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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (10439)	2/24/2004 10:10:01 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

" That's total BS. Kerry never took any PAC money and resisted soft money" Citizen Soldier Fund On December 17, 2001 Sen. Kerry opened the Citizen Soldier Fund, a leadership PAC, to help Democratic candidates. The PAC raised more than $1.9 million and made significant contributions to candidates and committees in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, in addition to purchasing the Iowa and New Hampshire Democratic parties' voter files. Citizen Soldier Fund also conducted a couple of trainings for young activists. Citizen Soldier Fund Finances Total Receipts Total Disbursements Cash On Hand (at end of reporting period) FEC Filings 2001-02 IRS (Non-Federal) Filings 2001-02 $931,203.50 $1,353,400.00 $900,562.47 $1,424,059.40 (367,319.21)* $30,641.03 ? Post-General Non-Federal $626,900.00 $847,614.41 (208,690.96)* Post-General (Oct. 17-Nov. 25) $398,199.50 $384,120.49 $30,641.03 Pre-General Non-Federal $252,000.00 $83,664.94 ($17,664.94)* Pre-General (Oct. 1-Oct. 16) $52,494.94 $44,230.82 $16,562.02 3rd Q 2002 Non-Federal $182,000 $388,852.68 ($105,487)* Oct. '02 Monthly (Sept. 1-Sept. 30) $33,900.00 $57,855.12 $8,297.90 Sept. '02 Monthly (Aug. 1-Aug. 31) $96,916.30 $75,992.20 $32,253.02 Aug. '02 Monthly (July 1-July 31) $16,507.00 $76944.16 $11,328.92 2nd Q 2002 Non-Federal $188,500 $65,989.26 ($17,538.20)* July '02 Monthly (June 1-June 30) $50,662.15 $43,650.81 $71,766.08 June '02 Monthly (May 1-May 31) $37,063.20 $64,222.27 $64,754.84 May '02 Monthly (April 1-April 30) $28,522.25 $49,151.61 $91,913.81 1st Q 2002 Non-Federal $79,000 $37,938.11 ($17,938.11)* April '02 Monthly (Mar. 1-Mar. 31)1 $109,938.16 $52,224.68 $112,543.17 March '02 Monthly (Feb. 1-Feb. 28) $20,000 $46,969.97 $54,829.69 Feb. '02 Monthly (Jan.1-Jan. 31) $11,000 $5,200.34 $81,799.66 Yr End 2001 Non-Federal $25,000 $0 Yr End 2001 (July 1-Dec. 31) $76,000 $0 $76,000 Notes. 1. Kerry held his first fundraiser for Citizen Soldier Fund on March 22 at his vacation home in Sun Valley, Idaho; this accounted for most of the April '02 monthly receipts. 2. Top contributors: $59,000 -- Milton Ferrell, Attorney (Miami, FL). $55,000 -- John P. Manning, President & CEO, Boston Capital (Boston, MA). $50,000 -- Robert Clifford, Attorney (Chicago, FL) -- Patrick J. McGovern, Chairman, International Data Group (Hollis, NH). $40,000 -- Louise L. Gund, Photographer (Berkeley, CA). $30,000 -- American International Group, Inc. (New York, NY) -- B.L. Schwartz, Chairman, Loral Corporation (New York, NY). $25,000 -- Robert Batinovich, CEO, Glenborough Corporation (Hillsborough, CA) -- Jay M. Cashman (Boston, MA) -- Jeffrey Epstein, President, J. Epstein & Company (St. Thomas, VI) -- George E. Hall, President, The Clinton Group (New York, NY) -- Lelio Marino, President, Modern Continental Company (Cambridge, MA) -- Neil Raymond, President, Raymond Property Company (Boston, MA) -- Eric E. Schmidt, Chairman & CEO, Google (Atherton, CA) -- Robert J. Shillman, President & CEO, Cognex Group (Weston, MA) -- Michael P. Thornton, Attorney (Boston, MA) -- Agnes Varis, Pres. and CEO, Agvar Chemicals (New York, NY). * indicates transfer to Citizen Soldier Fund Federal account. Kerry Committee Angelique Pirozzi served as campaign manager of Sen. Kerry's re-election campaign. Previously, she directed the Democrats' coordinated campaign in Wisconsin in Fall 2000, and she worked on the Clinton/Gore campaign in New Hampshire in 1996. Peter Maroney served as the Kerry Committee's finance director. Jill Alper, a principal at the Dewey Square Group, helped the campaign as well. Over the six-year cycle, the Kerry Committee raised $14.0 million and spent $9.1 million, finishing with $2.9 million in cash on hand. Of the $9.1 million, about $3.2 million went to pay off debts from Kerry's tight 1996 campaign against William Weld. Kerry will be able to convert the $2.9 million in unused funds to a presidential campaign. He also built up a direct mail list with about 200,000 names. Kerry Committee Finances FEC reports Total Contributions Total Op. Expends Cash On Hand (at end of reporting period) Election Cycle $14,323,177.39 net $14,020,446.63 $9,338,041.73 net $9,139,341.78 $2,914,779.67 $71,231.60 Post-General (Oct. 17-Nov. 25) $481,191.46 net $470,491.46 $650,482.74 net $646,409.90 $2,914,779.67 $71,231.60 Pre-General (Oct. 1-Oct. 16) $201,467.66 net $195,467.66 $105,632.10 net $102,882.10 $3,088,089.62 $86,960.84 Oct. '02 Qtrly (Aug. 28-Sept. 30) $576,303.16 net $575,303.16 $560,929.89 net $560,929.89 $2,995,504.60 $32,274.96 Pre-Primary (July 1-Aug. 28) $567,173.61 net $558,623.61 $791,769.38 net $788,916.23 $2,973,003.79 $62,074.54 July '02 Qtrly (Apr. 1-June 30) $1,481,213.61 net $1,461,013.61 $1,232,186.19 net $1,223,486.53 $3,447,376.55 $16,121.00 Apr. '02 Qtrly (Jan. 1-Mar. 31) $1,243,247.28 net $1,231,247.28 $976,601.31 net $973,764.33 $3,201,296.41 $15,283.98 Yr End 2001 (July 1-Dec. 31) $ 1,733,370.35 net $1,632,470.35 $1,044,615.91 net $1,038,948.37 $2,937,900.83 $91,411.90 Mid-Yr 2001 (Jan.1-June 30) $2,218,884.80 net $2,184,459.80 $409,153.23 net $382,292.81 $2,330,587.03 $13,551.06 Yr End 2000 (July 1-Dec. 31) $471,761.16 net $458,486.16 $233,167.63 net $212,220.09 $526,468.86 $12,151.06 gwu.edu

To: American Spirit who wrote (10439)	2/24/2004 10:14:36 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

Kerry's Fundraising Shows Large Corporate Donations Excerpt of The Buying of The President 2004 details Kerry's contribution record February 24, 2004 — John Kerry has made campaign finance reform an issue ever since he first ran for the Senate in 1984. In fact, the Massachusetts Democrat has been such an ardent and outspoken critic of political action committees that he has refused to accept donations from such organizations during all four of his senatorial campaigns. But the man who has repeatedly decried the influence of PACs on the nation's political system nevertheless began his quest for the presidency by forming one. In December 2001, as a prelude to his presidential run, Kerry created a federal PAC and a non-federal 527 Committee, both named the Citizen Soldier Fund. A number of influential members of Congress, including most of the presidential candidates, have such PACs, commonly known as "leadership committees." Politicians use the leadership committees to win political support by distributing money among various party organizations and candidates across the country. They also use PAC resources to foot travel bills. Kerry's PAC raised roughly $1 million through the end of 2002 and disbursed nearly all of it. At the time it was formed, the Citizen Soldiers Fund's non-federal account could theoretically have accepted any amount from a donor. But Kerry, perhaps as a concession to the reform constituency of which he was a part, said the fund would not take donations of more than $10,000 from one individual or organization in any year. Just before the McCain-Feingold legislation was to take effect consigning soft money—at least some types of it—to history, the senator couldn't resist one last grab at the political money that he voted to ban. By the end of October, the self-imposed cap was gone. Before Kerry closed the account some time before the end of 2002, the Citizen Soldier Fund raised approximately $1.35 million in soft money, thanks mainly to a series of big checks written by some of his long-time patrons. The largest donor to the Fund was Miami lawyer Milton Ferrell, who gave $59,000. Other big givers included the CEO of Boston Capital, John P. Manning, who contributed $55,000, International Data Group chairman Patrick J. McGovern ($50,000) and the American International Group, Inc. ($30,000). The committee spent nearly $1.3 million, which was virtually everything that it raised. Though its stated aim was to help the Democrats across the country, two-thirds of the soft money contributed to the Citizen Soldier Fund was channeled to its federal account and to candidates in a handful of states, among them Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Records show that the non-federal committee distributed close to $147,000 in Iowa, more than $120,000 in New Hampshire and $58,000 in South Carolina. It spent $89,000 in Florida, the state that decided the last presidential election. In addition, Kerry's committee made big contributions to a pair of Senate colleagues who were facing tough re-election campaigns: $181,000 went to Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who won his race, and more than $81,000 Senator Max Cleland of Georgia, who lost. The purpose of Kerry's playing "Good Samaritan" was purely political. It's no coincidence that he doled out a quarter of the money raised through the soft money account in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the early primary and caucus states that can make or break a presidential campaign. Understandably, he needed allies there, and the senator —like some of his presidential opponents —was using the PAC money to help build support for the campaign. Nonetheless, Kerry's distribution of campaign cash across the country is seemingly at odds with his oft-stated position on campaign finance reform, which early on graced his Web site: "Elections must be more than auctions, and money must no longer drown out the role of citizens in our democracy." Kerry maintained that he hasn't changed his long-held view on the pernicious influence of PAC money, arguing that the Citizen Soldier Fund was necessary for the sake of a Democratic majority. "I've come to acknowledge the unpleasant and unfortunate truth that campaign finance and other critical political reforms will remain stymied in Congress until Democrats obtain real working majorities in Washington and in state legislatures across the nation," he said. "It's become necessary, I believe, for every leader of this party to employ all legal and appropriate means to assist Democratic candidacies at all political levels." In other words, the dark cloud of special interest money that hangs over the political process won't be lifted until it elects politicians like Kerry to majority status in every legislature in the country, all the while being granted the favors it seeks. To read much more about John Kerry and the 2004 election, see our book, The Buying of the President 2004, available at your favorite bookstore or online vendor. © 2003, The Center for Public Integrity. All rights reserved.