Catherine Lucey at the Philly Daily News is reporting that Barack Obama will be playing the street money game in November:
According to U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the local Democratic Party chairman, Sen. Barack Obama’s general-election presidential campaign in Philadelphia will be run different from his primary operation, which relied more on volunteers than on Democratic ward leaders and did not provide street money on Election Day. […]
But Brady said that the campaign has promised street money to pump up turnout in November. And now that Obama is the official nominee, his campaign will team up with the city’s Democratic ward leaders, who traditionally help get out votes.
I would note that prior to the Democratic Primary, one ward leader, Carol Ann Campbell, told the Philly Inquirer that the Obama campaign was paying "canvassing money":
Then she let me in on a fact of political life. The Obama people are asking for names of people they can pay to canvass for the candidate. "Any way you look at it, they are paying people." So no street money, but a little canvassing money.
Now I point out the lovely Mrs. Campbell because of who she is, Secretary of the Philadelphia Democratic Party, and what’s she’s done. In particlar:
In 2001 Campbell was charged by a Grand Jury with illegal collection and spending of campaign money, and failure to file campaign expense reports. Said the PA Attorney General: “Money just disappeared.” Campbell was convicted, fined and sentenced to a year’s probation.
The conviction apparently didnt sidetrack her, as the Philadelphia City Paper reported she raked in close to $500,000 in the 2003 and 2005 primary elections.
In April 2007, Campbell was sued by the Philadelphia Board of Ethics for illegally operating two PACs. She signed an agreement to refrain from such activity in the future.
So I think that it would behoove a reporter to ask Rep. Brady (who, incidentally, as the Chairman of the Committee on House Administration is in charge of making sure that Congressmen spend their money within the rules. Isn’t that cute?) if Obama was playing the walking around money game (aka "street money") in the primary. And ask Mrs. Campbell that same question.
And ask the Obama campaign if they are going to put money in the hands of known criminals for the purpose of increasing their electoral chances in rough-and-tumble Philadelphia…