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FEC Queries McCain Campaign on 'Excessive Contributions'
While the Republican Party is pushing the Federal Election Commission to investigate the possibility that Democrat Barack Obama collected excessive contributions, its own candidate is facing scrutiny on the same subject.
The FEC sent a letter to Sen. John McCain's campaign treasurer Sept. 30 demanding the candidate turn over more information about "contributions that appear to exceed the limits."
The letter is accompanied by a nine-page list showing scores of overages from McCain's August campaign finance report, including nearly $13,000 from Texas rancher Ray R. Barrett Jr.; $9,200 from an Iraqi security consultant, H. Carter Andress; and $5,000 from Joseph F. Davolio, an executive at a major national liquor, beer, and wine distributor.
"Please inform the Commission of your corrective action immediately in writing and provide photocopies of any refund checks and/or letters reattributing or redesignating the contributions in question," the letter from the FEC's senior campaign finance analyst, Leah S. Palmer, says. "The acceptance of excessive contributions is a serious problem."
The FEC sent its letter a week before a lawyer for the Republican National Committee said the party will ask the Federal Election Commission to look into the source of thousands of small-dollar contributions to Obama. While the Republican Party is pushing the Federal Election Commission to investigate the possibility that Democrat Barack Obama collec... more -
Women donors triple contributions
Women aren’t just making history as marquee candidates this presidential cycle. According to a new study, they are also leaving a mark behind-the-scenes in the male-dominated world of political giving.
The study, released Tuesday by the Women’s Campaign Forum Foundation, found that women have given $109 million to presidential candidates in checks of $200 or more – triple the amount female donors delivered in 2000, with still two months to go in the race.
Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton received a major portion of the cash. Women donated about $60 million to her presidential campaign, about half of the New York senator’s total donations of more than $200.
But the presence of the first viable female presidential candidate was just one motivating factor, according to the study and a survey done by the foundation.
The expanded use of the Internet to generate donations fits neatly with the way women evaluate and respond to political appeals , said Ilana Goldman, the foundation’s president.
“Women want to build a relationship and learn something about a candidate,” said Goldman. “Before the Internet, that took a lot more time and was a lot more expensive.”
Internet donations are generally small, the majority of which are often below the $200 threshold for publicly reporting a donor’s name. But if the larger donor base is any indication, female giving is also up in the online community – perhaps at even larger percentages.
Clinton’s campaign, for instance, reports that it received an additional $60 million in small donations from women, bringing the total amount of female contributions to her campaign to $120 million, the study found.
Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s aggressive online fundraising operation also has benefitted on both scales, drawing in thousands of big and small female givers. Women represent 47 percent of his disclosed donors. They’ve given about $75 million to his campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Republican nominee John McCain’s primary campaign collected $34 million from female givers, who represented 28 percent of his donors, center records show.
McCain can’t raise more money for his presidential run since he accepted taxpayer money to finance his general election run. However, he is helping the Republican National Committee’s fundraising operation.
His selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate earlier this month is certain to boost donations from Republican women to help the ticket.
Overall, women political givers are still a minority, representing about 27 percent of all donors. That’s one reason the foundation decided to investigate ways to increase their participation.
“You cannot have the political power we’d like to see women have if they aren’t giving at comparable levels as men,” said Goldman.
A survey of female donors conducted by Celinda Lake, a Democratic polling expert, outlined five key motivators.
Women want to see how hard elected officials champion issues they care about. They also want to be inspired to give, rather than just asked to do so.
Female donors are also more inclined to conduct research before giving, often visiting candidate sites and other Internet sources before committing to writing a check.
Finally, these donors want to see how their money is spent and interact with a broader community of supporters.
“Contrary to conventional wisdom, these donors are voracious readers and they are very big social networkers,” said Lake. Consequently, she said, a campaign that recruits one woman may often “get four or five of them.” Women aren’t just making history as marquee candidates this presidential cycle. According to a new study, they are also leaving a mark... more -
Lehman, Merrill Lynch, big donors to Obama and McCain
Barack Obama and John McCain, who criticized and called for more regulation of Wall Street yesterday, count Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. among the biggest donors to their presidential campaigns.
Both Obama and McCain have received more contributions from employees of securities and investment companies than from any other donors; both are now calling for regulations the industry has resisted.
Through July 31, the last month for which figures are available, employees working for securities and investment firms, and their families, gave $9.9 million to Obama, a Democratic senator from Illinois. They gave $6.9 million to McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona.
Overall, these donors have given $685 million to federal campaigns and the parties from 1989 to 2008, according to the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political giving.
``The price for that is the economic system we're currently in,'' said former Representative Bob Edgar, a Pennsylvania Democrat who now heads Common Cause, a Washington-based advocacy group.
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Wow, how ironic. One good reason why deregulation happens. It's bought and paid for. Barack Obama and John McCain, who criticized and called for more regulation of Wall Street yesterday, count Lehman Brothers Holdings I... more -
$10 million dollar woman: Palin a hit with GOP donors
The McCain campaign raised more than $10 million in the two and a half days after Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was named as the vice presidential running mate, bringing the total raised in the month of August to more than $47 million, campaign officials tell ABC News.
The final, official figures are expected to be reported in the next few days, but the amount appears to be a record for the McCain campaign, almost twice as much as it has raised in any other single month.
"We're still counting," said campaign spokesman Brian Rogers. The McCain campaign raised more than $10 million in the two and a half days after Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was named as the vice pr... more -
John McCain may have understated average campaign contributions by 260%
Summary from wikileaks.org:
"John McCcain may have understated his per-contributor average by nearly three times, or 63% of contributions.
In 2007 the John McCain team claimed a per-contributor fundraising average of $138. Inorder to bolster the perceptions of grass roots backing it is politically strategic to have the average as low as possible while keeping the total as high as possible. However a simple calculation shows that the average raised is $358--almost three times the average claimed in McCain's press release.
McCain may have concealed 63% the funds raised from the average, by excluding (without note) "in kind" contributions. In kind contributions are typically given by corporations and can include items such as the use of corporate jets, or free work by advertisers.
Whether this is 'standard practice' among campaign contribution reports is unknown, however the practice does seem to be misleading." Summary from wikileaks.org: ... more -
Obama + Dean + $100 Million in June = Massive GOP Losses
Now that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic Nomination, his campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will begin working closely together. In fact, the Obama Campaign is already taking on some of the DNC’s usual functions.
What is exciting about this new alliance is that Howard Dean, as chair of the DNC, and Barack Obama are now on the same team. The two most groundbreaking internet fund-raisers the political world has ever seen are going to be working side-by-side with their 50-state strategy in place, which Dean employed to win back Congress for the Democrats back in 2006.
The influx of cash to Obama’s campaign is going to be incredible. Some are estimating that Obama may even bring in $100 million this month. To put that in perspective, George W. Bush’s record-breaking fund-raising effort in the 2000 election cycle brought in $303 million, and that was over a full, two-year period.
Barack Obama has already almost reached that number at this point in his campaign and we’re just now beginning the General Election. He sits at $265 million raised, nearly three times the total John McCain has raised thus far.
What will this gap in cash flow mean for the two candidates?
Get the answer at http://stonecipher.typepad.com or click the link above. Now that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic Nomination, his campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will begin work... more -
Obama says 'Show me the money' in January
Barack Obama's camp is reporting that they have raised $32 million dollars in January of 2008 for his campaign. The campaign attracted 170,000 new contributors during the month.
“Obviously this contest could go on for some time in the primary.'’ David Plouffe said, Obama's campaign manager, speaking to reporters on a conference call. “We think the strength of our financial position and the number of donors does speak to financial sustainability.”
Looks like Barack is getting a lot of support from voters but to raise that much money and only 170,000 new contributors means they all must be high rollers or he's getting more money from past contributors. Either way; Ba-rock ON! Barack Obama's camp is reporting that they have raised $32 million dollars in January of 2008 for his campaign. The campaign att... more -
Indicted Obama fundraiser's Bond Revoked
The slumlord Hillary Clinton accused Barack Obama of representing was jailed after it was disclosed that he receiver $3.5 million from an Iraqi billionaire while claiming to be broke. Antoin "Tony" Rezko was arrested at his home on Monday after Judge Amy J. St. Eve revoked his $2 million bond.
Rezko donated thousands to Obama's campaign, as well as others. Obama ended up donating thousands of dollars in campaign contributions connected to Rezko to charity. Rezko faces charges are related to pressuring companies that sought state business for kickbacks and campaign contributions. The slumlord Hillary Clinton accused Barack Obama of representing was jailed after it was disclosed that he receiver $3.5 million from... more -
Ada County Democrats 2007 JFK Banquet Video
Meet several State Representatives and former Governor Cecil Andrus - who served four terms as the Governor of Idaho. Hear what they have to say about a grassroots campaign, volunteers and the future of Idaho politics. Meet several State Representatives and former Governor Cecil Andrus - who served four terms as the Governor of Idaho. Hear what they h... more
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US power company linked to Bush named top polluter
"An American power company with close financial links to President George Bush has been named as one of the world's top producers of global warming pollution.
A single Southern Company plant in Juliette, Georgia already emits more carbon dioxide annually that Brazil's entire power sector. The company is in the top two of America's dirtiest utility polluters and sixth worst in the world." "An American power company with close financial links to President George Bush has been named as one of the world's top prod... more -
Telecom contributions, "Retroactive immunity," and the Political Beast
President Bush has "made it clear he will only sign a bill that grants retroactive immunity, and one can imagine that these erstwhile telecom jailbirds are going to be singing like a flock of canaries about those in the administration who induced them to commit these crimes if they can't shake the charges post haste." Hillary and Rockefeller are among others that have benefited from increased donations from these telecoms... President Bush has "made it clear he will only sign a bill that grants retroactive immunity, and one can imagine that these erstw... more
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Chronology of Larry Craig's Bathroom Arrest
*TAKEN FROM FRIDAY OCTOBER 26, 2007 IDAHO STATESMAN's cover story*
Craig timeline
Oct. 17, 2006: Blogger Mike Rogers "outs" Craig
Feb. 2007: Craig hired attorney Billy Martin and public relations consultant Judy Smith months before the arrest, Craig's staff says.
May 14: Craig tells the Statesman he consulted a lawyer to fight paper's inquiry.
June 11: Craig arrested.
July: Craig paid Martin $37,350 on July 9, a month after Craig's arrest, the senator's campaign finance reports show.
Aug 1: Craig signs guilty plea.
Aug. 8: Judge accepts plea.
Aug. 27: News breaks of arrest .
DENIED: After his arrest became public, Craig said that he didn't talk to a lawyer."I did not seek any counsel, either from an attorney, staff, friends or family," Craig said. "That was a mistake, and I deeply regret it. Because of that, I have now retained counsel and I am asking my counsel to review this matter and to advise me on how to proceed."
Sept. 1: Craig says he intends to resign by Sept. 30.
Sept. 10: Craig files motion to reverse guilty plea.
Oct. 4: Judge rules against Craig. Senator says hewon't resign.
Oct. 16: Larry and Suzanne Craig appear on television. *TAKEN FROM FRIDAY OCTOBER 26, 2007 IDAHO STATESMAN's cover story* Craig timeline ... more -
Larry's Ethical Expenses
Oh Larry! I did not know that using campaign contributions to cover personal expenses like a criminal attorney was ETHICALLY or LEGALLY appropriate. You must love rubbing salt on your wounds. Oh Larry! I did not know that using campaign contributions to cover personal expenses like a criminal attorney was ETHICALLY or LEGALL... more
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