Top of the morning

House Minority Leader Paul Stam believes that political parties exist to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates to skirt the $4,000 limit on contributions from individuals and PACs.

Stam made the comments in a weekend story in the Asheville Citizen-Times about the prospects for further ethics and campaign reform with the election of Senator Martin Nesbitt as Senate Majority Leader.

The story quotes watchdog Joe Sinsheimer saying that the current system that allows legislative leaders to all but guarantee the loyalty of rank and file members by bankrolling their campaigns by funneling hundreds of dollars to them through the state parties.

Status quo Stam told the paper that “parties exist for that purpose.”   

Millionaires get out your checkbooks.