Washington Post article raises issue of Vida Miller's Biden endorsement and acceptance of Biden PAC money

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 1, 2007
Contact: Tom Swatzel (843) 357-1673

GEORGETOWN--An article published in the Washington Post on October 3rd questions the intent of contributions from U.S. Senator Joe Biden's political action committee (PAC) to state legislators who endorsed him for president, specifically mentioning Rep. Vida Miller-(D) Pawleys Island, as an example of a legislator who benefited from a PAC contribution and then endorsed Biden on October 1st.

According to the article Miller received a $500 contribution earlier this year from Unite Our States, a leadership PAC controlled by Biden. While it is not unusual for U.S. Senators to use their PACs to support state legislators, the article states that it is unusual for those contributions to continue after someone has announced their candidacy for president.

Michael Toner, a former Federal Elections Commission chairman, says in the article, "Leadership PACs cannot be used to underwrite campaign activities. If you have a pattern where the leadership PAC is making disbursements in early primary states, that's the kind of fact pattern that could invite an FEC investigation."

Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, also says in the article "the perception created is that leadership PACs are "political slush funds." When you see someone using a leadership PAC this way, where there is a financial reward for an endorsement, it makes the public roll their eyes."

Georgetown County Republican Party Chairman Tom Swatzel said, "I urge Rep. Miller to return Joe Biden's tainted money as soon as possible."

Swatzel said a review of Miller's campaign contribution reports over the years shows that Miller has also received contributions from leadership PACs controlled by John Edwards, Howard Dean, and John Kerry, as well as from Emily's List, a national pro-abortion PAC that only supports female candidates who support abortion on demand and oppose any restrictions on abortion, including partial-birth abortions.

"The old saying "birds of a feather flock together" certainly applies when you have liberal Democrat Vida Miller attracting PAC money from some of the top, most elite liberal Democrat politicians and PACs in the nation. None of these politicians or PACs represent South Carolina or Georgetown County values," Swatzel said.