Senator Bayh disregards constituents wishes... again

Evan should heed this poll, many pitfalls in it for him. If someone were to run ads laying out just how deep in the pockets of Pharma and the medical instrument industry old Evan and his wife are, they just might think there was undue influence.

QUESTION: Would you favor or oppose the government offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan -- something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get -- that would compete with private health insurance plans? (Wording of NYT poll)

	FAVOR	OPPOSE	NOT SURE
ALL	52	42	6
MEN	49	46	5
WOMEN	55	38	7
DEMOCRATS	85	10	5
REPUBLICANS	20	75	5
INDEPENDENTS	59	33	8
WHITE	48	46	6
BLACK	85	8	7
OTHER	80	12	8
18-29	56	37	7
30-44	50	44	6
45-59	54	40	6
60+	48	46	6
MARION COUNTY	66	29	5
SOUTH	48	46	6
NORTHWEST	65	30	5
NORTH	45	50	5
EAST CENTRAL	47	46	7

Report: Blago's contribution list included Senate hopefuls

By GottaLaff

Blagoeouqalfjopqiujvich makes the news again:

A list of people targeted for contributions by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's campaign committee included four possible candidates for appointment to President Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published newspaper report. [...]

It's dated Dec. 3 — six days before Blagojevich's arrest on federal charges of scheming to sell or trade the Senate appointment, among other misdeeds. [...]

The list published by the Sun-Times contains the names of J.B. Pritzker, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Luis Gutierrez and Roland Burris. All were reported to be under consideration and Burris ultimately won the governor's appointment to the Senate.

None is reported to have contributed. About 150 names are on the list, some with dollar amounts as goals and adding up to more than $2 million.

"They may have had him on the list," said Pritzker spokesman Dave Lundy. "But they had a lot of quirky ideas that didn't have a basis in reality." Pritzker was being targeted for $100,000, according to the list.

Schakowsky said she never was asked for a donation. "The empty space next to my name speaks volumes and shows that Blagojevich knew better than to approach me," Schakowsky said.

Gutierrez had taken himself out of the running for the seat in late November. Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, has acknowledged he attempted to raise money for Blagojevich, but has denied wrongdoing.

Also listed are at least six Blagojevich appointees to state boards or other jobs.

Can we just be rid of him now? Please?

No pay to play at Obama Business Roundtable speech today

By GottaLaff

You can find the entire hour-long video of President Obama's appearance at the Business Roundtable right here at TPC. Something unusual occurred-- or rather, didn't occur-- regarding that very event:

Heard in the CQ newsroom:

Apparently campaign contributions didn't get you a ticket to today's Business Roundtable meeting with President Obama. Of those executives attending who gave to a presidential campaign last year, $141,790 went to Sen. John McCain while just $59,300 went to Obama.

The Murtha 104

By GottaLaff

Unlike Fox, TPC is fair and balanced:

CQ Politics just released the list of 104 House members who secured earmarks on an appropriations bill managed by Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) to exclusively help a lobbying firm with close ties to Murtha.

An added bonus: Campaign contributions received by each House member from the lobbying firm are also listed.

Go here to see the list.

Sen. DeMint hit with FEC fine over contributions

By GottaLaff

So the FEC still functions? Where are their judgments on John McCain's campaign?

Federal Election Commissioners have approved an agreement by which Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-S.C.) campaign will pay a $25,000 fine for accepting contributions above legal limits, according to files made public Friday.

The freshman senator, who has emerged as a leading conservative voice, accepted $68,000 in excessive contributions during his 2004 bid to replace ex-Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings (D-S.C.). [...]

The FEC also released judgments against Kalyn Free, who ran for the Democratic nomination in Oklahoma’s 2nd District in 2004, and against Suzanne Haik Terrell (R), who narrowly lost a 2002 challenge to Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

The judgment against Terrell requires the candidate's committee to refund more than $625,000 in contributions and pay a fine of $42,543 for accepting illegal corporate contributions. Several individuals will pay fines ranging from $2,500 to $8,000 for their roles in the campaign.

Obama Had a $400 Million Edge

Slaughtered.

The final presidential fundraising reports are in and Barack Obama's campaign raised roughly $745 million for his 2008 presidential campaign, ABC News reports.

By comparison, Sen. John McCain raised roughly $320 million, including the $84 million from entering into the public financing system.

However, when money raised by the national parties is taken into account, the Democrats likely raised closer to one billion dollars, compared to roughly $630 million for the Republicans. Which means Obama had, approximately, a $400 million advantage over McCain.

FEC Queries McCain Campaign on 'Excessive Contributions'

By GottaLaff

Gramm-pa McCain, time to stop pointing fingers and answer a few questions.

Dear Gramm-pa:

While the Republican Party is pushing the Federal Election Commission to investigate the possibility that Democrat Barack Obama collected excessive contributions, its own candidate is facing scrutiny on the same subject.

The FEC sent a letter to Sen. John McCain's campaign treasurer Sept. 30 demanding the candidate turn over more information about "contributions that appear to exceed the limits."

The letter is accompanied by a nine-page list showing scores of overages from McCain's August campaign finance report, including nearly $13,000 from Texas rancher Ray R. Barrett Jr.; $9,200 from an Iraqi security consultant, H. Carter Andress; and $5,000 from Joseph F. Davolio, an executive at a major national liquor, beer, and wine distributor.

"Please inform the Commission of your corrective action immediately in writing and provide photocopies of any refund checks and/or letters reattributing or redesignating the contributions in question," the letter from the FEC's senior campaign finance analyst, Leah S. Palmer, says. "The acceptance of excessive contributions is a serious problem."

Love,

The FEC

Obama Nearly Doubles McCain's July Money Contributions

Hahahaha!!! Ha!! Snort, hewee ha giggle!!! Told ya. BFCE.

(CNN) – Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential bid added more than 65,000 new donors and raised more than $51 million in the month of July, the Obama campaign said in a statement released Saturday.

“The 65,000 new donors to the Obama campaign demonstrate just how strongly the American people are looking to fundamentally change business as usual in Washington,” Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said in the statement.

The campaign of Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, announced Friday that it raised $27 million in July. The Republican National Committee also announced Friday that it raised $26 million in the same timeframe and has received donations from more than a million donors during this election cycle.

The Obama campaign recently announced that it has surpassed the 2-million-donor mark and said Saturday that it currently has $65.8 million in cash on hand.

Al Franken: Return Senator Ted "Indicted" Stevens donations, Normy

By GottaLaff

But Norm the Toker needs the money for weed tooth whitener his campaign! And, Sue, you better hustle off to the bank, too:

Minnesota candidate Al Franken was the first out of the block in calling on his opponent, Senator Norm Coleman, to return donations from indicted Senator Ted Stevens, followed closely by the Maine Democratic Party hitting Senator Susan Collins for accepting similar contributions. But Coleman and Collins won't be the last to be slammed for associating with the Senate's most senior Republican.

Stevens' Northern Lights PAC has doled out almost $145,000 to GOP candidates this cycle, including $10,000 checks to Republicans Elizabeth Dole, Pat Roberts and Gordon Smith, all running for re-election against credible challengers this year, as well as smaller checks to John Sununu, Roger Wicker, Mike Johanns, Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn. The PAC also handed a $5,000 check to John McCain's presidential campaign.

Scroll back through the years and Franken's campaign charges Coleman with taking a total of $25,000 from Stevens, as well as another $6,000 from executives already caught up in the same VECO Corp. scandal that ensnared the Alaska Republican.

Since 1998, Stevens' PAC has given more than $1.07 million to Republican incumbents and candidates for office, according to records kept by the Center for Responsive Politics, including to each Republican considered vulnerable this year and to dozens of House members as well.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Quel dilemma.

Watch research shops at the Democratic Senatorial and Congressional Campaign Committees swing into overdrive today as they follow the money.

Ohhh, follow away. Please. Follow. We'll be watching.

Obama Raises $52 Million In June

By Paddy


Just announced on MSNBC, the link when I get it. Guess he head faked everyone with the "Over $30 Million" bit they were saying a few weeks ago.

UPDATE- Here-

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised $52 million in June, the campaign said on Thursday, a jump from last month and more than double the $22 million raised by his Republican rival John McCain.

In an e-mail to supporters, campaign manager David Plouffe said the Obama campaign raised the funds with an average donation of $68. The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee have a combined total of $72 million in the bank, Plouffe said.

"But more impressive than the number is how you did it," Plouffe wrote. "Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people contributed to building our campaign for change. Many were first-time donors, giving only what they could afford -- and the average donation was just $68."

Poll Shows Obama's Focus on Small Donors Could Help Him

By Paddy


Nice that it's a two tiered help.

Barack Obama's strategy of abandoning public funds in favor of unlimited contributions from private donors might be a good financial decision for the presumptive Democratic nominee, but it also could be a good strategy for appealing to voters. Obama, who says his campaign is funded 90 percent by small donors, could be turning skeptical voters into supporters with his dependence on small-time contributors.

A new BYU/Harris Poll shows that Americans are more likely to respond positively to a candidate who raises funds from small donors (contributions of $200 or less) rather than large donors (contributions of $2,000 or more). According to the poll, relying on small donors gives the impression that the "corrupting influence" of corporations, lobbyists, and PACs is lessened, making voters view the candidate more positively.