Kathy McDonald and the rest of the story.

There's an email pinging around the net to a "select few" (apparently) from Ann Donnelly, explaining why she's supporting Kathy McDonald for State Committeewoman.

This email is well written, far better than my own meager effort here to be sure... but then, that's what's to be expected of a PhD.

And it's all that, as far as it goes.  But there's a few things left out of the story that Ann either didn't know... or didn't want YOU to know.

In this case, the simplest thing you can do is, well, follow the money.

One of my hobbies is to peruse the PDC's.  You can find out a lot just by looking.

The PDC's, for example, told me that Ann Rivers had been deliberately overstating her campaign funds by a paltry $175,000 or so... for over a year.

They told me that for some reason, the $135,000 she surplused from her last campaign in August never seemed to make it into her surplus fund account, instead... apparently... vaporizing into thin air.

They told me that she had made in excess of $10,000 in payments to the Bank of America... for something.

They told me that it appears my brother-in-law, Marc Boldt, decided he needed $5000 from his abortive 2012 commissioner campaign, so he took it, claiming that it was repayment of a loan he'd made to the campaign...except for one minor detail;

There's no record of any such loan having been made... or any other loan, for that matter.

Yes, it's amazing what you can find by looking.

For example, I discovered that Kathy McDonald has a thing for consulting on campaigns where our taxes are going to increased.  Not in opposition... but in support.

Here's the Cliff Notes version:

Among others McDonald tried to bend us over for:

It looks like McDonald made around $24,000 for helping to jack up our taxes for the library... an effort that lost here in Clark County but passed by a large enough margin in the rest of the library district to pass over all.

Then, of course, she made bank off the Port's effort to keep their unnecessary and unneeded tax increase that was overturned by the voters... "Citizens for a Strong Economy," the falsely named mission by the Port of Vancouver to stick it to us with a huge tax INCREASE for $2000... Along with a cool $5000 from the useless effort to keep the voters from taking Arch Miller's head and replacing him with Jerry Oliver.

Most recently, she also picked up $2500 from democrat David Nirenberg's "screw David Madore PAC," aka "Connecting Clark County."

So, while I have little doubt that McDonald is many things to many people, I missed the part in Ann's recitation of her many virtues that covered "political mercenary."



Donnelly acts as if McDonald is new to local GOP leadership.  Well,  I admit to a failing memory, but I also seem to recall from the deep, dark recesses of my mind a time when she was on or near the Executive Board for the Party and she was asked to resign because she'd held a fund raiser for Tim Probst.

Donnelly writes:

You and I both know: we cannot continue to depend on the same handful of people as we go into a new chapter for the Republican Party. Grateful as we are for past dedicated and in many ways successful work, when an outstanding new talent is available – someone of deep experience and formidable ties outside our region (a fair description of Kathy) – we would be wise to diversify our base of activism.

Utter nonsense.

By any measure, the current GOP is more successful in every way that it ever has been.  And that includes when Donnelly was running it. It has more office holders than ever.  Despite the efforts by many masquerading as "moderates" under the GOP banner.

It would be one thing if they WEREN'T successful.  THAT would be a reason to replace them.  But they unarguably ARE successful.  And Donnelly/McDonald want to get rid of them anyway.

Now, why do you think that might be?

I am a strong supporter of Joel Mattilla for State Committeeman based on the same rationale – the advantage of adding a phenomenal new talent to our CCRCC Executive Committee.

I can appreciate that... but it's also irrelevant to the issue of McDonald... who is many things but "phenomenal NEW talent" ain't one of them.  She's been around as long as I have... and that's going on 25+ years now.

Just so is Kathy McDonald, and as luck would have it, she[sic] and Joel worked side by side along with many of you, in the Trump election organization.  Kathy has the ideal skills and track record to convince us of her suitability for this job.  She is not an unknown factor.  

Weird.  I must have missed that.  It kinda reminds me of the set up about John Pennington and the Plum Book, getting a sweet job as Region 11 FEMA director that he was absolutely unqualified for... until he was outed as having a degree from a bogus matchbook cover university... all because the then Congresswoman from the 8th District, Jennifer Dunn, said the same kinds of things about Pennington to the Bush Team... even though, to the best of my knowledge, that description was somewhat less than truthful... since I had never seen or heard from him at any point during the campaign.

And when it comes to her "track record," working on campaigns to raise our taxes isn't really a suitable record to have for a Republican... is it? 

You have seen her recent email describing her qualifications. She proved herself years ago in the fast-moving, demanding world of conservative activism in SW Washington led by Linda Smith.  Kathy knows our region intimately and has earned the unquestioned confidence of the broader business community, an element of our electorate within which we need stronger relationships.

Sorry, but her "track record" seems to me to disqualify her as a "conservative,"  In fact, Donnelly's support of McDonald seems to do the same.

You see, both Ann Donnelly and Kathy McDonald appear to have endorsed my brother-in-law, leftist Marc Boldt, for county commission chair, instead of voting for a conservative or a Republican.

Odd, then, that two people who endorsed a candidate who has raised our taxes, ignored the voters on the issues and who governs in a way reminiscent of a junior Fidel Castro would either know what a conservative is or make the claim that they somehow qualify with that label.

Screen capture from Boldt's county chair campaign page.

That McDonald is a member of the downtown mafia may be swell from Donnelly's perspective, but it's hardly a reason to support her for any candidacy.  In fact, I might venture to say that it's something of a reason to oppose her effort, as I oppose the rest of the not even subtle effort of the RINO clique to retake control of the party FROM conservatives... while I find it odd that those involved in that effort actually make the demonstrably false claim that they are, in fact, "conservatives."

Kathy has something unique– deep connections to statewide and national conservative organizations, including serving on the national Trump transition team.  She is trusted by President-Elect Trump to advise him on appointments to major offices.   When needed, Kathy can call upon national and state leaders, and even the Trump administration, with her in-depth knowledge of their strengths to assist us when needed.

Utter nonsense.  I seriously doubt that Trump knows she exists.

McDonald is a nobody.  She has no connections of consequence, no leverage and no ability to make anything happen.  That Donnelly would attempt to mislead us into believing this nonsense is, well, just bizarre... because here's the thing: if she's all that?

She can do it without being elected to anything.  With all this "power," it's not like she wouldn't use it for the forces of "good" merely because someone else got the job she wanted... right?

So why are her alleged (hardly proven) powers a reason to elect her?

Beats me.

Look, I get that the RINO's want to take over again... with the same mediocre results to show for it.

This isn't for the good of the party.  These two could care less.  Just for one example, Marc Boldt was a PCO for my precinct for 4 years and never once showed up at a meeting or did anything else to help the party for the entirety of that time, save for his moronic effort to get the GOP endorsement after he was actually endorsed by the Young Democrats... one of the biggest fringe-left organizations in the county... who DID endorse him right after Donnelly and McDonald did the same.  And that made zero difference to either of them.

And how "conservative" is that?

Look.  I'm not in the party.  Not a member.  Not anything, as far as that goes.

But when someone is telling a story about someone because they want them to get a job to help get rid of conservatives in the party like they did from elective office, they need to tell ALL of the story... and not just the parts they want you to know.  Here, electing McDonald to this position is the local equivalent to making Mitt Romney Secretary of State.

I'm reminded of the Trump story of the snake, which ends thus:

" 'I saved you,' cried that woman, and you've bit me, heavens, why?" Trump read, turning the song into a sort of fable. "You know your bite is poisonous and now I'm going to die.

'Oh shut up, silly woman,' said the reptile with a grin. 'You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.' "

Anything less than telling ALL of the story makes Donnelly no better than a Columbian reporter.

Just sayin'.

And now you know the REST of the story.