Governor Jan Brewer has apparently found a good place to spend some of the donations she is getting to her federal political action committee: buying her own books.
Brewer set up the PAC last fall to take individual and corporate donations she could use to help elect congressional candidates she likes and defeat those she does not. And to help spur donations, the governor promised anyone who gives at least $100 a copy of her book, Scorpions for Breakfast, her screed about her battles with the Obama administration over immigration. In the first three months this year Brewer collected more than $31,000. But the governor paid nearly $2,500 of that to Amazon.com to buy 150 copies of her book. Spokesman Paul Senseman said it's not like Brewer can simply give away the books.
"Publishers, agents, there are people involved in producing a book," said Senseman. "I don't have any idea what the specifics are of the agreements and how those work in general."
And the way Senseman figures it, a fundraising expense of less than $2,500 to raise at least $15,000 is a good deal. So far Brewer's other big expense is paying a firm to send out e-mails. Nothing has yet gone to any candidate.
"Obviously we're still pretty early in that process," Senseman said. "There's going to be a whole lot of money spent in a lot of campaigns, probably beginning in late summer and fall."
One question Brewer has refused to answer is how much she gets from the sale of each book.