Towns get stiffed

Dan Froomkin follows up on the cost of having campaign rallys, first noted by Digby....
washingtonpost.com: The Downside of a Presidential Visit:

Getting a visit from the president of the United States is losing some of its charm in swing-state communities that are frequently being used as backdrops for the presidential campaign.


That's because when the campaign has moved on and the excitement has died down, there are some hefty expenses left to be paid.


Some cities have tried billing the Bush campaign for their costs, but most aren't having any luck with that tactic.


Visits from Vice President Cheney and the Democratic ticket also create problems, but apparently don't cost quite as much.


Looking through news Web sites in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin lately, you sure hear a lot of grousing.


Paul Levy and Bob Von Sternberg write in the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Ah, the joys of playing host to a big-time presidential candidate: the hoopla, the excitement, the shining moment in the national media spotlight, the crushing bills for providing security. . . .


"A growing number of officials in small communities around the nation have taken a look at the bills they've accumulated in the aftermath of recent presidential campaign visits and decided they aren't about to be stuck with the check.


"But so far, at least, they've mostly been stiffed."


Tom Saul writes in the Quad City (Iowa) Times: "From the time Air Force One touched down at the Quad-City International Airport near Moline at 10:45 a.m. Aug. 4 and departed at 1:07 p.m., the president's campaign visit cost Quad-City taxpayers at least $289.44 per minute. The Kerry visit was a comparative bargain for at least $46.76 a minute for his nearly 15-hour stay."


Francis X. Donnelly writes in the Detroit News: "The frequent visits of presidential candidates to Michigan spew more than exhaust upon state highways. They leave a plume in the shape of a dollar sign.


"The political trips have cost Michigan communities more than a quarter of a million dollars in the past year, and the cost will rise during the 11 weeks left in the campaign, according to interviews with law enforcement departments."


An overwhelming majority of readers in the News's highly unscientific cyber survey say that, all in all, they'd rather the presidential candidates just stayed away.


Ian C. Story writes for the Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle: "The opportunity for some to see a sitting president may be priceless, but President George W. Bush's visit to Traverse City could cost area taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars."


Mick Trevey of WBAY-TV in Green Bay reports: "Visits by presidential candidates take a big bite out of taxpayers' wallets. As Action 2 News found out, recovering the costs isn't easy."


Karen Rauen of the Green Bay (Wis.) Press Gazette writes: "President Bush and Sen. John Kerry's campaigns will be hearing from the city of Green Bay."

...

Regardless, all those overtime numbers are actually pretty piddly when compared to what it cost for the Boeing Co. to give all the workers at its plant outside Philadelphia the day off when Bush visited on Tuesday.


Boeing spokesman Jack Satterfield told me yesterday that he estimates that it cost the company about $1 million.


Satterfield said that Boeing decided that there was no way the Secret Service could sweep the facility with all the workers around. So about 4,500 employees got the day off with pay. (They're unionized.)


Employees were offered tickets, and many of them accepted. Satterfield estimated that at least two thirds of the audience of about 9,000 were Boeing workers, their families and friends. The rest of the tickets were distributed by the Bush campaign.


Satterfield was adamant that no one was paid to attend. "The point was, we told our people whether they came or not, they would be paid," he said.


And he said the $1 million cost is being absorbed by Boeing -- not by the U.S. government, which of course is paying for pretty much everything Boeing is doing there.


So how does that work?


"We have provisions for special charging which will be absorbed into what we call our overhead, and the federal government will not be charged," he said.


Traditionally, that only happens when there's a massive snowstorm, or some other act of God, Satterfield said. "I'm not drawing any parallels, but I'm saying the circumstances were literally beyond our control."


Satterfield said Boeing was told up front that the president was coming on a campaign stop, not an official visit. And he said Boeing considered the legal and ethical issues before deciding that it was appropriate to proceed.


He said the $1 million should not be considered a gift to the campaign.


"It wasn't [a gift] and it has nothing to do with the political campaign," he said. "This was an instance where the president of the United States, who happens also to be a candidate running for office, came to thank us for doing an excellent job for the national defense. This was an opportunity for our employees to see the president of the United States -- the commander in chief -- thank them for building an excellent helicopter and doing excellent work in support of our armed forces."


Satterfield said he could not imagine any company -- particularly one providing services for the armed forces -- doing any differently.