Waters’ Campaign Fundraising Weak, But Provides Major Scam for Her Daughter

In the first half of the year, campaign financial disclosures show that Maxine Waters brought in a little more than $22,000 in individual donations. Not what you would expect for someone the fake news media portrays as a “darling” of Democrats for her attacks on President Trump.

At the same time, the Waters re-election campaign is more than $100,000 in debt to Karen, whose lucrative mailing operation is proving a successful scam.

Despite the weak individual contributions, Citizens for Waters (the official campaign name) has pulled in $102,000 from PACs.   Combined with holdover dollars from 2016, that brings the total in the campaign coffers to $193,714.02 cash on hand. Campaign debts total $128,748. About $108,000 of the debt was owed to Karen Waters as of the filing date.

Karen is in charge of the campaign’s “slate mailer,” or endorsement mailer, operation that has proved lucrative for the campaign by raising hundreds of thousands in donations from other candidates’ committees in exchange for placement on a mailer sent out to constituents in California.”

Here’s how it works: a candidate pays Citizens for Waters from their own campaign funds to appear in an endorsement mailer in which Maxine Waters provides a quote backing them. Should the candidate not directly pay the Waters campaign, they must show the mailer as an in-kind donation from Waters.

Generally, the Waters mailers are sent to more than 200,000 households in south central Los Angeles, where Waters has a good deal of influence. The mailer contains an “official sample ballot” along with Maxine’s endorsement of the candidate and the measures she supports. So it’s a good vehicle for other California politicians to tap into.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), another politician who has put herself on the “resistance” front lines and who is thought to be possibly angling to run for president in 2020, has given the Waters campaign $63,000 to twice appear on her endorsement mailer in the past. Karen Waters pulled in more than $650,000 from her mother’s campaign since first running the operation.”

Campaign filings show that in the past three months Karen Waters was paid $8,500, while still being owed another $99,000.

By turning politics into a family business, both Maxine and Karen Waters have been able to line their pockets and live a very upper-class lifestyle.

Recently Tucker Carlson called out the congresswoman for living in a 6,000 square foot mansion worth $4.3 million in an exclusive neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Various ethics watchdog groups have labeled the 78-year old representative one of the most corrupt members in Congress. The House Ethics Committee investigated her in 2010 for steering $12 million in federal bailout funds to a bank where her husband sat on the board and owned stock. (She’s married to former pro football player Sid Williams, who served as ambassador to the Bahamas in the Clinton administration).

In the finest tradition of Washington back scratching, the ethics committee cleared her in 2012.

As fundraising ramps up for the 2018 election, look for “Mad Maxine” to shift her anti-Trump rhetoric into a higher gear. Given the expense of running broadcast ads, a typical congressional campaign can cost several million dollars. That leaves Waters more than short this early in the game.

On the Republican side, Omar Navarro is putting together another run against Waters. He lost in 2016 by 76% to 24%. However, this time around, he might be able to count on more financial and volunteer support from the Trump base. As a Latino, he may benefit from the growing number of Hispanics in the district. His campaign slogan is, “Make the 43^rd District Great Again!”

Source: Washington Free Beacon

Image: gwen