Nixon's over-confidence has led him overreach, exposing his system of political patronage. Even as the case against his 'competitive' bidding process grows, his attempts to reward Democrat donors are becoming more brazen.
First, the numbers game. No matter how you cut it, the bidding process is biased to favor Democrat donors.
The evidence is too strong to make a case otherwise:
-Democrat donors receive the most lucrative offices. The average fee office awarded to a Democrat did an estimated $344,234 in transactions in 2008. The average office for everyone else? Less than half that amount: $167,356.
-The six most lucrative offices awarded as of this date have all been given to Democrats donors. They have yet to lose an office in the top 10.
-Democrat bidders, such as James Ryan Williams and James Montee, have actively tried to hide the extent of their bidding operations.
-According to the KC Star, the average winning bidder has donated twice as much to Democrats as Republicans, and the average losing bidder has donated three times as much to Republicans as Democrats.
Lately there has been a lull in the story - most of the big fee offices have already been awarded, and Democrat donors haven't targeted the smaller and less profitable offices. Perhaps that same overconfidence is what led to the Camdenton debacle. For 27 years, the Camdenton office has been run by the Camdenton Rotary Club.
One of the standards used to 'weigh' bids is "Personnel Qualifications, Financial Stability & Past Performance/Experience". You'd think after 27 years the Camden Rotary would have most of those things covered, or they wouldn't be in business anymore.
Well, they would be, if they hadn't run into Alternative Opportunities - a non-profit that has a few donations to Democrats under its belt. Somehow, they managed to get the same experience score as the Camden Rotary Club, whose proposed office manager had worked at the office for over fifteen years.
The ability to run a license office is taking second fiddle to playing the game behind the bidding process.
First, the numbers game. No matter how you cut it, the bidding process is biased to favor Democrat donors.
The evidence is too strong to make a case otherwise:
-Democrat donors receive the most lucrative offices. The average fee office awarded to a Democrat did an estimated $344,234 in transactions in 2008. The average office for everyone else? Less than half that amount: $167,356.
-The six most lucrative offices awarded as of this date have all been given to Democrats donors. They have yet to lose an office in the top 10.
-Democrat bidders, such as James Ryan Williams and James Montee, have actively tried to hide the extent of their bidding operations.
-According to the KC Star, the average winning bidder has donated twice as much to Democrats as Republicans, and the average losing bidder has donated three times as much to Republicans as Democrats.
Lately there has been a lull in the story - most of the big fee offices have already been awarded, and Democrat donors haven't targeted the smaller and less profitable offices. Perhaps that same overconfidence is what led to the Camdenton debacle. For 27 years, the Camdenton office has been run by the Camdenton Rotary Club.
One of the standards used to 'weigh' bids is "Personnel Qualifications, Financial Stability & Past Performance/Experience". You'd think after 27 years the Camden Rotary would have most of those things covered, or they wouldn't be in business anymore.
Well, they would be, if they hadn't run into Alternative Opportunities - a non-profit that has a few donations to Democrats under its belt. Somehow, they managed to get the same experience score as the Camden Rotary Club, whose proposed office manager had worked at the office for over fifteen years.
The ability to run a license office is taking second fiddle to playing the game behind the bidding process.
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