North Dakota’s Congressional Delegation Host Fundraiser For Corrupt Governor Candidate

Kent Conrad, Byron Dorgan and Earl Pomeroy all helped raise money for Minnesota governor candidate Matt Entenza in a posh Washington DC event last night:

Several well known politicians, including Senators Evan Bayh (IN), Tim Johnson (SD), Byron Dorgan (ND) and Kent Conrad (ND), hosted a fundraiser for Matt Entenza’s campaign for governor last night in Washington D.C.
The host list also included DFL Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Earl Pomeroy, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Rep. Ron Kind and former DNC Chairs Terry McAuliffe and Joe Andrew.

So what’s the big deal? Matt Entenza is a shady Minnesota politico with a history of legal and ethical lapses. Here’s a summary collected by the National Republican Congressional Committee :

2006: Entenza Forced To Withdraw From Minnesota AG’s Race After Failing To Be Truthful Regarding Digging Up Dirt On Fellow Democrats. “Democratic state Rep. Matt Entenza dropped his campaign to be Minnesota’s attorney general on Tuesday, one turbulent week after revelations that he paid a researcher to gather information on a fellow Democrat. .. Entenza’s campaign was thrown into turmoil with the revelation that he had hired a Chicago researcher to get information on current Attorney General Mike Hatch, a fellow Democrat.” (Brian Bakst, “Entenza Drops Out Of AG Race,” Associated Press, July 18, 2006)
Later, Entenza Amended Campaign Finance Reports Report $40,000 In Previously Undisclosed Campaign Funds Used For Dirt Digging. “Matt Entenza, who this summer abandoned his Democratic campaign for Minnesota attorney general in the midst of a controversy over his hiring of a Chicago firm to investigate Mike Hatch, said Friday that he paid $40,000 for research that was more extensive than he previously admitted.” (Patrick Sweeney, “Former Candidate Admits To Detailed Opposition Research,” Pioneer Press, September 2, 2006)
2004: Funded A Shady Political Group In Effort To Buy The Speaker’s Gavel. “A big national political fund-raising group is playing a significant behind-the-scenes role in Minnesota this year, registering young voters and trying to help the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party win control of the state House. The 21st Century Democrats, which is based in Washington D.C., and is the 18th-largest political action committee in the country, has longtime ties to Minnesota and has been a player in St. Paul city politics for more than a decade. … The group’s spending in Minnesota this year, especially on behalf of the House candidates, is remarkable because so much of the money comes from outside the state. . … Rep. Matt Entenza of St. Paul, the House minority leader who is directing the DFL campaign to win control of the House, said Democrats need all the help they can get to match campaign spending by Republican-oriented groups.” (Patrick Sweeney, “Big PAC A Player In State Races,” Pioneer Press, October 14, 2004)
21st Century Democrats Later Fined For Breaking MN Campaign Laws. “21st Century Democrats has had a presence in Minnesota for several years, and worked on voter turnout and DFL House races in Minnesota this year. Since 2001, the group’s Minnesota arm received 25 contributions totaling $334,000 from the national 21st Century Democrats. The problem was that the national organization didn’t register as a political committee in Minnesota, which meant that it couldn’t contribute more than $100 to the Minnesota committee unless it complied with state reporting laws.” (Laura McCallum, “State regulators slap national Democratic group with heavy fine,” Minnesota Public Radio, December 21, 2004)

North Dakotans need to ask why their representation is helping to raise money for a crook like Entenza.