It’s old advice, but it remains solid: when you’re trying to find the links in a murky political situation, follow the money.
But following the money often means trudging along a difficult and foggy path.
The intent is noble. For certain offices and for certain amounts, candidates have to report how much money has been donated to their campaign, where it came from and where they spent it.
Openness is a good idea. No one wants to think that a legislator’s vote, or a governor’s veto, is for sale.
The devil, as always, is in the details.
This month, the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette reviewed the most recent campaign finance reports for those seeking statewide elective office, as well as the leaders of legislative caucuses.
Some candidates don’t itemize all their expenses. They pay with credit cards, citing the convenience, then count credit card payments as expenditures.
According to the Journal-Gazette’s report, the practice is tricky because it means Hoosiers can’t see exactly what money is being spent on.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller reported $13,740 to First Bankcard in credit card payments the first half of 2015. Senate President Pro Tem David Long of Fort Wayne reported $27,691 with Cardmember Service, and House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath (of Michigan City) reported $13,380 on his American Express. Long and Pelath’s expenditures were from 2014 – a legislative election year. They aren’t required to file a 2015 report.
But Brad King, Republican co-director of the state’s Election Division, said the office generally tells candidates to indicate what the expenditure was for, not just list “Visa” or “MasterCard.”
He also cited a notation on the back of the campaign finance forms that says “under normal circumstances you should not list a credit card issuer as a recipient. If making a payment on a credit card, list vendor, not the credit card company.”
But King admits he has never seen a complaint for a candidate spending contributions inappropriately.
Indiana has a vague law on that score. According to the Journal-Gazette’s report, the law says money received by a candidate or committee can be used to defray any expense “reasonably related” to the campaign for office, continuing political activity or activity related to service in an elected office. It also notes that “money received by a candidate or committee as a contribution may not be used for primarily personal purposes.”
Andrew Downs, head of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, told the Journal-Gazette Indiana’s expenditure rules match the relatively lax oversight of contribution rules.
“It is an extreme rarity to challenge what someone is spending money on because it’s so general,” he said. “Is it really advancing your cause to buy a ticket to another person’s fundraiser? ‘Did you need to buy that tie? Yes, I was shooting a commercial.’ “
He said the rules could be made more specific, such as specifying who traveled on a plane ticket. And, according to the newspaper, he said not itemizing credit card spending lets candidates hide a lot of things.
Sadly, it’s simply another example of Indiana’s political process being less transparent than voters deserve.