An Alabama mayor gives the McCranky campaign all-but-free space rental and totally free inmate labor. So what else is new with Today's GOP?

The McCranky campaign's new Alabama "volunteer" brigade

"I'd be concerned with the legal ramifications of that, from the city's perspective. It could be a problem for the city to have made in-kind donations to a political candidate by charging less rent or having inmates do work for the event."
--Homewood (Alabama) City Councilman David Hooks

Our friend David Donnelly passes along this news story from the Birmingham News with the one-word epithet, "unbelievable." And "unbelievable" should be the word for it--except that the modern-day GOP has succeeded in making the "unbelievable" its everyday reality.

My goodness, this is so, er, unbelievably flagrant and utterly shameless. I wonder if we shouldn't be offended that these people are so shameless, they don't even feel any need to try to cover their tracks.

McCain gets discount on Homewood space rental

Thursday, April 24, 2008
KIM BRYAN
News staff writer

Republican presidential candidate John McCain got a deal when his campaign rented gathering space from the city of Homewood for a private fundraiser earlier this week.

His campaign was given a discount of about 80 percent off the standard booking rate for Rosewood Hall. In September, Jefferson County Democrats rented the same facility and were charged the full rate.

The McCain campaign was charged $250 to use two rooms in the hall, which normally would book for $1,200 on a weeknight. The campaign also was given free labor from Homewood City Jail inmates to set up tables and chairs for the event, avoiding a $100 set-up fee, but did pay a standard $50 cleaning fee.

Homewood Mayor Barry McCulley said the rental rate was discounted because the event was on Monday, a slow day for business. City Council members say they always vote on such discounts but didn't get a say in this deal. They're upset, as are local Democrats.

"I think it's outrageous," said Robert Yarbrough, chairman of the Jefferson County Democratic Party and a Homewood resident.

"I was charged full book rate. I was never offered any free inmate services to set up for my event. Mayor McCulley owes an apology to every citizen in Homewood as to why he arbitrarily changed the fee for this out-of-state senator from Arizona."

Yarbrough rented the entire hall, three rooms, on Thursday nights in September 2006 and September 2007 for the Democratic Blue Dot Ball fundraiser. The weekday fee is $1,700 for all three rooms, according to the official rates. Yarbrough said the Democrats paid more than $2,500 for all charges each year.

McCulley said he and City Council President Ginger Busby agreed on the lower rate for McCain's event. He said minor policy changes such as this don't require council approval.

Busby says there was a miscommunication.

"The mayor asked me if the hall could be free for the McCain event, and I said absolutely not," Busby said. "He then asked if it was appropriate to charge a lesser fee for Mondays. I said as long as it didn't cost the city money, it could be considered."

Busby said she did not know what the charge was or that city inmates were involved. She didn't attend the event and was at a soccer game Monday night, she said.

City Councilman David Hooks said that the council typically debates and votes each time there is a request to discount or waive the rent, but that didn't happen this time.

"I'd be concerned with the legal ramifications of that, from the city's perspective," Hooks said. "It could be a problem for the city to have made in-kind donations to a political candidate by charging less rent or having inmates do work for the event."

McCain campaign officials in Washington said they knew nothing about Homewood using inmate labor at no cost, nor did they ask for a cut rate.

"We paid what we were asked to pay," said Jeff Sadosky, McCain campaign spokesman.

The McCain event invoice shows an $850 total, including a $150 permit to serve alcohol and a refundable $400 security deposit.

Homewood police Chief Phil Dodd said city jail inmates had never before set up at Rosewood Hall, but did so at the mayor's request. The regular workers don't work on Sundays, when the event had to be set up, Dodd said.

Busby said she is asking the Republican Party to cover the $950 rental discount and $100 set-up waiver McCulley gave the McCain campaign.

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