Ron Paul campaign packed with (paid) Ron Paul family members

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is running for his party's presidential nomination. And so, it seems, are a whole bunch of Pauls and other assorted family members.

They're everywhere in the Paul campaign. And all, by the way, getting paid from the $34.5 million donated by the legions of loyal Paul supporters across the country.

The 72-year-old Paul, a onetime ob-gyn, has packed his campaign staff with what seems like a whole lot of the 4,000 babies he's said to have delivered over the years.

Although Paul, who turns out to be a multimillionaire, has... 

... acknowledged that winning the GOP nomination is hopeless, he continues to campaign while simultaneously pushing his new bestselling book, "The Revolution: A Manifesto."

Although Paul has said he believes Sen. Barack Obama will be elected president on Nov. 4, Paul's supporters continue to try to gain control of delegates at the local party levels and plot for a convention speech and possible platform skirmishes against the victorious forces of Sen. John McCain.

The Washington Post checked campaign finance records at the Federal Election Commission and found the 10-term libertarian-like House member, who allegedly doesn't like big government, does indeed like big family involvement in his campaign.

He's paid family members nearly $170,000.

It's not illegal. Unusual, yes, especially to the extent Paul has taken it.

One granddaughter got $17,157 for helping to organize fund-raisers. Another got $2,724 for helping ship Paul merchandise. A grandson gets $3,251 for managing Paul's MySpace profile. A daughter got $2,224 for helping with campaign logistics, according to the Post's story.

Two sons and a daughter have been paid for travel and surrogate speaking appearances. Paul's brother and daughter have been paid $62,740 to handle the bookkeeping on all these numbers and relatives.

"His family is very important to him," says the official Paul campaign spokesman, Jesse Benton.

Benton is, you may have suspected by now, about to become a member of the Paul family as well as of the Paul campaign family. He's engaged to a Paul granddaughter.

For his public relations work, including not returning countless Ticket phone calls over the months, he's received $54,573.

--Andrew Malcolm

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Comments

[spinnikerca]

With a family work ethic like his, we who donated to his campaign can only be grateful that he imposed on family members to take on these jobs.

You do remember that he refused to take matching fund, saying his campaign would not be run on 'stolen money', don't you? So this isn't a matter of questionable use of taxpayer funds, even if you really question hiring family to perform these events.

As for me, since I did max out on his campaign, I will say I think it's great. Family campaigns, family farms, family businesses....

What's unAmerican about that?

[spinnikerca]

P.S. However, I think Benton was underpaid for notreturning Ticket calls....

; )

[Gmartine]

I think this proves Ron Paul really does value his family and their support with the campaign. It shows how close his family is.

What a good guy!

[Tominellay]

I am reminded of a cartoon that appeared in MAD Magazine a few decades ago, in which a political candidate was railing against his opponent, charging that he had "performed a piscatorial act on a boat that was flying the American flag!"

[Jeff Smathers]

Yet, he is the only candidate who is still 'In the black' with regards to his campaign funds...... All the rest of the candidates are in debt and making financial promises they can't keep.

Go Ron Paul 2008 ! The only candidate with real fiscal and constitutional ethics.

[MIKE]

I don't have any problem at all with Ron Paul using these funds to hire family members as long as they are not paid more than is reasonable for the task they are performing.

I would be interested in seeing how much money McCain, Obama, and Clinton spent filling the same positions within their own campaigns.

Dr. Paul has run a very frugal campaign with little waste and is still in the black. Something that can not be said for the others who claim to be conservative.

[hmm]

the slight negative tone bugs me

[CHad]

I'd much rather have Paul paying family, who he trusts, than paying high profile lobbyists and interest groups like the other campaigns.

Everyone who follows Paul, knows his record, and knows his authentic integrity, also knows that trying to find some kind of unethical conduct in his campaign by having his family support him is ridiculous.

The Washington Post, and you Mr. Malcolm (whom I appreciate doing some good reporting on Paul's campaign), should be ashamed of yourselves for this one.

[terribly smart]

After watching one paper after another pick up on this 'non-story' today it's hard to believe you're all not just a bunch of controlled piranhas.

These trusted family members are probably the most underpaid, overworked campaign staffers ever. But that doesn't matter to you, does it? You're only concerned with doing your masters' bidding: trashing the truth, hacking to pieces the only honest candidate the American people have ever had.

I sure hope History is recording all this, you slimeballs.

[freedom]

Andrew Malcolm is an idiot

[Jake]

Oh my, a total of $170,000! You call this journalism?

[Matthew]

You quote your own blogs. Wow, you must live in some kind of fantasy land where your own misinterpretations pass as source material.

[Drestin]

I have put a curse on you, Andrew Malcolm. You clearly are an enemy of freedom, and so thus I've no problem unleashing the darkest forces of the universe on you.

Expect black things to come.

[NH]

And what is your point? Better he should have hired spies from the other side so they could do something illegal and get him knocked out of the campaign? Right.

Ron Paul ran the squeakiest clean campaign with regard to money.

To suggest this money is being used for personal gain is libelous.

There is a necessity in using one's family when unscrupulous people like yourself would be all too willing to infiltrate the campaign and do something to mess him up.

Apparently, Bill Clinton and his stolen millions, Obama's Communist advisors and his wife's $150K from the CFR, and McCain's heiress wife pose no threat, but little Valori who made less than $10K is.

This is just poor journalism once again from this yellow rag.
The Post is also propagating lies with the "isolationism" and "stick to your own kind" comments. Pure libel.

Ron Paul is hardly an isolationist and has never said, stick to your own kind, which suggests something else entirely.

I hope they sue the pants of WP, the dirtiest of dirty newspapers.

[TPMalone]

Wow, the nerve of Ron Paul to surround himself with people he trusts in the "honest" world of politics, especially when your message takes on the status quo by following the Constitution.

This is laughable. This is the best you have?!
Please discuss his "crazy" policies such as sound money, a humble non interventionist, not isolationist, foreign policy and preserving and protecting liberty.
Please...you have no real argument.

Thank you for this laugh in my day.

[Baba Padmanabhan]

Yeah, running a campaign with special interest lobbyists and corporate scumbags is better than running it with members of your family that you trust. Andrew Malcolm - this is a new low for you sir.

[Doug Bayless]

As somebody who donated to his campaign numerous times, let me also say that I have no problem with this.

Less than 0.05% (not 5% but less than half of one percent) of the money he raised went well documented (in very small amounts by political standards) to staff who happened to be family members.

The fact that so many in his family support him, none on his staff earned exorbitant fees, and that the campaign still has money in the bank is pretty impressive.

On the other hand the fact that the Washington Post story starts with libelous phrase "Stick with your own kind, says the maverick presidential candidate." says volumes about what kind of story the author was out to write.

In my view Paul is the least racist (despite the 'newsletter stories' [that he didn't author] he has the support of his local NAACP; he also seems one of the only candidates that is not anti-arab or anti-hispanic), Paul is the best supporter of the troops (one of the only veterans, he also out-raised other candidates in military contributions), and the least isolationist (what isolates us more than pre-emptive wars against people that didn't attack us?).

I don't think the Post author has ever personally read anything by Paul himself.

[Gregory Stachnik]

If Ron Paul's campaign is hopeless, and he is irrelevant, than how come the MSM is trying to smear him? Are they afraid that Dr. Paul and his legions of supporters are going to make a big enough stink at the convention? And by the way the Paul campaign in not in any debt, and has not used any taxpayer money. In fact his family was probably tapped because they are less expensive than professionals. IMHO I think the bankers are getting nervous about what might happen at the convention. We might yet get rid of the FED

[Brian]

Maybe LA Times should do some research about how much Michelle Obama has made, or Chelsea Clinton has earned, for campaigning for Barrack and Hillary? The answer is that this kind of thing happens all the time. This is a non-issue. Why doesn't LA Times decide to report on some real news worthy issues, like whether or not America should be the policeman of the world, or whether or not the government should plan the economy, or if we should have a Federal Reserve or not. Arggg,....MSM....Argggg!!!

[James]

Glad Dr. Paul is making sure that his family members are helping out! Just to make sure that neo-cons trojas are not screwing up his campaign!

Dr. Paul hiring family members and Mr Mccain hiring lobbyists!
That's why I support Dr. Paul he talks the talk and walks the walk!

[FreeMan from Florida]

What are you trying this time to insinuate? To be fair, let' s see you publish what the 3 supposed major candidates being shoved down our throats by people like yourselves, are paying their campaign staffers, relatives or not, & then comare the 4 of them. While your at it, include the staffers of all the Presidential candidates that have dropped out of the race. I think you will find Dr. Paul's paid staffers at the very bottom of this list, even though he has raised & retains more campaign contributions than almost all of them, & mostly from individual donors, unlike the others with corporate & lobbyist donations. Again, the most frugal & wisest, as well as the most Presidential man or woman to come along in most of our lifetimes, Ron Paul. Please spare us this drivel until you can write & report with as much honesty & integrity as this pure statesman, Ron Paul himself. Thanks for wasting our time. WAKE UP!

[Done with this trash]

"It's not illegal. Unusual, yes, especially to the extent Paul has taken it."

You lying piece of dog crap, Andrew. So family memeber have earned a grand total of LESS THAN ONE-HALF A PERCENT of Ron Paul's total campaign money by performing work.

THE HORROR!!!!!

Just added LATimes to my block internet sites list so I won't accidently read anymore of your trash journalism.

Thank you for that.

[Darryl Schmitz]

I recall that he had a bad experience during his Libertarian campaign in '88 with a few bad apples on his campaign staff who misappropriated funds in the latter days of his run. I think he is understandably more trusting of family members not to squander and steal the $35M balance but instead give him an honest day's campaign work for an honest dollar. Nope, I don't blame Paul one bit.

[Race]

Your blog sounds more like the National Enquirer every day. Extremely poor journalism, Mr. Malcolm.

[ellen]

It's legal, and thrifty. A very good use of campaign donations. The others are probably jealous they don't have such a cool family willing to help out for peanuts.