Republican Majority Issues Committee
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The Republican Majority Issues Committee (RMIC), a tax-exempt 527 committee, organized as a corporation under the laws of Virginia with its principal office located in Virginia, was created by and through the fundraising efforts of Ed Buckham, the founder of Alexander Strategy Group. [1]
Karl Gallant, a close political ally of House Majority Leader Thomas D. DeLay, ran RMIC [a.k.a. ReMIC] and served as its registered agent. [2]
[edit] DeLay's Political Money Carousel
"Potentially the most important part of this apparatus is the R.M.I.C., set up by DeLay and Gallant to raise $25 million for House Republicans. Taking advantage of a series of loopholes in campaign laws and F.E.C. rules, the R.M.I.C. can accept contributions of soft money in unlimited amounts without having to disclose the identity of donors, and then use the money to buy hard-edged political advertisements (the several dozen congressional races that DeLay advisers say will decide the outcome of the 2000 elections). Never before has a politician navigated through the sea of loopholes to create exactly this kind of organization, a new species. Unlike most campaign money, R.M.I.C. cash will be 'soft money,' which is largely unregulated; and, unlike soft money that goes to the party organizations, the R.M.I.C.'s donations can be kept secret." [3]
"DeLay is rolling: the R.M.I.C. took its first group of big donors aboard a Potomac River yacht cruise and, in October [2000], held a fundraiser in Nashville." [4]
"ReMIC is a little-known nonprofit organization organized by a former aide to Mr. DeLay that is intended to counter the heavy spending by labor unions for House Democrats. Organizers say the group, which has an announced goal of raising $25 million, will not give directly to campaigns or coordinate with Mr. DeLay or other elected officials. The committee will reveal neither the names of donors nor the amounts they give." --New York Times, October 26, 1999.
In January 2001, the RMIC ran attack ads against Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) in South Dakota.[5]
[edit] External links
- Robert Dreyfuss, "DeLay, Incorporated," The Texas Observer, February 4, 2000.
- RICO Law Suit: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Inc. vs Tom DeLay, U.S. Family Network, Inc. (William J. Olson), Republican Majority Issues Committee, Inc. (Karl Gallant), Americans for Economic Growth, Inc. (Jim Ellis), and Does 1-20, filed in United States District Court for the District of Columbia, May 3, 2000.
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