>[lbo-talk] Sidelining Blacks, Losing Elections
<snip>
>John Lacny jlacny at earthlink.net, Fri Sep 24 13:29:46 PDT 2004
>Breaking faith with the long-standing, democratically-decided
>decisions of the movement as a whole -- especially at critical
>moments -- makes you the enemy
There's nothing democratic about 527s.
<blockquote>An examination of the nine most active 527 committees shows that they are overwhelmingly financed by individual donations. And many of the checks are huge. More than two dozen people have contributed $1 million or more to the 527 committees, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks campaign finance. The money is helping to shift the mix of major donors away from the companies and labor unions that once provided hundreds of millions of dollars in unlimited soft money to the Republican and Democratic Parties.
. . . Democrats got an early start financing 527 groups, named for the section of the tax code that created them, as a way to compete against the vast fortune amassed by the Bush operation in the early days of the campaign. More recently, Republicans have pushed to counteract the Democratic money, courting top donors of their own.
Ms. [Susie Tompkins] Buell [the multimillionaire co-founder of Esprit clothing] said she had already raised more than $1 million for the Kerry campaign and the Democratic Party, in addition to her own contribution. Her pledge to donate to the Joint Victory Campaign 2004, which finances the Democratic groups America Coming Together and the Media Fund, took place at a dinner at her home after she heard a presentation from the group. . . .
Agnes Varis of New York, who with her husband, Karl Leichtman, gave $1.5 million to the Joint Victory Campaign, said it was simply a way to back her political beliefs with more than talk. . . .
The recent Republican push comes after the party failed to choke off the flow of money to Democratic 527 organizations through legal challenges.
Established organizations like the Club for Growth have been joined by newer groups like Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the Progress for America Voter Fund, which is emerging atop the list of Republican 527's when it comes to raising money. The Progress for America Voter Fund has tapped Alex G. Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers football team, and Dawn E. Arnall, a chairwoman of the Ameriquest Capital Corporation, for $5 million each, according to PoliticalMoneyLine. Both are also listed by the Bush campaign as Ranger fund-raisers, meaning they brought in at least $200,000 each from various donors.
Richard M. DeVos Sr. and Jay Van Andel of Michigan, the co-founders of the Amway Corporation, each contributed $2 million to the Progress for America Voter Fund.
T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oilman who gained fame as a corporate takeover artist, has contributed $2.5 million to the Progress for America Voter Fund and $500,000 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. . . .
Democrats have no shortage of their own big donors.
Few are better known than George Soros, the philanthropist and financier who has so far contributed more than $15 million to Democratic groups, said Michael Vachon, a spokesman for Mr. Soros. Peter B. Lewis, chairman of the Progressive Corporation insurance company, has donated about the same amount, an aide said.
Stephen Bing, a Hollywood producer, has donated almost $7 million to Joint Victory Campaign 2004 and more than $970,000 to the MoveOn .org Voter Fund, according to PoliticalMoneyLine. Mr. Bing and his company have given more than any other contributor to Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, Mr. Kerry's running mate -- more than $900,000 over the course of his public career, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity.
For 527 committees, money from individual donors is the most useful. The McCain-Feingold law prevents groups from running commercials that mention candidates within 60 days of the general election if the commercials are financed with corporate or labor money. Groups using personal contributions to finance these commercials have more flexibility.
Corporations and labor unions have not disappeared from political fund-raising, but instead are using their money in different ways, campaign finance experts say. Companies are less involved with 527's, but are working through political action committees, trade associations and executives who raise and donate money themselves. "Corporations are still moving plenty of money into the system," Mr. Lux, the Democratic consultant, said.
Unions are still extremely active financing their own programs, and they have also given millions to 527 committees. Among the most active groups, union money has been eclipsed by individual donations, but that could change as it gets closer to the election. For example, officials at America Coming Together, which registers voters in swing states, expect that the Service Employees International Union will be its largest contributor by Election Day. (Glen Justice, "New Pet Cause for the Very Rich: Swaying the Election," <em>New York Times</em>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/25/politics/campaign/25donors.html">September 25, 2004</a>)</blockquote> -- Yoshie
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