president does not deliver remarks, they are 5-10 minute photo lines. We don’t put photo lines on our public guidance in any form, whether it’s political or official,” the vice president’s office said. That’s not how other Democrats see them. Some of the events are indeed “fundraisers,” said a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee aide, though “some of them are donor maintenance events.” Read more: politico/story/2014/08/joe-bidens-secret-fundraisers-110331.html#ixzz3BW8bWGKx
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 13:49:16 +0000
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