Comments on: MDE EXCLUSIVE: CAMPAIGN EMAIL SOLICITATIONS SUGGEST RITCHIE MAY HAVE USED HIS OFFICIAL OFFICE FOR CAMPAIGN PURPOSES; LETTER REQUESTING INVESTIGATION WILL BE FILED THIS MORNING #2

By: Shot in the Dark » Blog Archive » Say It!

Shot in the Dark » Blog Archive » Say It! — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:25:54 +0000

[...] A few weeks ago, Michael Brodkorb at MDE broke the story – Minnesota’s DFLer Secretary of State Mark Ritchie was abusing the power of his office to get political contributions. [...]

By: Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:36:05 +0000

You have doubts because it is a DFL’er.

By: Gary G

Gary G — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:45:54 +0000

I am not covering for anyone,if Ritchie screwed up he should own up to it, but again I have yet to be convinced from the evidence presented so far.

I will be very interested to hear what the legislator auditor finds, because I have my doubts.

By: Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:35:45 +0000

Gary cover all you can but in 2008 the people of MN will realize just how crooked the current DFL’ers are!!

By: Jack Tomczak

Jack Tomczak — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:54:26 +0000

Gary,

The address I provided to the Secretary of State’s office was a new address that I got with my new job in April. It is not an address that was floating around the political world for anybody to pick up.

By: Gary G

Gary G — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:46:35 +0000

Where’s your proof? Giga is a registered lobbyist so it’s pretty easy to see how he could get on a fundraising list. Tomczak has been active it lots of stuff as well, so it would not be a stretch that he ended up on there either.

As for Ritchie not responding, get real, people on both sides take political shots everyday without usually getting a response. It’s not news, that’s probably why the MSM is not running with it. Show some proof then you might get some ink.

By: Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:29:03 +0000

How many more crooked DFL’ers do we need to expose before we get the mainstream press to actually show what these hacks are up to.

By: Long Dong Silver

Long Dong Silver — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:53:12 +0000

When will the MSM pick up on this? Pat Lopez will probably right a story in three or four days. It’s ahocking how lazy the political journalists are in the Twin Cities.

By: Shot in the Dark » Blog Archive » Nothing Personal. Just Business.

Shot in the Dark » Blog Archive » Nothing Personal. Just Business. — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:22:44 +0000

[...] Allegations have surfaced that Secretary Ritchie has used his office improperly: I have received the letter sent to Jim Nobles, the Legislative Auditor for the State of Minnesota, earlier this morning requesting that he investigate how contact information provided at an official meeting of Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s office ended up being used by Ritchie’s campaign to solicit campaign contributions. [...]

By: Chet

Chet — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:41:45 +0000

It’s time to lock down all the staff computers at the SOS office. I’m picturing virtual shredders throughout the office today attempting to wipe clean any evidence.

By: Dumbing it Down for the Left

Dumbing it Down for the Left — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:18:41 +0000

I find the reaction to this to be remarkable on a number of fronts.

First:

The Ritchie allies are all on the same message.

To paraphrase, ‘it doesn’t matter whether or not Ritchie used his official office to raise campaign funds, the complaints are being filed by Republicans.’

Obviously that is an absurd line of reasoning.

Second:

From Ritchie’s official office and campaign? Radio silence.

Bottom Line:

Ritchie seems to have done one of two things. He either a) did something ILLEGAL and abused his official office by using it to solicit campaign funds, or b) did something UNETHICAL by allowing his campaign to use email addresses he should have known were attained by his official office.

He needs to tell us whether he did something ILLEGAL or whether he did something UNETHICAL.

This clown car ran a race entirely focused on “getting politics out of the secretary of state’s office.”

Whether he did something ILLEGAL or UNETHICAL, he appears to have used the official office to do one of the most political of political things someone in elected office can possibly do, raise campaign contributions for himself.

And he wants to fairly administer elections in ’08 and 2010?

How?

By: Brock Sampson

Brock Sampson — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:13:14 +0000

Isn’t Richie the “non-Partisan” Secretary of State?