Abernathy and those blasted FPPC rules
Politics is a dirty game, but Kern County's preeminent king-maker is in a class all by himself.
Bakersfield Republican consultant Mark Abernathy, fined $22,500 by the California Fair Political Practices Commission for transparency violations, knows the rules better than anybody.
Yet Abernathy, through his firm Western Pacific Research Inc., failed to disclose more than $25,000 paid to support a dozen or so candidates in the 2006 election. Critics say his flaunting of campaign laws goes back much farther than that.
What's his excuse this time? "Rules and regulations and fines are becoming a big part of free political speech these days," Abernathy said. "I had some accountants and lawyers during that period of time. I should have had more."
That's right: The problem is those pesky regulations, which infringe on our God-given right to utilize any means necessary. Sound the fife and drum -- we're having a patriotic moment here.
The FPPC will vote next week on whether to accept the deal reached between Abernathy and commission investigators. Abernathy's cavalier lack of remorse ought to factor strongly into the decision.
