Minuteman Gilchrist Endorsement Comes With A Pricetag

From Doug Gibson of the Standard-Examiner:

There’s a very interesting story in The Politico Web site about allegations that Minuteman Project leader Jim Gilchrist has required that money be given to a firm, Election Impact Group, allied with him before an endorsement is given to a political candidate. Utah Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Tim Bridgewater, who has been endorsed by Gilchrist and has provided money to that firm, is mentioned.

In the article by Ben Smith, candidates who failed to get an endorsement from Gilchrist, described as gold for candidates, “were told bluntly that they would need to hire a consulting firm closely linked to the Minuteman founder and run by the project’s political director, Mississippi political consultant Howie Morgan. When they didn’t hire Morgan, the endorsements didn’t materialize — and in one case, Gilchrist went on to endorse a rival,” the article reads.

In an Alabama U.S. House race, Republican challenger Mo Brooks was approached by Morgan, who told Brooks he wanted to help defeat “imposter” Parker Griffith, the incumbent Republican who had been a Democrat. However, Brooks balked at paying many thousands of dollars to Morgan’s firm. A few months later, the Minuteman endorsed Griffiths, who election records show paid Morgan’s firm $6,500. Two other candidates in other races told Politico that efforts to get Gilchrist’s endorsement failed after negotiations with Morgan broke down.

In Utah, Bridgewater’s campaign admits it has provided money to have Gilchrist help the campaign but denies that it was inappropriate. “What we paid them for was basically to get Jim Gilchrist out to stump for us and all the costs — the plane tickets and the fees and the help with drafting press releases,” said Tiffany Gunnerson, a spokeswoman for Utah Senate candidate Tim Bridgewater. “We didn’t think there was anything suspicious or underboard about it, and we didn’t think we would have lost out to a competitor if we hadn’t brought him out,” the article reads.

No one’s accusing Bridgewater of any bad behavior. This is politics after all, and this kind of stuff is tolerated too often. But there seems to be evidence that an endorsement by political right-wing superstar Gilchrist has to come — in most cases — with a deal with Morgan’s firm. And that tarnishes the myth of grassroots activism that the Minuteman Project organizers and supporters try to pitch.

The Washington Post asks whether Gilchrist is selling endorsements.

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