Here’s the rule.  You can donate $2,500 to a candidate for federal office per election cycle.  The catch is that you can donated $2,500 for the primary and $2,500 for the general election.

Rick Perry decided that he’d get people to just go on and give him the entire $5,000 up front during the primary because he figured, I guess, that if he hacked off all his donors but still won the primary, he already had their money.  In truth, I suspect he just wanted to make it look like he had more money in the primary than he could actually spend.  Because he’s not good at math.

So, here comes reckoning time.  Click here for a PDF of a letter Rick just got from the FEC.  It says (1) Give the damn money back (Okay, so the FEC doesn’t say damn.  I think their Momma is even stricter than mine.  But, that’s what they were thinking.) or (2) make people write you a letter saying that it’s okay for you to keep their money if you use it to run for Governor.

So, here’s my point.  If you get a letter from Rick Perry, do not open it.

Thanks to Alfredo over at the Dairy Queen for keeping up with this stuff.