MA Election Law Violator Bankrolls Romney, Bush and State GOP

Major Massachusetts Republican underwriter and convicted election law violator John W. Childs, one of Romney's major supporters, has joined a select list of donors by pledging $100,000 to Bush's upcoming inauguration, according to the Boston Herald. The contribution puts him among 26 big-ticket donors to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, according to the group's Web site, buys access to premier events with Bush and Cheney, and highlights the Axis of Ideology that links Romney and Bush. Childs was convicted of violating state election laws in 2003 when he did not disclose $25,000 spent for a campaign radio ad to promote Romney. The shyster was fined $500 by state election officials. Childs heads a $3 billion Boston-based private equity firm, J.W. Childs Associates. He has been dubbed the Bay State GOP's personal ATM, according to the Herald. He gave more than $1.3 million to Republican candidates and groups between 1996 and 2000, and wrote a $250,000 check to the Republican National Committee's state election committee in March 2000.