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Dem Company Behind Official McCain Merchandising

A company which boasts that it "exclusively serves Democratic campaigns, progressive organizations, and labor unions" may very well be running John McCain's official online campaign store.

April 17, 2008 - by Steve Gill

Is Republican John McCain’s online “official campaign store” being run surreptitiously by a company that has a long track record of helping Democrats win?

It certainly appears so.

Among the many beneficiaries of the political fortunes of Barack Obama has been a relatively small political merchandising operation in Greenville, Ohio, located not far from Dayton. Tigereye Design was designated in February 2007 as the official designer and manufacturer of political buttons, t-shirts, caps, bumper stickers, and other items for the Obama campaign. Tigereye had eighteen employees at the time, but quickly hired an additional 30 workers to pack and ship merchandise sought by rabid fans caught up in the rising tide of Obamania. Soon after the first of the year the company hired yet another 50 employees to handle the ever-increasing sales. There are now over 120 workers at two sites, with three shifts working around the clock to meet demand.

Tony Baltes, the company CEO, has said he expects orders to rise from 2,000 a day to 8,000 a day as Obama closes in on the nomination. Tigereye’s internet retail division, democraticstuff.com, is also seeing gains from the protracted Democratic primary battle, with a four-fold increase in orders since the first of the year. That site sells items that promote both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and includes political merchandise that is not available at the officially sanctioned stores of the two campaigns.

Tigereye is not new to the political game. The company has been providing promotional items to Democratic Party political campaigns and labor unions since Baltes founded it in 1980. Baltes is a dyed-in-the-wool union supporter who claims to have ONLY worked for unions and Democrats — even turning down lucrative offers from Republican candidates in the past.

The company also operates a website called democraticstuff.com. Under “company info,” Tigereye proudly promotes the fact that they are in business to help Democrats win. “Before Democrats can effect change in office, they have to win. That’s where we come in… Tigereye Design is one of America’s leading manufacturers and distributors of Democratic campaign products. We are a Union company (proud members of United Steelworkers Local 3210) that exclusively serves Democratic campaigns, progressive organizations, and labor unions.”

Baltes explained his commitment to the Democratic cause in a 2006 interview with the Columbus Dispatch. He pointed out that he only works with Democrats because it “just don’t feel right working both sides.”

Today, there is every indication that Baltes may have changed his mind about working with Republicans.

Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John McCain’s campaign has designated goptrunk.com as their “official store” for his campaign. The existence of an “official store” for a presidential campaign is a relatively new political phenomenon which provides the designated vendor with exceptional access to information about donors and trends among supporters. In fact, items purchased from the “official store” are treated and recorded as campaign donations, which is part of the reason why reported campaign donations have skyrocketed this election season. Because these “official stores” gather the email addresses and actual delivery addresses of all who order items online, a candidate/campaign would presumably want to make sure that the vendor they select would have a degree of loyalty to their side of the political aisle.

But one has to ask questions about that presumption after scrutinizing goptrunk.com. The webmaster for Democrat-oriented Tigereye, Chad Groff, owns the cell phone number that was listed under the registration of goptrunk.com. The registration for that site occurred on November 5, 2007, and the registrant is identified as Frog Leg, LLC. Sources within the McCain campaign have indicated that the campaign store operations under the goptrunk.com name will be managed by Frog Leg as the campaign moves ahead. They have also acknowledged that goptrunk.com/Frog Leg has an “affiliation” with Tigereye.

Tigereye owner Baltes was asked about his connection to goptrunk.com and/or Frog Leg, LLC, and he denied that he personally had any connection. He also claimed to have no knowledge of who was actually running those companies. When asked specifically about the connections between Groff, Tigereye, and goptrunk.com, Baltes claimed that “Groff does a lot of freelance work for campaigns.” Following that conversation with Baltes, Groff’s name was suddenly removed from the Tigereye website.

Despite Baltes’ denial of Tigereye’s involvement with the companies that operate the “official web store” for John McCain, there appear to be a remarkable number of connections between the operators of the “official Obama store” and the “official McCain store”:

Tigereye is the only company that produces presidential campaign t-shirts with campaign logos that are heat-pressed rather than silk-screened. Goptrunk.com is producing McCain shirts that are heat-pressed.
The campaign buttons sold by Tigereye Design on the “official” Obama site utilize an identical “button platform,” or blank, as those sold by goptrunk.com as the “official” McCain products.
The McCain campaign has claimed that the selection of goptrunk.com as their “official store” was based on the experience that goptrunk.com had as an operator of an official presidential campaign store. Yet, goptrunk.com was only created last November and has there is no indication that it has ever served as an “official store” for any campaign. In fact, one of the only companies with experience in the new and rather specialized operation of an “official store” is Tigereye, which has served as the Obama campaign’s official store. During the brief three-month period that goptrunk.com existed before its “experience” earned it the designation as the McCain “official store” there is no indication that it was an “official store” for any other campaign, presidential or otherwise.
The exact same week that the McCain campaign designated goptrunk.com as their “official store,” Tigereye announced that they were adding 50 new employees to meet the expected demands of their presidential campaign merchandising.
Shipping labels from Frog Leg, LLC on McCain campaign materials ordered from goptrunk.com show a return address in tiny Greenville, Ohio — the same small town where Tigereye conducts its own manufacturing operations. Is it just a coincidence that the location of two major “official” presidential campaign paraphernalia operations is in a town of just 14,000 people?
While companies involved in the manufacture and sale of “official” presidential campaign material are relatively small in number, with rather visible ownership, the ownership and management of goptrunk.com and Frog Leg, LLC is virtually invisible. The promotional items business has long been dominated by those who are great at self-promotion. Why is the ownership and management of the “official McCain store” so hidden from view? Both Baltes and the McCain campaign have refused to identify the individuals who actually operate goptrunk.com.

Sources in the McCain campaign claim that confidentiality agreements and security provisions are in place to protect the proprietary information about donors, sales, and volume that might be gleaned from the operation of its “official store” by Tigereye and its affiliates. Yet, the split political loyalties of their “official” vendor will ultimately be difficult, if not impossible, to police.

There is a good reason why polling companies, campaign consultants, direct mail operations, and other political vendors tend to stay on one side of the aisle or the other. Even with a thick set of heavily-lawyered contracts in place, it is doubtful that McCain would knowingly choose to share a polling company, particularly one that had a long history of working exclusively for Democrats, with the Obama campaign.

If the deal is so above-board, why is goptrunk.com so hard to decipher and why is Tigereye so anxious to keep its “affiliation” with the Republican operation secret? It seems clear that the Tigereye donkey has suddenly grown an elephant’s trunk to expand their business operations. The big questions remaining are whether the McCain campaign actually knew what was going on, and whether McCain will benefit from the deal as much as Tigereye and the Democrats it supports.

Steve Gill is an attorney and host of a statewide radio talk show in Tennessee. He also serves as chief political analyst for WKRN (ABC) News 2 in Nashville. His website is www.gillreport.com.

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53 Comments

1. Huh?:

So? Free markets and all that.

Apr 17, 2008 - 7:05 am 2. T:

It is unbelievable that the McCain campaign could do this and trust that a company like tigereye will NOT use the e-mail lists with the Obama camp to help defeat the Republicans are there not any other companies out there that cand do this kind of operation.

The Dems pulled a fast one on John McCain!

Apr 17, 2008 - 7:54 am 3. Puzzled:

It would be more of a problem if people could afford to buy the stuff on the site – $150 for a .50 lapel pin. The great part is that the money this Democrat compnany makes off John McCain will go to building up their website that attacks the Republican Party. Remember that their main business is going after Republicans and helping Democrats and unions. Nice to see hard earned Republican dollars going to help the Democrats.

Apr 17, 2008 - 9:29 am 4. AnonyMousey:

Better blank out the barcodes on that label too. The linear barcode probably has the shipping ID and can be typed in to the shipper’s tracking system. The square code in the lower left has more info, probably including the shipping address which you blanked out.

Apr 17, 2008 - 9:56 am 5. Lemon Scented Yeti:

Excellent research Mr. Steve Gill.

Now, who actually gives a sh*t??

Apr 17, 2008 - 11:13 am 6. U.S. Common Sense:

Well, not that many of the readers would fully understand the business environment when it mixes with politics, but this really doesn’t seem like a big issue. You are going to find companies that service a broad range of customers, including politicians on both sides of the aisle, without reports of violations of basic business practices. The risk of a lawsuit and/or loss of business outweighs any potential gain of sharing customer data for political purposes, especially when the public outcry would hurt their candidates/party’s chances of winning an election.

Not to say there aren’t companies out there where their senior level managers and executives who lack the common sense brain cells, but I would say those are few and far between. Sen. John McCain really doesn’t have anything to worry about. Neither would Sen. Barack Obama if this was a “Rep” company.

Apr 17, 2008 - 11:40 am 7. terryfrank.net » McCain’s Official Campaign Store:

[...] Tennessee Statewide Radio Host Steve Gill has done a little digging on the McCain merchandisers and the information just ain’t too purty. Check Gill’s piece out over at the national site, Pajamas Media. [...]

Apr 17, 2008 - 11:42 am 8. J:

What exactly do you think the Dems are going to do with the email addresses of people buying McCain’s items? They can sell them to every Demcorat mailing list they want, but that’s not going to make the recipients any more receptive.

Apr 17, 2008 - 11:51 am 9. Elephant Man:

The owner of this company claims to be a lifelong Union supporter, so I am curious:

1. Are all HIS employees Unionized? Do they have collective Bargaining?

2. Is he selling only Union Made items and apparel?

3. Are all items made in the USA?

4. Is he providing Free Healthcare and Pension to HIS Employees?

Apr 17, 2008 - 12:02 pm 10. Ex Democrat:

I wonder if the play on words (animal / body part) in the two company names is significant?

Tiger Eye/Frog Leg

Apr 17, 2008 - 12:34 pm 11. Puzzled:

For those who think this does not matter – go to http://www.democraticstuff.com/category_s/1200.htm

The question is – Do you as a Republican donor want to give money to a company that sells products that are anti-Republican, anti-Bush etc. The above companies profits go to undermind what we as a party are trying to build. If they were just a company that represents both sides that would be one thing, but they make their money attacking Bush and our Republican values. So it’s a big problem.

Apr 17, 2008 - 12:42 pm 12. This Makes Me Mad:

I can’t believe the McCain Camp let this happen! After viewing http://www.democraticstuff.com/category_s/1200.htm I’m not going to purchase McCain products from his site because I’m not going to give my money to a company that supports anything anti Republican!

Let’s see what type of Manager Senator McCain is and if he is going to do anything about this!

Apr 17, 2008 - 1:11 pm 13. Peter Courtenay Stephens:

Why would anyone be upset. John McCain is a Democrat running as a Republican. Untill every single Democrat and Republican in office is either unelected or swinging from a tree with a noose around their neck this country will continue to slide into the sewer.
There is no such thing as a good Republican or Democrat. They are all part of the criminal class.

Apr 17, 2008 - 1:48 pm 14. Thomas:

This “story” is really no big deal at all, (well, maybe to those who think McCain is something he’s not) but it is funny how TigerEye scrambled to delete any connection from their website. Yeah, that’s above board.

Apr 17, 2008 - 1:53 pm 15. Guy:

Ha, typical Leftist hypocrasy. Villify Capitalism yet grow rich under it’s umbrella at the same time. I’m willing to bet most of the crap they sell is made in China or some other 3rd world country. Makes sense, I mean Bill Klinton was the one afterall who gave China the most favored nation trading status.

Oh, and as for supporting the Unions, wasn’t it Hillary Klinton who sat on the board for Walmart during their Union busting years?

Liberals are so out of touch with reality, it really blows my mind sometimes how a group of people can portray themselves as so “intellectual” yet have the realistic life outlook and common sense of a spoiled pre-teen girl.

Apr 17, 2008 - 2:50 pm 16. William A:

First McCain teams with Teddy Kennedy to push for amnesty for illegal aliens and terrorists, Now he supports an avowed Democrat organization with a key part of his campaign. What is he running for… Chairman of the Democrat Party?

Apr 17, 2008 - 2:56 pm 17. ATNvoter:

Lemon Scented Yeti: Me (and apparently several others). Everything about McCain makes it appear that he is more of a RINO than we ever thought. I don’t trust him, won’t vote for him; frankly, I despise him.

Apr 17, 2008 - 5:07 pm 18. Flabbergasted:

I looked further into TigerEye Design and found that they also operate the official store for http://www.noiraqescalation.org. A group that has opposed the surge in Iraq. This group is affiliated with MoveOn.org and touts on their site that they recently launched a multi-million ad campaign attacking Senator McCain.

I kid you not.

Apr 17, 2008 - 6:08 pm 19. Steve Gill:

According to Darke County, Greenville, Ohio, property records, the owner of the warehouse that Frog Leg, LLC operates from, 900 Sater Street, is Enid G. Goubeaux, Trustee.

http://oh-darke-auditor.governmax.com/propertymax/rover30.asp?sid=9ACA773EAD00423399361338B8261B6C

Ms. Goubeaux is a SuperDelegate to the Democratic National Convention and is former Chairman of the Darke County Democratic Party. The Tigereye connection may be only one of the Democratic Party ties to this supposedly Republican front group that the McCain campaign has contracted with.

http://darkegop.blogspot.com/2008/02/greenville-resident-enid-goubeaux-is.html

Apr 17, 2008 - 7:03 pm 20. moondancer:

I’m going to guess that they’re Americans. And I will venture that about half the people you meet in public are Democrats as well. Maybe we should all tattoo our affiliation on our foreheads so you and your well adjusted readers will know who to hate.

Apr 17, 2008 - 7:22 pm 21. An Utter vendor:

This issue is extremely important. I know because I am another vendor of T-shirts and other stuff for Obama. Here is my take:

1. Indulge me, First I have to take the obligatory slap at Hillary: There are at least five or six vendors who sell t-shirts, posters, and campaign buttons at Obama events. The fact is that, regardless of whether he wins or loses he is a cultural icon like Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley. People practically snap your hand off when you hold out one of these t-shirts. Nobody would walk around with a picture of Hillary Clinton on their chest, although it might be appropriate to put her portrait on an old canvas bag.

2. Indulge me again. Official campaign t-shirts and buttons are what I would call nouveau Soviet. A style sense that is banal coupled with a choice which is limited married to a product quality which might last until you get down the block.

3. Me, and other vendors generally make our own stuff. The Obama campaign has a schizophrenic relationship with us. On the one hand they encourage “insurgent” action where people produce their own yard signs, t-shirts, and buttons using freely available images. This is great for visibility, especially in a state like Pennsylvania where Hillary is doing yard signs and has the support of the Democratic machine, which will gladly do what it can to suppress Obama visuals. On the other hand if one does this on a reasonably large scale campaign officials get offended. So in other words, get lucky, but don’t get TOO lucky, because somebody made a deal with Tigereye.

4. One gent, who is a traveling organizer with the campaign came out and asked me to leave as I was selling T-shirts which were better looking and a fraction of the cost of the Tigereye offering in front of the campaign HQ. He said if I didn’t move he would have me moved.

Well. This gent, who is an outsider to PA after all, comes into my city and tells me, a licensed peddler, that he is going to move me? Needless to say the conversation didn’t go well or last long, and he was soon retreating, his tail between his legs, into his campaign inner sanctum while mewling could I PLEASE stop selling these t-shirts?

5. Among vendors there is also a holiness issue. It’s sort of like who is the purest neo-con or communist, or who porked the entire heavy metal band first. I actually pump a lot of money back into the Obama campaign–the name of the game is visibility–but generally I don’t let people know about it. Its more fun to see them shocked that I would be making money hand over fist off their candidate while simultaneously poking a stick in the eye of hypocritical losers like Tigereye. When customers ask if the product is union made, I point out that really making buttons is a cottage industry and is nothing that is ever going to move nations. When they want to know if I spend it on the Obama campaign, I note that if I did that how could I keep up payments on my yacht?

As for the McCain connection I too have been approached by Republicans. However, they’re strictly cash up front customers if you know what I mean because I don’t care much for those guys.

How is this for a Republican concept: The John Ma Cane. It is a cane with a toilet handle. I seriously considered making and selling these, but realized it would be hard to sell to Republicans and Dems wouldn’t get the joke.

A.U. Vendor

Apr 17, 2008 - 8:45 pm 22. M.E.:

This article has no sense. What does it want to say? That one wins a Presidency if he has lots of money to buy publicity experts and other technicians? It is clear that a paper is necessary to imprint a speech, but no paper, even the most expensive and of the best quality, can transform stupidity in intelligence. So Obama, with all his money and corrupt mass media industry in his service, can be only what he is: a goose filled with all kinds of stuffing without real content.

Apr 18, 2008 - 3:27 am 23. Joe:

The worse part about all of this is that there used to be several companies selling McCain stuff on line at fair prices, I know because I bought stuff a few months ago. Not only was the stuff better quality but I received it in a couple days as opposed to 3 weeks from the official store. Currently those sites all say they are currently down for routine maitenance. Odd how they are all down for routine maintenance?! So I called two of the numbers and was told that the McCain campaign lawyers threatened legal action if they did not shut down their sites. So Republican companies can’t sell McCain merchnadise because they would compete with the inflated prices from a Democrat company that is helping O’Bama beat us in November. I know I remember a few companies being allowed to sell Bush merchandise 4 years ago. Remember Capitalism? I know the campaign is using the store for fundraising, but not everyone can afford $20 for a yard sign. The purpose of the on-line store is to get the candidates name out there and give the grassroots an ability to do their part. I guess only the wealthy grassroots supporters can buy McCain merchandise. That explains why I haven’t seen one McCain bumpersticker yet.

Apr 18, 2008 - 4:35 am 24. DEMOCRATS ARE THE SOURCE OF AMERICAN PAIN AT THE PUMP | Steve Gill: Opinion:

[...] pajamasmedia.com/blog/who-printed-that-mccain-08-t-shirt/ [...]

Apr 18, 2008 - 11:46 am 25. Choosing A Side : Post Politics: Political News and Views in Tennessee:

[...] radio talker Steve Gill wonders if hiring a company who usually does business with Democrats is a smart idea for John McCain: There is a good reason why polling companies, campaign consultants, direct mail operations, and [...]

Apr 18, 2008 - 12:13 pm 26. jvon:

Now hold on a minute. Even if everything in this story is true, and I see no cause to doubt any of it, so what? The company previously handled merchandising for Democrats, and now they are going to handle merchandising for Republicans also. We’re talking about selling t-shirts, for chrissake, not keeping track of your medical records.

As for the alarmism of all this money going to a “Democratic company”; that’s a bunch of nonsense. Money going for McCain merchandise is no more helping Obama than vice-versa. Presumably the company gets a cut of it to cover production and shipping, and the rest goes to the campaign.

I don’t see the problem here.

The suggestion that all this was difficult to unravel is mildly hilarious as well. The same cell phone number was on both domains. What was hard to unravel, exactly? I’ll grant that someone may have had a little too much time on their hands…

Apr 18, 2008 - 5:58 pm 27. What up!:

jvon: you know too much about the business.

“Money going for McCain merchandise is no more helping Obama than vice-versa. Presumably the company gets a cut of it to cover production and shipping, and the rest goes to the campaign”. HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT TYPE OF DEAL TIGEREYE HAS, & HOW MUCH MONEY THEY MAKE?

You sound like a Tigereye employee. This is a BIG deal if it was not why is tigereye trying so hard to cover up there tracks on this one?

John McCain should NOT be with a company that is dealing with his competitor, he should be with a company that shares his values and has HIS best intrests ar heart!

Apr 19, 2008 - 12:24 am 28. An Utter vendor:

Joe and Whats Up–You guys have good points.

Here is the thread–

Democratic and Republican activists are suppressed from delivering product for their candidate because Tigereye has this contract, but typically delivers late. Yesterday several customers said they tried to buy from the official website, but the product would be weeks late in delivery.

As for you guys (apart from the Tigereye plants) who say this doesn’t matter look at this way:

–These contracts are delivered on what is essentially a no-bid basis. Why didn’t these campaigns put out an RFQ inviting proposals, one of the stipulations of which is that the winner be a union shop?

–Or better yet, stipulate that that the SHIRTS and all the various materials have to be made in the USA by union labor (since this is the real industrial element) and then open the production of merchandise to multiple vendors so that single person shops and activists earning travel money can move the product. Under this scenario what would be controlled is the image, logo etc. and a proportion of the money would be paid to the campaign.

This idea would be great too for funding activists as they follow campaigns. There is an army of young people who are in the Obama campaign who are living off nothing and dependent upon handouts from the locals for room and board. This instead of handing the job of enforcement to these activists.

Thanks again to Steve Gill for doing the article. Despite what no-nothings or BJ artists for Tigereye say here, you’ve done a great service to a small industry and it demonstrates genuine reportage rarely seen in the comment-heavy blogosphere.

Apr 19, 2008 - 1:45 am 29. DJ:

Gee: I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that I’ve twice ordered McCain bumperstickers from his website, gotten emailed thanks for my $5 donation both times, but gotten no stickers.

McCain people: ARE YOU LISTENING?

Apr 22, 2008 - 12:55 pm 30. Gus:

Limbaugh: “I’m here to tell you, if either of these two guys (McCain/Huckabee) get the nomination, it’s going to destroy the Republican Party, it’s going to change it forever, be the end of it.”

For once Limbaugh was right.

Apr 23, 2008 - 7:22 am 31. wescomer.com » Blog Archive » McCain’s Official Campaign Store:

Apr 24, 2008 - 3:00 pm 32. FRedStates.com:

I’ve been working for several months now on John McCain Merchandise… dozens of original designs are now available and delivery is in 5 to 7 days… PLUS hundreds of anit-Obama and anti-Clinton designs as well. Please take a look… buttons, bumper stickers, yard signs, hats, t-shirts… all guaranteed. http://www.FRedStates.com/

Apr 28, 2008 - 9:07 am 33. Viola:

Who wants to wear boring campaign stuff anyways? There is nothing out there for young people that is trendy. Except one site I found called Politikini.com that sells bikinis with Obama, Clinton and, well, yes McCain on the bottom. At least that’s fun.

May 5, 2008 - 12:40 pm 34. Seb:

Obama-kini? Clinton-kini? McCain-kini?
That’s hilarious!

May 5, 2008 - 12:42 pm 35. David:

I have information regarding the non-union status of Tony Baltes’ operation. I have known him for 12 years. He has high school girls working in his shop that’s supposed to be union with the Steelworkers. I talked to an inspector with the Steelworkers in Columbus, OH who told me that they “had many problems in the past” with Tigereye. He would not disclose the particulars as theye are negotiating a new collective bargaining contract with him. I was excited to find this blog because I have been researching into Tigereye extensively over the past few days. It gets better… on his bumper stickers he has a printed union bug: “Sign Display” “Painters and Allied Trades, No. 1 Local 820″ I called Tigereye and the rep said that Tigereye was a MEMBER of this Union. Well, this Union is based out of Lenexa, KS, the company that is designated by “No.1″ is a company called “Gill.” Tigereye apparently had them print the stickers, but also had them print the Steelwoekers bug on the stickers, but they were not actually produced by the Steelworkers, as such the Union bug is not allowed on the product. This would be acting extremely fast and loose with the rules. Continued…

May 6, 2008 - 2:37 am 36. David:

This violation could result in a federal trademark infringement lawsuit, etc. Now here is the BOMBSHELL… this could have implications for the primary race between Obama and Clinton… I know many people who have been in Tony’s shop of the years… people who know everyone in the small “political button world” it’s like a small incestuous family that hates each other… well they have all seen the high school girls working 10 hours a day churning out buttons on Tony’s tabletop machines for $7 an hour… not a prevailing union wage… MORE…

May 6, 2008 - 2:41 am 37. David:

Well, if Tony is supposed to be union, which he is not in reality… Then why on earth did the Obama campaign not investigate this in the first place before they awarded the contract… Tony has been using non-union labor for at least 12 years… In addition, I think all of those unions who gave their endorsement to Obama might consider pulling their endorsements as Obama’s website proudly proclaims “All Union Made in the USA.” According to The Federal Election Commission website “FEC” Obama for America disbursed over $260,000 to Tigereye according to their last quarterly report. MORE…

May 6, 2008 - 2:47 am 38. David:

To put the $260K+ disbursement in persective, this was the 5th largest amount of money paid out behind air travel, data records, etc. out of at least a few hundred companies. So, since a purchase at the Obama online store is considered by the FEC as a CONTRIBUTION, one can only extrapolate that that $260K+ disbursement to the supplier of the goods that were sold would probably easily equal over $1 million dollars in campaign contributions that Obama received. MORE…

May 6, 2008 - 2:52 am 39. David:

So Obama for America could also conceiveably (without actually looking at the federal statutes… I’m an attorney, but I haven’t had time to look into this yet) be in violation of federal election law for receiving contributions under false pretenses as Tony’s shop is not all union. This is all I have right now… I am interested in seeing if there are any non-union workers in Tony’s shop who might want to come forward and possibly influence the course of the presidential primary…

May 6, 2008 - 2:56 am 40. David:

One more thing… I have contacted the New York Daily News about this story they are considering investigating… most media outlets just didn’t get it or thought the story was completely made up or being told by an insane person… or didn’t understand the wider implications of the Baltes-Obamagate or a Tigergate (if you have a better name let me know, a snappy catch phrase could propel this into the MSM) So I was absolutely thrilled when I saw blog I was thrilled. Kudos to pajamasmedia.com…

May 6, 2008 - 3:15 am 41. David:

Campaign vendors of the world UNITE! Rage against the machine that is Tigereye Designs and their two-faced money grubbing dealings. Perhaps the vendors can unionize… ICCCW Local 101 (International Carnival and Cotton Candy Workers)…

May 6, 2008 - 3:18 am 42. john mccain campaign signs front yard:

[...] Republican front group that the mccain campaign … where people produce their own yard signs …http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/who-printed-that-mccain-08-t-shirt/John McCain 2008 – John McCain for PresidentJohn mccain 2008 – The Official Website of john McCain’s [...]

May 18, 2008 - 8:54 am 43. UpYoursObama:

There’s no shortage of NOBAMA stuff and McCain merchandise at http://www.UpYoursObama.com

Aug 11, 2008 - 8:49 pm 44. McCain Palin Bumper Stickers:

Here’s some pro McCain Palin & anti-Obama stuff I found on the web …

McCain Palin Bumper Stickers via http://www.mccainpalinstickers.com

Anti Obama Shirts via http://www.antiobamatshirts.com

The tides are changing and the McCain Palin ticket can not be stopped. Go McCain Palin in 2008!

Sep 10, 2008 - 9:15 am 45. Time to Call the BBB on GOPTrunk.com? | The Bitch Girls:

[...] don’t know the future of GOPTrunk after this. There are some reports that they are actually tied to Democrats. I don’t know anything other than published reports. I don’t know if their store [...]

Sep 29, 2008 - 11:24 am 46. Vetfromhell:

Guess what kids? GOPtrunk.com is not delivering it’s orders, it’s phones are disconnected, and the website is gone. Was this a scam by dems to rip off mc-cain supporters? So, what’s up?

Sep 30, 2008 - 3:24 pm 47. Ben:

Checked a “Vicky Constable” (FrogLeg administrative contact in the image above) on the HuffPost FundRace site and said she donated $1300 to Huckabee. So might be legit, but just overwhelmed. More digging needs done plus beware of the usual disinfo rumors. Are there any VERIFIED Pro-McCain-Palin vendors out there?

Oct 1, 2008 - 12:38 pm 48. Ben:

Current GOPTrunk site says: “GOPtrunk.com Site Temporarily Closed for Upgrades

In the past few weeks, we have seen a large surge in orders. The site will be temporarily down as we complete our fulfillment on our current orders. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

We are also upgrading the facilities to be equipped to handle the demand for McCain/ Palin gear. These upgrades include the ability to ship orders within 24 hours, increased customer support for phone service, and website upgrades for better shopping experience. We expect to be back online and operational on Wednesday, October 1st.

For questions regarding an order previously placed please contact customer service at:

Hours: 24 hours per day / 7 days a week Additional phone numbers: 260-446-4532
260-446-4531
260-446-4534
260-446-4533
260-446-4530
260-446-4523
260-446-4524
260-446-4525
260-446-4526
260-446-4527
Email: customerservice@goptrunk.com
Toll Free
Phone: 877-542-1426

See if they are back online by Midnight (or at least tomorrow morning). I can see a really small outfit getting overwhelmed, whoever at the McCain camp picked them without verifying their capabilities should be relegated to donut duty or something though.

Oct 1, 2008 - 12:41 pm 49. Ben:

They may be a small company that got overwhelmed. Their site says the following (as of 3:30 Eastern Time, 10/1/08:

Site Temporarily Closed for Upgrades

For questions regarding an order previously placed please contact customer service at:

Oct 1, 2008 - 12:46 pm 50. Ben:

Well it’s October 2nd and their site still says “we’ll be back up on the 1st”

At this point I would place orders elsewhere, and even go so far as to band together and get signs made locally. Or make your own! No they won’t be as neat but they take more time and that shows dedication. And I think others might pick up on that!

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:10 am 51. CranberryCynic:

I received my first order from them after a three week wait. My second order was three weeks ago. I received an email today notifying me that my order would ship by Monday. All backordered items would be cancelled and credited. No indication what is and is not shipping. I eagerly await my mystery grab bag.

Doesn’t smell fishy at all. They seem to be running as smoothly as a Democrat enterprise possibly could.

Oct 3, 2008 - 2:23 pm 52. Ben:

Well it’s October 4th and the “back up by Oct 1st” page is still up.

They seem to be shipping just enough to appear not to be a fraud. At this point I think we can safely throw the “FRAUD” flag on this outfit, who is delaying (legally, of course) as long as possible. Suspect they will be back in full operation November 5th.

Hope somebody sues them into the stone age.

>:(

Oct 4, 2008 - 6:50 pm 53. Babs:

I ordered $150 of Obama merchandise on 9/16, they charged my card on 09/18. They still have not shipped my order. They don’t respond to messages or emails. Do not order from them no matter which campaign you are supporting!

Oct 9, 2008 - 10:28 am

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Dem Company Behind Official McCain Merchandising

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