Story (after the jump) is about a crook who skimmed campaign money after getting elected to the Oregon State House of Representatives a couple times; naturally, he’s now bankrupt, and the state has taken his law license (!) so he can’t earn much money, so there doesn’t seem to be a very high probability of collecting these fines.

Here’s an idea for fixing that, while likely improving politics at every level: when someone is convicted of campaign finance violations, if they can’t cover them, then the party that nominated them has to, and they then get the right to pursue collection from the violator. (continued)

Punishing the innocent to get the guilty?

Not at all — we have the shoddy, loophole-ridden, wink-wink-nudge-nudge system of legalized bribery we do only because the parties, on behalf of people who want to buy candidates (or rent them), demand that they be allowed to help contributors buy influence through their contributions.

In other words, the parties are accessories before the fact to the crimes committed when campaign funds are misused by one of their nominees.

When a political party grants a nomination to someone, they are affirmatively vouching for that person’s character and suitability for office. Making political parties take responsibility for the crooks they nominate will have a good effect all the way around: fewer crooks nominated, more oversight of candidates by party operatives, and faster, guaranteed recovery of fines for the violations that are committed.

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Doyle has not paid imposed penalties of campaign-finance crimes

July 11, 2007

Twenty-one months after former Salem lawmaker Dan Doyle told a judge he’d take responsibility for his campaign finance crimes “in any way I can,” he has failed to pay a dime toward his $127,185 in civil penalties.

. . .

The Salem Republican was elected to the House in 2000, 2002 and 2004. He was a practicing attorney at that time. He rose to briefly become co-chairman of the powerful joint budget committee before his political career was eclipsed by a campaign-finance scandal that came to light in early 2005.

Doyle skimmed more than $146,000 in campaign contributions to his 2002 and 2004 House races and diverted the money to his family and law firm. He then covered it up with dozens of false entries in 11 campaign finance reports.

Doyle pleaded guilty to 11 felonies and was sentenced to 10 months in jail in October 2005. He served five months of the term and was released in March 2006.

State prosecutors had sought a 15-month prison term. But a contrite Doyle appeared before Marion Circuit Judge Pro Tem Robert Cannon on Oct. 3, 2005, and sought leniency.

“What it boils down to is I lied to the public, and I’m taking responsibility for that in any way I can,” Doyle told the judge.

Doyle later filed for personal bankruptcy and appealed the $127,185 in civil penalties levied by the Elections Division.

He dropped that appeal in October 2006, Ferry said. In January 2007, the Elections Division sent Doyle a letter about commencing payments on his penalties. He responded by asking to delay payments until September, Ferry said. . . . .

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