Nine news outlets that covered the election sent a joint letter Monday to former Romney campaign officials to contest expenses billed to their reporters.
BuzzFeed, which is among the outlets that signed the letter, first reported on the dispute last week.
The outlets are requesting that the campaign provide a specific price breakdown for every event that cost them $200 or more. Until then, the letter reads, "some of our organizations have alerted American Express that we are contesting these charges."
The letter was sent to former campaign manager Matt Rhoades, and senior advisers Kevin Madden, Stuart Stevens, Beth Myers, Eric Fehrnstrom, and Russ Schriefer, among others.
Here's the letter:
Quote:
To: Romney For President campaign
From: Members of the Romney press corps
To Whom It May Concern:
We’ve dealt with numerous campaigns over the past decades and understand that we pay a premium to travel with a candidate. But recent invoices from your campaign have raised serious questions about the charges you have forwarded to us for travel with Mitt Romney.
We are not quibbling over charter flights or hotel bills. We are focused on what appear to be exorbitant charges for food, filing centers/holds and ground transportation.
Some examples: $745 per person charged for a vice presidential debate viewing party on Oct. 11; $812 charged for a meal and a hold on Oct. 18; $461 for a meal and hold the next day; $345 for food and hold Oct. 30.
These costs far exceed typical expenses on the campaign trail. Also, it was clear to all present that the campaign’s paid staff frequently consumed the food and drinks ostensibly produced for the media. Were any of the costs of these events charged to the campaign itself, to cover the care and feeding of its staff? We would like to see how exactly the costs were determined for any specific event above $200, including the amounts you were charged and to whom you in turn assessed charges.
We have similar concerns about ground transportation costs, which at times exceeded $1,000 a day and were far higher per capita than what the campaign charged during the primaries--despite the larger numbers of reporters, photographers and television crews travelling and dividing the costs. One news organization contacted two of the bus agencies used by the campaign; it was clear from their reporting that the costs you charged us far outdistanced what you paid for the transportation.
In order to travel with the candidate, reporters were required to agree to costs in advance without knowing specifically what those costs would be. The trade-off in any such agreement is that the campaign will not exceed the normal bounds of propriety in charging news organizations. In this case, that is seriously in question.
Some of our organizations have alerted American Express that we are contesting these charges. We look forward to your response.
It's not unusual at all that there are disputes on charges when something like this goes on. That they didn't build in an agreement for everything to be itemized in the first place is kind of stupid. But if these media outlets are disputing that, they should probably be a little more specific than:
Quote:
Dear Romney,
So like, a couple times, I think we paid too much for some stuff. Cause it costed more than before. We're worried. Plz fix.
Thx!
More than that, this isn't exactly news at all. OH NOES WE HAVE TO WORK OUT THIS ACCOUNTING THING BETWEEN SOME CATERERS AND THE ROMNEY CAMPAIGN!11 QUICK GUISE PUT IT ON THE INTERNET!
Come on, send a detailed invoice clearly highlighting the charges they dispute, accompanied by a letter explaining why you dispute them. Each entity needs to do this. A vague, open-letter to the campaign that you also tout as some kinds of "story" is stupid.
Wow..and this dude was almost president? Money hungry SOB!!
Yes, if you think that Mitt Romney, personally, has anything to do with the agreements concerning catering and transportation for the media.
Ya its highly unlikely that he personally had any knowledge of the prices of anything. That's why they hire a staff, a candidate would never have the time to be involved in the bookkeeping.
Disputes like this are pretty common in politics.
Wow..and this dude was almost president? Money hungry SOB!!
Yes, if you think that Mitt Romney, personally, has anything to do with the agreements concerning catering and transportation for the media.
yes this is a non-story because there is of course no way that individuals high up enough in his campaign to approve major billing/expenses such as these would be appointed to prominent staff positions in the White House
nah bro romney would have canned them all and brought in a bunch of guys from costco
Yeah the thread title is misleading, this has nothing to do with Romney. The letter isn't even addressed to him, its to his campaign. He isn't responsible for this, at all. He probably won't even make a statement.
What a well thought out argument. You have convinced me and have shown me the light.
LOL you expect an argumentative response? Your argument doens't make any point outside of "I think he should have known because he's a business man". There is no response to your argument because it is not an argument, its a pathetic opinion based on a stretch. Get a clue. Why don't you actually prove he should have known or did know and give us something to work with. Like I said, thread is dumb.
Wow..and this dude was almost president? Money hungry SOB!!
Yes, if you think that Mitt Romney, personally, has anything to do with the agreements concerning catering and transportation for the media.
yes this is a non-story because there is of course no way that individuals high up enough in his campaign to approve major billing/expenses such as these would be appointed to prominent staff positions in the White House
nah bro romney would have canned them all and brought in a bunch of guys from costco
What a well thought out argument. You have convinced me and have shown me the light.
LOL you expect an argumentative response? Your argument doens't make any point outside of "I think he should have known because he's a business man". There is no response to your argument because it is not an argument, its a pathetic opinion based on a stretch. Get a clue. Why don't you actually prove he should have known or did know and give us something to work with. Like I said, thread is dumb.
Just like stupid people blame every stupid thing that happens in the US on the current President, CEO's get blamed for failings of their company that they may have not been able to prevent (unless there's a union to conveniently blame), you get blamed for things the lower-downs in your campaign staff do if you're running for president.
This is not new, it's been happening forever. It's also not news that the Romney campaign was poorly run, so this is just more example of that.
While i agree to a point, at some point management has to be responsible for their subordinates. CEO's not being aware of problems that could cripple their company its a pretty serious sign that they are bad at their job. A presidential candidate bring unaware of minor aspects of his campaign like this isn't even remotely the same thing.
Wow..and this dude was almost president? Money hungry SOB!!
Yes, if you think that Mitt Romney, personally, has anything to do with the agreements concerning catering and transportation for the media.
yes this is a non-story because there is of course no way that individuals high up enough in his campaign to approve major billing/expenses such as these would be appointed to prominent staff positions in the White House nah bro romney would have canned them all and brought in a bunch of guys from costco
Nope. Costco's co-founder is a huge Obama donor. Also, this.
damn dogg lay off my joke about tough-as-nails overhead negotiation :(
but yeah costco is essentially the only ethical retailer with regards to labor and most social issues
Oh for sure, he's totally responsible for his campaign. That's why, you know, it's his. But the idea that overcharging on some non specified travel expenses billed to some of the media that traveled with him on some occasions = "romney's parting shot at the media" is kind of stupid.
Not only that, but overcharging on some non specified travel expenses billed to some of the media that traveled with him on some occasions also doesn't mean that any one or several people that messed it up are irresponsible, mad, corrupt, sneaky, sleazy, or anything like that. If the mistake is even Romney's and not the media. Stupid accounting and billing mistakes happen all the time. They very well may be corrupt and all that - but overcharging for lunch on that trip from Conn to DC hopefully isn't people's best evidence of that.
***, I'd welcome any politician who's pinnacle of sleaze was overcharging for lunch.
We actually have a good government right now - if your paying attention ... but hell its a far way from us being the largest ever Empire history has ever seen XD
It's really hard to understand what you're saying... what about the largest empire ever seen?
I can't say I pay all that much attention to British politics but didn't you guys just have a whole big mess with your PM being tied up in the phone hacking? Wasn't there also a resignation in the cabinet because they were scamming money? The MP expenses Scandal... You're nation is over 1 trillion in debt and counting... I wouldn't really hold British politics up as a shining beacon for society in any case...
sorry its hard for us to keep up with your $64 trillion actual debt ;;
and yes that silly *** of an MP was on the local news once... no one cared, could of been worse .... like the head of the country being caught getting sucked off in his nice big white house or something...
no county is perfect but lets not make this a competition on who can make the BIGGEST *** up lol
sorry its hard for us to keep up with your $64 trillion actual debt ;;
and yes that silly *** of an MP was on the local news once... no one cared, could of been worse .... like the head of the country being caught getting sucked off in his nice big white house or something...
Hold on, I can't let this 64 trillion dollar actual debt not be countered with.
America has a 65% GDP to Debt Ratio.
UK also has a 65% GDP to Debt Ratio.
So while America has a High debt, it's proportional to the UK debt.
Biggest empire in history was the British empire, having roughly 22.5% of the land mass. The Mongolian Empire, had roughly 22.4%. If we're talking about success, the Roman Empire lasted about 670 years, where as the British Empire lasted 210 years.
That's right i said largest/biggest Empire - not oldest
proportional ? lol 1 trillion is not 64 trillion - i don't care how its said.
Well every country has debt - also any county in BIG wars seems to create massive debts, the UK is still hit hard from WWII....when we hit @180%..crazy... anything under 40-50 % debt is considered "Healthy" and at the start of 2012 we actually went from 60 % to @43% mainly from the cancellation of £350 billion of gilt-edged stock held by the authorities at the start of the year
and i believe most of our debt in fact comes from the financial sector right now
and on the other hand at the start of the year USA was actually over 100 % debt and 5th worse in the world .....
Also i again think USA was built on some great men (presidents) shame this is whats happened - Notice if you will from Truman to Carter days a nice line going down!
Reagan in fact undone 20 years of work in 8 years (you all actually let him in for a 2nd term?!)
If I have 10 dollars and 1 dollar is loaned out. That's 10% .. I still have $9
If I have 1 Dollar and 10 cents is loaned out. That's 10%.. I still have $.90. Regardless what way you cut it, the US and UK is proportional in debt. We have more debt, because well frankly, US is a much larger nation in terms of economy.
Actually. The largest foreign owner of US Debit is China which holds only about 8% of US Debt. Majority of our debit belongs to Social Security Trust Fund and Federal Reserve and other in house places.
Now for the hit on Reagan. What you're seeing is the years and financial mess Carter left us in. This isn't a debate, both sides of the aisle agree that Carter was a disaster.
You really need to stop visiting the 'Hate USA' websites and do your own research for once.
Nine news outlets that covered the election sent a joint letter Monday to former Romney campaign officials to contest expenses billed to their reporters.
BuzzFeed, which is among the outlets that signed the letter, first reported on the dispute last week.
The outlets are requesting that the campaign provide a specific price breakdown for every event that cost them $200 or more. Until then, the letter reads, "some of our organizations have alerted American Express that we are contesting these charges."
The letter was sent to former campaign manager Matt Rhoades, and senior advisers Kevin Madden, Stuart Stevens, Beth Myers, Eric Fehrnstrom, and Russ Schriefer, among others.
Here's the letter:
Quote:
To: Romney For President campaign
From: Members of the Romney press corps
To Whom It May Concern:
We’ve dealt with numerous campaigns over the past decades and understand that we pay a premium to travel with a candidate. But recent invoices from your campaign have raised serious questions about the charges you have forwarded to us for travel with Mitt Romney.
We are not quibbling over charter flights or hotel bills. We are focused on what appear to be exorbitant charges for food, filing centers/holds and ground transportation.
Some examples: $745 per person charged for a vice presidential debate viewing party on Oct. 11; $812 charged for a meal and a hold on Oct. 18; $461 for a meal and hold the next day; $345 for food and hold Oct. 30.
These costs far exceed typical expenses on the campaign trail. Also, it was clear to all present that the campaign’s paid staff frequently consumed the food and drinks ostensibly produced for the media. Were any of the costs of these events charged to the campaign itself, to cover the care and feeding of its staff? We would like to see how exactly the costs were determined for any specific event above $200, including the amounts you were charged and to whom you in turn assessed charges.
We have similar concerns about ground transportation costs, which at times exceeded $1,000 a day and were far higher per capita than what the campaign charged during the primaries--despite the larger numbers of reporters, photographers and television crews travelling and dividing the costs. One news organization contacted two of the bus agencies used by the campaign; it was clear from their reporting that the costs you charged us far outdistanced what you paid for the transportation.
In order to travel with the candidate, reporters were required to agree to costs in advance without knowing specifically what those costs would be. The trade-off in any such agreement is that the campaign will not exceed the normal bounds of propriety in charging news organizations. In this case, that is seriously in question.
Some of our organizations have alerted American Express that we are contesting these charges. We look forward to your response.
