7500 Reasons to be Concerned About Mark Gordon
Apr 16th 2008ScottPolitics & Wyoming & conservatism & elections & wolves & worthwhile reads
My name is Scott Bothwell; I’m not running for anything, but I approved this blog post.
I have made some comments about Mark Gordon in recent posts. People may be wondering why I have commented the way I have done so. There haven’t been many comments, but they have ranged from wondering why Rep. Cubin didn’t endorse Mark Gordon to speculation on the possibility of Gary Trauner endorsing Mark Gordon.
This information will answer your questions. It is what it is. There seems to be a growing groundswell regarding this information. Some of you have received it in an e-mail I recently sent out. To those that replied, thank you.
Most recently, I heard the information alluded to April 11, 2008 on KODI’s Speak Your Piece by former state legislator Peg Shreve. I have also heard that there is some information about Mark Gordon (though I’m not sure of the exact contents) floating around in a brochure.
I believe this is a discussion that needs to be had, and that it can be done so civilly. This is not reactionary to the recent news of the RLC’s endorsement of Mark Gordon. I have had this information for over a month and I haven’t seen it posted anywhere else online. Maybe not enough people know about it. Maybe it just hasn’t hit the right computer.
I would like to say that I’m going to report and let you decide, but I do provide some analysis to help you confirm what you already know…
GORDON, MARK
BUFFALO, WY 82834
APACHE CORP/RANCHER ENVIRONMENTAL
| REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE | |||
| 12/07/2007 | 1000.00 | 28930302223 | |
GORDON, MARK MR.
BUFFALO, WY 82834
SELF/RANCHER / ENVIRONMENTALIST
| NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE | |||
| 12/07/2007 | 2000.00 | 28930313075 | |
GORDON, MARK
BUFFALO, WY 82838
APACHE CORP/RESOURCE MANAGER
| TRAUNER, GARY S VIA TRAUNER FOR CONGRESS |
|||
| 10/28/2006 | 1000.00 | 26940822476 | |
GORDON, MARK
BUFFALO, WY 82834
SELF EMPLOYED/RANCHER
| KERRY, JOHN F VIA JOHN KERRY FOR PRESIDENT INC |
|||
| 07/29/2004 | 2000.00 | 24962244398 | |
| LADD, EDWARD LOWELL VIA LADD FOR WYOMING |
|||
| 10/19/2004 | 1000.00 | 24981544627 | |
GORDON, MARK
BUFFALO, WY 82834
SELF/RANCHER
| DNC SERVICES CORPORATION/DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE | |||
| 10/31/2004 | 2500.00 | 24981634065 | |
| WYOMING REPUBLICAN PARTY INC. | |||
| 10/18/2004 | 500.00 | 24991398026 | |
GORDON, MARK MR.
BUFFALO, WY 82834
SELF/RANCHER
| WYOMING REPUBLICAN PARTY INC. | |||
| 04/15/2003 | 395.00 | 23990897818 | |
| 07/12/2004 | 500.00 | 24962183755 | |
GORDON, MARK
BUFFALO, NY 82834
| SIERRA CLUB POLITICAL COMMITTEE | |||
| 12/28/1998 | 1000.00 | 99034234170 | |
GORDON, MARK
BUFFALO, WY 82834
RANCHER
| WYOMING REPUBLICAN PARTY INC. | |||
| 05/18/1998 | 395.00 | 98033303879 | |
source: FEC
***EDIT***
I would like to point out a typographical error in the documentation. I’m not sure if it’s on the part of Sierra Club, the FEC, or Mark Gordon himself, but the donation record lists Mark Gordon as being from Buffalo, NY. At first glance, you might wonder why the record was included in the listing. Simply put, the ZIP Code from the Sierra Club donation record is a perfect match with the other objectionable donation records. Translation, the Mark Gordon from “Buffalo, NY” is actually the “Republican” Congressional candidate Mark Gordon from Buffalo, WY. Directions for searching the FEC database can be found by viewing a follow-up to this post.
To crunch the numbers:
$7500 for the Dems and their allies in the Sierra Club (61%)
$4790 for the Republicans (39%)
- No money has ever gone to Barbara Cubin’s campaign from Mark Gordon, but it has reached her last two Democrat opponents in October of 2004 and 2006, two months into the General Election cycle in Wyoming.
- Just 13 days apart in October of 2004, money was donated to WYGOP and a DNC organization; the national Democrats received five times the amount as the Wyoming Republicans. The day after he donated to WYGOP, he gave double to Democrat Tedd Ladd’s campaign.
- Apparently, Mark Gordon is not a fan of Barbara Cubin (though he has expressed his gratitude for her service in recent interviews), but why didn’t he donate to Bill Winney or Bruce Asay in the August Republican Primaries of 2004 and 2006, or run himself as he now is?
- The only Presidential candidate to receive money from Mark Gordon is Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
- Until December of last year, his Republican donations were $500 or less per donation, while Democrat donations were $1000 or more per donation.
16 Comments »
***WYGOP Congressional Primary Alert*** | Grizzly Groundswell on 16 Apr 2008 at 3:39 pm #
[…] My name is Scott Bothwell; I’m not running for anything, but I approved this blog post. I have made some comments about Mark Gordon in recent posts. People may be wondering why I have commented the way I have done so. There haven’t been many comments, but they have ranged from wondering why Rep. Cubin didn’t endorse Mark Gordon to speculation on the possibility of Gary Trauner endorsing Mark Gordon. Continue Reading » […]
tiekirae on 22 Apr 2008 at 7:02 am #
Hey Scott - I was doing some digging myself and I noticed something you need to change up there:
The Sierra Club donation was made by a Mark Gordon in Buffalo, NY rather than WY. So as funny as the similar name is, it’s not our guy!
tiekirae on 22 Apr 2008 at 7:07 am #
Well… looking further, I’m not sure if it is a mistake on the part of the FEC or the Sierra Club or Mr. Gordon himself.
See the image here of Mark Gordon of Buffalo, NY ’s donation to Sierra Club: http://images.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?99034234170
Then see the image here of Mark Gordon of Buffalo, WY ’s donation to John Kerry: http://images.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?24962244398
Same highway address, same town name, different state?
A little hard to believe. In retrospect, I guess it looks like the WY Mark Gordon is one and the same with the Buffalo NY Mark Gordon.
Scott on 22 Apr 2008 at 2:51 pm #
Tieki, you get the grand prize for the sharp eye! I wondered if anyone would point out the error and you caught it! I too wondered at first but the ZIP Code did the trick for me. I almost wonder if someone was trying to hide something…
WY and NY look so much alike
tiekirae on 22 Apr 2008 at 8:30 pm #
Haha, well thanks for the prize, Scott. I do think it might be a good idea, however, to point out the mistake in the post and emphasize that it is still Mark Gordon from Wyoming. Simply because it’s such a serious issue - Wyoming’s one and only US House seat and for whatever reason Gordon’s financial/political history has been mum so far. I’m definitely going to post about this later, probably when I’m back in the Wyo and talking about state politics again. Also, it might not be a bad idea to link directly to the FEC website where you can search for individual donors (it was a bit confusing for me to find).
Great post though, again. I can’t believe that this hasn’t been discussed yet and that this guy is actually considered a contender for the REPUBLICAN party!
taxpayer on 25 May 2008 at 10:20 pm #
I guess the thing that upsets me the most is that I have not seen a news article about these donations. I only get the Casper paper on Sundays. I have not seen anything in the local paper except a couple of letters to the editor.
I heard a brief news article on the radio and searched the Internet and found this blog site,
This is important news in a election year and the news media failed to do there job. The independent media has an important responsibility to help keep the candidate honest and blew it.
Thank God for the Internet.
Scott on 26 May 2008 at 11:11 am #
taxpayer,
I also have the article that appeared in the CST and Billings Gazette linked in the “Energizer Battery” post. I second your frustration in not seeing much of this in the news. I figured that since the media tends to tilt left on things, they would have caught onto this a lot sooner. After all, they loved McCain for being “Mr. Maverick.”
I am glad that you are in the ranks of voters concerned about the donations. There are a lot of folks stumbling onto my blog with search queries about Mark Gordon.
Kim Curtis on 28 Jul 2008 at 4:29 pm #
Hi, Scott;
I was just wondering about Mark Gordon and started to look. I ended up here, first.
What is this guys stand on gun control? Is he REALLY pro or con? I guess I could check with the NRA and see what they say but I thought you might have an idea. Gun control is a very important area for many of us so I think that it would be good for us Wyomingites/Westerners to know where Gordon stands. Can you help us out?
Kim Curtis
Ethete, Wyoming
Scott on 28 Jul 2008 at 10:27 pm #
Kim,
Thank you so much for dropping in. To be honest, it is rare to see a Wyoming candidate for anything say anything against the Second Amendment. Even our current Democrat Governor (who did not get my vote) was endorsed by the NRA in his 2006 bid for reelection.
I did see a quote on the Wyoming Republican Liberty Caucus website that Mark Gordon is opposed to proposals that would take away from individual Second Amendment liberties. I have not seen that the NRA has endorsed anyone in the primary cycle.
Again, I do appreciate you stopping in and hope to see you in the comments again soon!
KC Graduate on 29 Jul 2008 at 12:07 pm #
Scott,
I would like to add another concern to the 7,500. Mark Gordon claims to have been raised in Kaycee. I did actually grow up in Kaycee. I have looked at yearbooks and asked friends who are his age about this claim. I found no indication that he ever attended school in Johnson County. How can you claim to be raised or have “grown up” somewhere when you actually spent at least 3/4ths of every year at boarding school? I wonder, did he ever attend a day of school in WYOMING? I have nothing against Mark as a person - he’s a nice guy - but his politics are NOT good for Wyoming and this claim to have been raised in Kaycee actually offends me.
GordonSupporter on 29 Jul 2008 at 1:01 pm #
In response to the question about Mark Gordon’s position on gun control, here is a link to his website stating his positions on many of the issues. In particular, he supports the right to bear arms. In fact, his wife defended herself from an intruder with a gun (she has a license) that she had hidden until the authorities arrived.
Mark is an honest, hard-working man and has been a friend of my family’s for years. I strongly believe in his ideas and he has my full support. I strongly recommend checking out the website!
http://www.gordon08.com/
Scott on 29 Jul 2008 at 9:48 pm #
KC Grad, thank you fro your input. I agree with your distrust of Mr. Gordon’s politics. Interesting info that you have provided.
Gordon Supporter,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I do appreciate that Mrs. Gordon knows how to use a gun when she needs it. The Gordon’s are nice people, but like I have said before, I have problems with Mr. Gordon’s politics. If you can support him now, more power to you. I’ll worry about thinking about it if he wins on August 19. For me, right now, it’s all about Cynthia Lummis (http://lummis2008.com for those who were wondering
)
Tina on 05 Aug 2008 at 12:17 pm #
I have been keeping up on the Wyo race ….it seems the worst criticisms directed at Mark Gordon is that he donates to whomever he feels like donating to- this makes him “not republican enough” and he has had schooling outside of the state .
Are you kidding me? Someone doesnt toe the partyline and thinks independently and that is your complaint? As for going to a prep school, that is a tough row to hoe, you work your tail off and it gives you perspectives on life you may not see eslewhere. I imagine there are a number of people you do support who have had educational experiences outside Wyoming and I am sure that doesnt somehow make them “bad” for the state. He lives in and works in and has raised his family in Wyoming.
You have a pretty weak position there, pal.
Scott on 07 Aug 2008 at 9:13 pm #
Tina, if Mr. Gordon were donating to conservatives outside of the Republican party that would be one thing, but the fact that his donations were going to liberals outside of the party, makes it seem to me that there’s ore than just protesting going on with it.
As for KC Grad’s comment, do not turn it into my own. I only said that the information provided was interesting. I have nothing against private schools (I graduated from two) and I have nothing against schools outside of Wyoming (the college I graduated from was in Arizona). I also have nothing against rich people (unless they decide to use their wealth to fund liberal causes).
KC Graduate on 14 Aug 2008 at 4:38 pm #
I want to clarify the concerns I wanted to raise in my comment regarding Mark Gordon’s education, because after reading Tina’s response, I obviously did not get my message through. I am not criticizing Mark’s (or Mark’s parents’) choice of schools. Rather, I am criticizing the fact that he is claiming to be someone he is not, which calls into question his credibility. Why does he so ardently claim to be from Kaycee? I believe it is because he is trying to distance himself from the liberal causes with which he has been associated for most, if not all, of his life. Voters should not take this claim of “growing up in Kaycee” at face value. In his case, it certainly does not mean what we all typically think it means. I have observed his actions in the public forum and I can tell you for sure that he does not hold the same values as most people from Kaycee. So, if you elect him to Congress, don’t expect him to act like a rancher from Kaycee!
taxpayer on 16 Aug 2008 at 8:05 pm #
I went by Mark’s ranch today with his big beautiful house. His ranch foreman’s house is not to shabby. He did not have a vote for Gorden sign up, but his neighbor had a Lummis sign. He lives 8 or 10 miles east of Buffalo and I have yet to learn what business he has and I have known him for about 20 years. The mailings I received from him state he has supported several organizations and I do not remember him offering an opinion about anything, but maybe soccer.