There is only one word that properly describes the explanations coming out of Jen Brunner & her campaign on this issue of campaign expenditures from her Secretary of State account in the final days of its existence:
Preposterous
Merriam-Webster defines "preposterous" as follows: contrary to nature, reason, or common sense: absurd
All I can say is that this better be Day #1 of a multitude of daily stories until Jennifer Lee comes up with a plausible explanation instead of the fairy tale they are telling at this point in time.
Yesterday she said, "If there's a problem, we'll fix it." The word "problem" is very far off base because it is singular and not plural. Jenny: The appropriate word to use in that situation would have been "problems."
I would have to say it is a "problem" when you used to defend people who used their campaign funds illegally as an elections law attorney, then you were a judge & now you hold the position of head honcho over all things legal or illegal in the world of campaign finance. You either don't know the law which is a "problem" or you know the law, knowingly broke it and did not think you would get caught breaking it which is a "problem" or you have had no idea about what is and is not going on with your campaign and that is also a "problem." Yep, no matter how you look at this situation it is a "problem."
I think it is a "problem" when $15,500 was spent on office equipment, supplies and cell phones and neither you nor any of your staff have any idea where the office equipment, supplies and cell phones are or who is using them. That is the biggest bunch of barnacles I may ever have heard in this lifetime. Let's put that up to the smell test. Assuming you or your staff went to Staples & Best Buy that $15,500 could have bought the following:
5 HP Pavilion Laptops for a total of $4,000
5 Deluxe Computer desks for a total of $1,250
10 boxes of paper at $430
2 Canon Rebel Campaign Cameras for total of $1,160
1 Epson Scanner for $220
1 Canon VIXIA camcorder for $750
5 HP PC Bundles for total of $4,150
1 Xerox Color printer/copier/fax $550
4 Printer cartridges for the All in One $900
4 Blackberry Storms for a current Verizon customer for $2,000 at Best Buy
Total of $15,420
That is what $15,500 will buy you between Staples & Verizon (assuming you were already a Verizon customer) at Best Buy.
Of the thousands of people who will read this blog post on Sunday I would like to hear from anyone who could buy the above 44 different items (some high-end ticket items & some that take up quite a bit of space) and not have any idea where they are less than four months after you bought them.
Is there anyone out there who would not know where these $15,500 worth of items were?
Anyone??? Bueller...Bueller...Anyone??? Bueller???
Nope. I didn't think so.
Yes, Jen. You have a problem.
A big problem.
I guess my problems thus far are why is this not in EVERY newspaper in the state?
Is this a Tom Charles issue or a Phil Richter issue or a Ron O'Brien issue??? Where are they?
If Monty Will got whacked for $125,000 and Ray Miller got cotton balls thrown at him (i.e. a $1,000 fine) then what will these infractions equal up to fine-wise? $5,000? $25,000? $100,000?
I mean she can't plead she doesn't know the law. Since she could not plead that then she plead that her campaign broke the law, she knew nothing about them breaking the law and now she is going to investigate and (my guess is for apprearance's sake) heads (not her own) are going to roll.
Right now Pia Brady (Brunner's spokeswoman who needs to go to Amanda Worst's spokeperson camp this summer so she can learn to lie to the press better) says she does not know where the office equipment or office supplies are nor does she know where the cell phones are or who is using them.
My guess is Jen probably also will have a "problem" if the press does the leg work to see the actual space that Brunner has been using, ascertain what class the space is and then price it at market value. My guess is the law firm has been charging a premium for said space.
Finally, Brunner said she has been busy doing her job as secretary of state and campaigning for the Senate and will "talk to her staff" to clear up questions about campaign fund expenditures.
Ha ha ha ha ha hee hee hee hee hee hee hee...oh stop...stop...you are killing me. That was a good one, Jennifer Lee.
What job are you doing as Secretary of State? Seriously. It is an odd-numbered year and the primaries are over. The only thing you really have in your lap right now that is active is the Husted residency issue and you are very, very smartly sitting on it and doing absolutely nothing with it since the press is not calling you on being 100% political and sitting on it the way you are.
There is no plausible reason you or your office can give now that it is June that could give you a reason for not declaring a verdict on the Husted residency issue.
This SHOULD be a "problem" for you, but up until this point in time it is not.
So you don't have any elections to deal with until November, you are dragging your feet on the Husted residency issue and you are not looking in on what your SOS or Senate campaigns were doing or are currently doing...what job are you doing with your SOS hat on? I think a lot of people would love to know the answer to that.
*Will Brunner get a pass on this law-breaking maneuver or will the press and the appropriate authorities investigate???
*Will Brunner continue to get a pass on being political with this Husted residency issue???
Stay tuned on both fronts.
