March 3, 2004
PLAYING CATCHUP:
In money race, Bush carries big advantage (Glen Johnson,, 3/3/2004, Boston Globe)
As Democrats turn their gaze from their primary campaign to the general election, the outlook -- financially, at least -- appears bleak.The most recent official figures show that President Bush had $104.4 million in his campaign treasury as of Jan. 31, while the Democratic nominee-apparent, John F. Kerry, had a mere $2.1 million.
Making matters worse, during the primary race the Massachusetts senator threw his campaign a lifeline with a $6.4 million loan from a mortgage on his Beacon Hill townhouse. It helped him win the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, but it also left his campaign with a total debt of $7.3 million. [...]
Democrats fear the Federal Election Commission, which has three Democratic members and three Republican members but is led by a Republican member, will shut down the 527s, including groups such as MoveOn.org and the Media Fund. Both are readying pro-Democrat ads as part of an estimated $40 million to $70 million in advertising expected by such groups this spring.
Republicans have asked the FEC to examine the legality of the spending, arguing it violates soft-money restrictions under the campaign finance law, which the Democrats supported in 2002.
Republicans also fret that Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, will find ways to use her $500 million fortune to shape the race. Party officials say there is a pattern of Heinz Kerry bailing out her husband at politically sensitive times since they married in 1995. They say they are concerned she could funnel philanthropic money from the foundations she heads to advocacy groups that support her husband or oppose Bush.
Cabana Boy must really work magic with that pumice stone... Posted by Orrin Judd at March 3, 2004 9:25 AM
The 527s could be an issue in that they could attack Bush without being tied to Kerry. On the other hand, I would think it would be fairly easy to track if Mrs. Kerry funneled money to groups that attacked Bush and bring it to the public's attention.
Posted by: AWW at March 3, 2004 9:38 AMTeresa will start offering condement price discounts to major restaurant chains, retailers and wholesalers in exchange for campaign contributions to Kerry...
Posted by: John at March 3, 2004 9:42 AMTeresa will start offering condement price discounts to major restaurant chains, retailers and wholesalers in exchange for campaign contributions to Kerry...
Posted by: John at March 3, 2004 9:44 AMThe 527's and the foundations/funds that finance them will easily surpass what Bush has raised. It's the foundations that need to be cleaned up. They've been co-opted by the far left wing and seem committed to support any radical Socialist/Communist group that will attack the establishment or right of center initiatives. It's the sixties all over again, but with big bucks this time. See Front Page.com, recent articles, for an extensive read on the subject. If they are not stopped our country will be shaped by them within the coming decade.
Posted by: Genecis at March 3, 2004 10:42 AMTwo things:
1. Shouldn't that heading have been "Playing Ketchup?"
2. See this article in the current Weekly Standard on why those 527s, and Soros' millions, may not be worth so much after all.
Posted by: Mike Morley at March 3, 2004 10:48 AMMaybe Kerry isn't calling the shots. maybe Teresa is. Let's hope she has better political sense than he does.
Posted by: Brandon at March 3, 2004 10:57 AMIt's not likely Mrs. Heinz Kerry is more politically savvy than her husband after her Wal-Mart comment. It didn't even take a junior journalist to look up the fact she owned many shares of Wal-Mart stock. Yeah, she's savvy alright.
Posted by: Bartman at March 3, 2004 1:24 PMMrs. Kerry has funnelled money via her foundations to groups like International A.N.S.W.E.R - she out-lefts even her husband.
Posted by: watching at March 3, 2004 2:49 PMSomeone should ask Kerry if he agreed with Ronald Reagan's assertion that Ketchup is a vegetable.
Posted by: Carter at March 3, 2004 3:24 PMMr. Morely;
I read the article and was unimpressed. Why would the anti-Bush forces care what the FEC says? They'll spend the money anyway and even if anyone files a complaint, it won't get adjudicated until after the election.
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at March 3, 2004 5:45 PMAOG:
Why doesn't the Republican Party just reorganize as a 527 which happens to support Republicans?
Posted by: oj at March 3, 2004 5:52 PMMr. Judd;
Because the Republicans tend to respect law while Democrats respect power.
"She outlefts even her husband"
Interesting, we all thought he married her to get the millions for his left wing campaign, turns out maybe he launched the left wing campaign to get the millions.
Don't count on the news reporting the 527 issue fairly, what you can count on is the network media giving Kerry the kind of publicity between the ads that money just can't buy.
Posted by: MarkD at March 4, 2004 6:36 PM