Sheets of one hundred dollar bills wait to be cut into singles at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C. 2009 photo (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)
Emails have been flying this week with urgent reminders about Saturday night?s deadline for giving ?late train? or ?just love you? money to the ladies and gentlemen who run the legislative and executive branches of state government.
Some are direct. ?Last call? was the subject line for Arlington-Grand Prairie Democratic Rep.-elect Chris Turner?s final appeal Friday morning.
Others are more subtle. On Thursday, returning Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, wryly used as his email?s subject line ?Caution: Legislative Session Ahead!?
Taking a soft-sell approach, Isaac simply talked about issues he?s watching. He didn?t mention state law?s impending ?moratorium on contributions.? Still, a big red ?Contribute? button was displayed prominently ? though it was underneath his trademark campaign photo of his family on an upholstered couch out in the middle of a Texas Hill Country field. (It?s a personal favorite of mine, and I?ve reproduced it below.)
The moratorium forces state lawmakers and state constitutional officeholders to stop fundraising for the entirety of the legislative session that?s held every two years.
?It improves the appearance,? campaign finance watchdog Craig McDonald of Texans for Public Justice said Friday. ?It doesn?t improve the integrity of the system. ? It gives legislators their own ?fiscal cliff,? if you will, to solicit contributions: ?If you want to be on my list of nice, not naughty, you better act now.??
Some of the emails I?ve seen ? from Turner, who was beaten in 2010 but is making a House comeback, and Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas ? say they use campaign funds to help with constituent ?outreach? and to augment legislative staff members? salaries. Turner, who had no Republican opponent last month, said he dished a lot of his money to other Democratic candidates and to pump up turnout in his district.
?I need your help to replenish my campaign coffers,? he wrote. ?? Please consider contributing $250, $100, $50 or whatever you can today.?
Normally, in sky?s the limit Texas, state candidates can accept any amount of campaign cash from people.
The legislators, statewide officeholders, ?specific-purpose committees? that support either group and legislative caucuses must shut it down midnight Saturday. They can resume fundraising at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, June 17. That is one minute after Gov. Rick Perry?s deadline for signing or vetoing bills passed in the upcoming regular session, which starts Jan. 8 and ends May 27.
McDonald recalled that four years ago, as Perry faced a potential primary against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the moratorium didn?t put a dent in the long-time incumbent?s money haul. After the 2009 session and veto period ended, Perry raised $4.2 million in just nine days, McDonald noted.
?Really, all it does is change the dates on the checks,? he said.
But it allows lobbyists and big donors who bet wrong on races to give ?late train? donations and try to make amends with the winners. And it provides some artful messaging in fundraising email blasts.
?I promise to make this short,? Turner wrote Friday. ?This is the last email I am going to send you asking for money ? at least for a while.?
Johnson noted there?s no moratorium on good wishes.
?[W]hile I cannot accept any campaign contributions after December 8th, your advice, well wishes, and prayers are ALWAYS welcome,? he wrote.
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