Gingrich, Santorum, still up to their eyeballs in campaign debt. And we were supposed to believe they would slash the federal debt?
The bevy of Republican presidential candidates that vied for the nomination this year all vowed to make the national debt and annual budget deficits a priority, at least thats what they said.
donkeyhotey donkeyhotey.wordpress.com
Do they walk the walk?
No so much.
A Politico report Monday exposed the lack of credibility of some of the GOP hopefuls on issues as being fiscally responsible.
The most egregious culprit is former Speaker Newt Gingrich. According to newly released federal records, Mr. Gingrich is in hock to the tune of $4.9 million as of Sept.30 . It is reported that that the Gingrich campaign owes this money to dozens of creditors.
Perhaps even more deplorable, Gingrich’s debt grew by over $50,000 in the third quarter of 2012 despite his having long dropped out of the presidential race. Gingrich campaign expenses of late ranged from salaries and travel to consulting and telecom services, according to the Politico report.
Former Pennsylavania Senator Rick Santorum and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) are also in debt due to campaign expenses, although neither is in the same league as Gingrich.
Santorum’s campaign still owes 14 vendors a combined $1.13 million, while Bachmann’s campaign has whittled down their debt to $607,218 as of Sept. 30.
Of course, there is one exception to this disturbing trend. The Ron Paul campaign’s most recent presidential committee report indicated a $2 million surplus and no debt.
And these men and women wanted us, the US taxpayer, to believe they were truly interested in the dealing with this current debt crisis when their campaigns went on a spending spree?
