WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo promised a package of gifts, including an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington and a tour of the Capitol, to anyone who brought 25 people to the GOP straw poll in Iowa on Aug. 11.
There was one problem with the pitch — a tour of the Capitol could be a violation of House ethics rules which prohibit the use of any buildings on the Capitol grounds for campaign purposes.
Scrambling to explain, the Colorado lawmaker's campaign said it was just a spelling error.
Bay Buchanan, Tancredo's national chairwoman, said Tuesday she meant supporters would get a tour of the capital city — spelled with an 'a' — which could also include a "public tour" of the Capitol building — spelled with an 'o' — in which Tancredo would go along and point out some highlights.
"He's not offering them anything any American doesn't have access to," she said. "The difference is that Tom will be joining them. There are public tours of the U.S. Capitol."
The winners would also visit some of Tancredo's favorite places in Washington, such as several war memorials, and have dinner with him a restaurant, Buchanan said.
"The intent was to spend an afternoon in the nation's capital with Tom Tancredo going to some of the places he is familiar with and enjoys and then having dinner with him," she said. "I did intend it to mean the nation's capital."
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