The Boston Globe: Republicans are not just attached to Trump — they’re his customers, too

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There are at least 230 wineries in the state of Virginia, but when a campaign arm of House Republicans recently chose one to host the winners of a fund-raising contest, it was the vineyard in Charlottesville owned by President Trump and operated by his family “We’ll take care of the hotel, flight, and send you to an exclusive Mother’s Day brunch for you and your family!” a description of the Mother’s Day prize package reads, noting that the retail value runs close to $2,850.

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“It’s the selling of the presidency to an extent which we’ve never seen before. We’ve made the presidency a marketing tool and a political party is joining in this effort,’’ said Larry Noble, a former general counsel of the Federal Elections Commission who currently is senior director at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, a Washington ethics watchdog. “I don’t remember another situation like this.’’

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“What we have to look at is what rules do we need in the future to limit this type of abuse?” Noble said. “We’re being whipsawed ethically, and Republicans seemed have made a decision is in challenging this or in slowing this down.”