And heh to my surprise Alex Cockburn actually did some research on that megabucks Iranian-American fundraiser for Kerry. http://www.newleftreview.net/NLR26301.shtml [13] Cited in Kevin Phillips, Wealth and Democracy, New York 2002, p. 342. The top contributing sectors, professions and industries to Kerry in 2004 thus far: law firms, the retired; education, securities and investment, health care, real estate, Hollywood, printing and publishing, civil servants and public officials. Top individual contributors: donors allied with the University of California, Harvard, Goldman Sachs, Skadden Arps, Time Warner, Citigroup, ubs Americas, Robbins Kaplan et al, Piper Rudnick llp, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Viacom, Bank of America, jp Morgan, Stanford, University of Michigan, ibm. Top fundraisers: Alan Solomont of Massachusetts-based Solomont Bailis Ventures, Orin Kramer from ny-based Kramer Spellman, Ben Barnes (the lobbyist who got Bush his safe slot in the National Guard) from Entrecorp in Texas, Richard Ziman from Arden Realty in California, Mark Weiner of Financial Innovations, Rhode Island, Bob Clifford of Clifford law offices in Illinois, Hassan Nemaze of Nemaze Capital ny, James Johnson of Perseus Corp in Washington dc. In addition there are huge donors such as Soros, ladling out the juice via 527 operations.
-- Michael Pugliese