New Pet Cause for the Very Rich

[Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@xxxxxxx>]

<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

* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/>
* Greens for Nader: <http://greensfornader.net/>
* Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/>
* Calendars of Events in Columbus:
<http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html>,
<http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/>
* Student International Forum: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/>
* Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/>
* Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio>
* Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>