By Staff
Jim Gilmore's debt from his presidential bid includes $5,200 owed to the cmpany that hosted his campaign Web site.
By Richmond Times-Dispatch File Photo
By Richmond Times-Dispatch File Photo
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INTERNET DEBTS
In the era of Internet campaigning, an attractive, easy-to-find Web site stocked with videos and blog entries is a must for serious candidates.
So it must have pained former Gov. Jim Gilmore that on Tuesday - a day after he announced a bid to replace retiring Sen. John Warner -- googling Gilmore's name returned, first, a link to his Wikipedia entry, followed by a link to the Web site of his now-defunct presidential campaign.
And the front page of that site, gilmoreforpresident.com, had only this message: "This account has been temporarily suspended due to non-payment. Please contact Erin Miller of Willetts Systems at 301-722-5800."
His new Senate campaign site, jimgilmoreforsenate.com, did not appear on the first page of links on Google, meaning it might as well not exist.
Non-payment? It's unlikely Gilmore will run on a platform of fiscal irresponsibility. So what's with the message?
Gilmore ended his long-shot presidential bid in July with a load of campaign debt. Much of it still exists. According to Federal Election Commission records, his campaign owed creditors about $140,000 at the end of September, though his Senate campaign manager, Dick Leggitt, said that it had dropped to $100,000 by this week.
The debt total includes $5,200 owed to Willetts Systems, a Maryland company that hosted Gilmore's presidential Web site. The company took the site down at the campaign's request in July.
But after Gilmore announced his Senate bid, the company put the site back up - this time with the non-payment message. It figured the campaign, fearing embarrassment, would pay the debt off immediately, Leggitt said.
That strategy did not work, Leggitt said, because the presidential campaign account is almost dry. He said Gilmore staffers are methodically raising money to pay off all presidential debts.
"We said (to Willetts), 'Look, we can send you another $1,000.' And they said, 'Nope, send all of it or it is staying up," Leggett said.
Miller of Willetts Systems called the discussions a "private business matter" and declined further comment. A day after a reporter called, though, Willetts removed the clause "due to non-payment" from the site.
MR. LONELY
When Democratic Sen. Jim Webb gaveled the Senate into session Tuesday, he was the only senator in the chamber.
CNN called him "Mr. Lonely."
Usually the Senate goes into recess during the Thanksgiving holiday week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., kept the Senate open this year to prevent President Bush from making "recess appointments" of officials who could not win Senate confirmation.
"I'd much rather be doing this than allow the president to skirt the confirmation process in the Senate," Webb said. "It's totally appropriate for me to get dressed up this morning, come in here, bang the gavel and preserve the constitutional process."
Webb presided over the Senate for 22 seconds before banging the gavel to adjourn. A Democratic senator will preside over similar pro forma sessions once every three days until Congress returns Dec. 4.
NAVY POWER
Most Americans may not remember it, but Sen. John Warner was not about to let the 100th anniversary of the Great White Fleet pass without notice.
A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt sent 16 new battleships on an around-the-world cruise to show that the United States had joined the ranks of the other naval powers.
Roosevelt ordered that the ships be painted white, and when they left Hampton Roads on Dec. 15, 1907 for a 14-month cruise, they had been dubbed "The Great White Fleet."
Warner, who served in the Navy during World War II and as secretary of the Navy during the Nixon administration, pushed a resolution through the Senate just before the Thanksgiving break that "commemorates the wisdom" of Roosevelt for launching the fleet.
The anniversary will be commemorated aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt on Dec. 15.
In the era of Internet campaigning, an attractive, easy-to-find Web site stocked with videos and blog entries is a must for serious candidates.
So it must have pained former Gov. Jim Gilmore that on Tuesday - a day after he announced a bid to replace retiring Sen. John Warner -- googling Gilmore's name returned, first, a link to his Wikipedia entry, followed by a link to the Web site of his now-defunct presidential campaign.
And the front page of that site, gilmoreforpresident.com, had only this message: "This account has been temporarily suspended due to non-payment. Please contact Erin Miller of Willetts Systems at 301-722-5800."
His new Senate campaign site, jimgilmoreforsenate.com, did not appear on the first page of links on Google, meaning it might as well not exist.
Non-payment? It's unlikely Gilmore will run on a platform of fiscal irresponsibility. So what's with the message?
Gilmore ended his long-shot presidential bid in July with a load of campaign debt. Much of it still exists. According to Federal Election Commission records, his campaign owed creditors about $140,000 at the end of September, though his Senate campaign manager, Dick Leggitt, said that it had dropped to $100,000 by this week.
The debt total includes $5,200 owed to Willetts Systems, a Maryland company that hosted Gilmore's presidential Web site. The company took the site down at the campaign's request in July.
But after Gilmore announced his Senate bid, the company put the site back up - this time with the non-payment message. It figured the campaign, fearing embarrassment, would pay the debt off immediately, Leggitt said.
That strategy did not work, Leggitt said, because the presidential campaign account is almost dry. He said Gilmore staffers are methodically raising money to pay off all presidential debts.
"We said (to Willetts), 'Look, we can send you another $1,000.' And they said, 'Nope, send all of it or it is staying up," Leggett said.
Miller of Willetts Systems called the discussions a "private business matter" and declined further comment. A day after a reporter called, though, Willetts removed the clause "due to non-payment" from the site.
MR. LONELY
When Democratic Sen. Jim Webb gaveled the Senate into session Tuesday, he was the only senator in the chamber.
CNN called him "Mr. Lonely."
Usually the Senate goes into recess during the Thanksgiving holiday week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., kept the Senate open this year to prevent President Bush from making "recess appointments" of officials who could not win Senate confirmation.
"I'd much rather be doing this than allow the president to skirt the confirmation process in the Senate," Webb said. "It's totally appropriate for me to get dressed up this morning, come in here, bang the gavel and preserve the constitutional process."
Webb presided over the Senate for 22 seconds before banging the gavel to adjourn. A Democratic senator will preside over similar pro forma sessions once every three days until Congress returns Dec. 4.
NAVY POWER
Most Americans may not remember it, but Sen. John Warner was not about to let the 100th anniversary of the Great White Fleet pass without notice.
A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt sent 16 new battleships on an around-the-world cruise to show that the United States had joined the ranks of the other naval powers.
Roosevelt ordered that the ships be painted white, and when they left Hampton Roads on Dec. 15, 1907 for a 14-month cruise, they had been dubbed "The Great White Fleet."
Warner, who served in the Navy during World War II and as secretary of the Navy during the Nixon administration, pushed a resolution through the Senate just before the Thanksgiving break that "commemorates the wisdom" of Roosevelt for launching the fleet.
The anniversary will be commemorated aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt on Dec. 15.