Team Greg Abbott had a tough challenge this week. After Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, published painful and personal details of her own pregnancy terminations, it would be bad form to attack her experiences. So, instead, the Republican candidate for governor is going after her signing tour.
Kennedy and Profiles in Courage. Romney and Turnaround. Obama and Dreams From My Father. Heck, even Perry and his attempt to be a neo-Baden-Powell with On My Honor. Books and political campaigns go together like dinner and dessert. But Abbott’s argument – and now his ethics complaint – is exactly that. That the book should come first, and then the campaign.
Davis generated headlines by talking openly in her book Forgetting to be Afraid about having to terminate two pregnancies because both were medically nonviable: One because of a severe cerebral abnormality, and one because the pregnancy was ectopic. Abbott could have pandered to the “no abortions, ever” wing of his party by condemning her actions, or simply stayed silent, but instead issued a very brief statement that “the unspeakable pain of losing a child is beyond tragic for any parent. As a father, I grieve for the Davis family and for the loss of life.”
But that was not the end of the tale. On Monday, Abbott’s campaign manager Wayne Hamilton filed a request for opinion with the Texas Ethics Commission, pondering whether promotional money spent by her publishers counted as in-kind contributions to her campaign, a problem in Texas since corporations cannot contribute directly to candidates.
However, Hamilton seemed unwilling to wait for a response. Instead, this morning he filed a sworn complaint with the TEC. In it, he alleges that, because of the book, “Davis converted political contributions to her personal use.”
It’s a game of follow the money. In 2013, Davis’ company Croquet and Other Games was contracted by Penguin Random House subsidiary Blue Rider Press to write her memoir. Let’s call her LLC “account no. 1.” Then there’s account no. 2: her election SPAC, Wendy R. Davis for Governor.
Earlier this month, Davis took a trip to New York, attended a fundraiser, and made some media appearances in which she talked about her book. “I believe this travel was paid for by the SPAC,” Hamilton claims, arguing it would violate campaign finance laws because the trip was really a standard publishing press junket, not a campaign event.
The question is, if her PAC paid for the trip, was it primarily to promote her book, and therefore for her personal gain, or for the fundraiser, which was for the campaign?
Important to note that, if she paid for the trip herself or through the company, the whole question is moot. Moreover, since the whole reason she wrote the book was clearly to boost her campaign, aren’t the press appearance to promote the book really campaign appearances anyway?
Davis has fired back that this is just another distraction technique by the Abbott camp. Campaign spokesman Zac Petkanas said, “We were very careful to follow all legal guidelines,” and condemned Hamilton’s filing as “politically motivated and frivolous.” Moreover, he added, why not wait for the result of the legal opinion they filed on Monday?
It’s that last point that may be of most relevance as Hamilton’s dueling filings with the TEC move forward. As Scott Braddock of Quorum Report noted, the commission takes a dim view of campaigns abusing its processes just to get some headlines. In fact, last December the commissioners, unanimously and by bipartisan agreement, approved a resolution that “condemns the use of misleading campaign communications regarding the activities of the Commission.” Even issuing press releases saying that a complaint has been filed, or a candidate is under investigation, “are improper attempts to
mislead the public.”
So the blasts to the press about both Hamilton’s request and his filing that came from the Abbott press room could cause him more ethics troubles than he hopes to unleash on his opponent.
This article appears in September 5 • 2014.
