campaign finance

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Obama Raises $51M in July
 Obama Raises
 $51M in July 

Obama Raises $51M in July

No cash worries for vacationing Senator

(Newser) - Barack Obama raked in $51 million last month, not quite a record for the Illinois senator but still formidable, the Washington Post reports. He ends the month with $65.8 million in the bank, a major advantage over John McCain, who has just $21 million, despite raising a personal-best $27...

McCain Raises $27M in July


 McCain Raises
 $27M in July 

McCain Raises $27M in July

Biggest one-month total for Senator since primaries

(Newser) - John McCain raised $27 million in July, his largest one-month fundraising haul since clinching the nomination, while the Republican National Committee brought in nearly $26 million. "Our fundraising continues to be very healthy," Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, said in a conference call with reporters, noting that July...

Big 'Bundlers' Help Fuel Both Campaigns

New type of fundraising is quickly becoming lucrative cash stream

(Newser) - Barack Obama and John McCain have racked up nearly 100 “bundler” donors between them who have gathered at least $500,000 each from friends and co-workers to support their chosen candidates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The candidates’ spending suggests the fundraisers are breaking bundling records set during the...

Exec: I Was Fired for Not Donating to Mitt

CEO asked employees to give; denies man lost job over refusal

(Newser) - An ex-executive with a Chicago-based consulting group has filed an employment bias complaint, alleging that he was fired in part for his refusal to donate to Mitt Romney’s campaign, the Wall Street Journal reports. The complaint offers a rare glimpse into the machinery of corporate donations. In emails seen...

Fundraiser Taps Questionable Network

Donors to McCain, others aren't registered voters, had never given

(Newser) - A flurry of campaign contributions to John McCain were procured from an unlikely network of ordinary people with no clear political agenda, the Washington Post reports. The contributors were recruited to write checks for the legal limit of $2,300 by Harry Sargeant, a former naval officer turned oil executive...

Obama Network of Big Donors Rivals Bush's

Bundlers chip in large portion of Obama's record haul

(Newser) - Barack Obama likes to point to the avalanche of small-money donations that account for a full half of his record $340 million haul. But he has also been carefully cultivating a network of big-money bundlers since his earliest days in the Senate, the New York Times reports. As a result,...

McCain's Elite Fundraisers Trump Obama's

But that could change when Barack matches his rival's disclosures

(Newser) - John McCain appears to be more reliant on funds bundled by elite supporters than Barack Obama, USA Today reports. More than half of the Republican candidate’s receipts, or more than $75 million, came from donations assembled by about 500 top supporters. In contrast, Obama’s top 500 pulled in...

No Flip-Flop: Swooning Fans Missed Message

For those disillusioned with center shift, what did you think 'consensus' means, asks Collins

(Newser) - As early as his convention speech 4 years ago, Barack Obama has made reconciliation and a "new consensus" his hallmarks. So why, asks Gail Collins, are his most ardent supporters so dismayed that he's shifted to the center? Almost all of the issues for which Obama has taken heat...

Conservatives Set for Stand on GOP Platform

McCain seen as too centrist on climate, immigration, stem cells and more

(Newser) - Conservatives are concerned John McCain might be a maverick with a pen, and are gearing up for a fight on the Republican Party's official election platform, the Washington Post reports. Loath to imagine where McCain might go on climate change, immigration, stem cells and more, activists are already on platform...

McCain Backers Finding Ways Around Law He Sponsored

GOP governors fund is major finance loophole

(Newser) - Desperate to keep up with Barack Obama's powerful fundraising apparatus, John McCain’s allies have found ways of skirting the very campaign finance laws the Arizona senator helped write, the Wall Street Journal reports. Republican strategists are pushing donations toward a fund used to elect governors—not subject to dollar...

Rising New Money Class Powers Obama
Rising New
Money Class Powers Obama
Opinion

Rising New Money Class Powers Obama

Brooks cites recent shift to 'information age analysts'

(Newser) - Barack Obama likes to tout his small-donor network, as though a wave of inspired regular folk came out of the woodwork just for him. In reality, Obama is mining a money class that Democrats have been cultivating for years, writes David Brooks in the New York Times—"the rising...

McCain Wins the Week as Obama Misfires
McCain Wins the Week
as Obama Misfires
OPINION

McCain Wins the Week as Obama Misfires

Mark Halperin sizes up the latest skirmishes

(Newser) - Score this week for John McCain, writes Mark Halperin in Time. "McCain's week wasn't particularly good, but Obama's was dreadful by comparison." Here’s how it adds up:
  • Image: McCain’s goal is to make Obama look “like an ordinary politician.” Barack helped with one of
...

Justices Nix 'Millionaire's Amendment' for Campaigns

Opponents of wealthy candidates will no longer see donor ceilings raised

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today voided the “millionaire’s amendment,” ruling by 5-4 that the law—which raised donation limits for candidates who face wealthy, self-financed opponents—violates the First Amendment, the AP reports. The majority said it would have been a different story if all candidates saw their...

Obama's No Fool: He Made Right Choice on Funding

He opens himself up to being called hypocrite; that's better than naive

(Newser) - Barack Obama may be taking flak for opting out of public financing, but he would have been foolish to do otherwise, writes Charlie Cook in the National Journal. Cook is "relieved" that a potential president is savvy enough to hang on to a huge spending advantage. And in this...

MoveOn Axes Big-Money Fundraising Arm

MoveOn folds 527 group to match Obama's pledge

(Newser) - One day after Barack Obama became the first candidate since Watergate to reject general election public financing, a prominent liberal grassroots group has disbanded its 527 operation. "We, like Senator Obama, believe that this election can be won by ordinary Americans giving small donations,” MoveOn said in a...

Obama's a Pragmatist, Not a Reformer
Obama's a Pragmatist,
Not a Reformer
Analysis

Obama's a Pragmatist, Not a Reformer

His decision to opt out of public financing is right in character

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s decision to opt out of the public financing system shouldn’t come as a surprise, writes Politico’s Ben Smith. Obama has been inching away from the money for a long time now, proving once again that he’s not a traditional reformer—he’s a pragmatist....

Death Knell Tolls for Campaign Finance
Death Knell Tolls for Campaign Finance
ANALYSIS

Death Knell Tolls for Campaign Finance

Obama snub of public cash highlights weakness of system

(Newser) - Barack Obama's decision to forgo public financing for his presidential campaign represents the biggest challenge yet to the troubled, loophole-filled system. But while the Illinois senator is now poised to spend a record amount to win the presidency, the explosion of  Internet donations that have propelled his campaign might actually...

Dr. Obama and Mr. Hyde
 Dr. Obama and Mr. Hyde 
opinion

Dr. Obama and Mr. Hyde

'High-minded' candidate is also cutthroat political animal

(Newser) - Barack Obama has two faces: there’s the "high-minded" liberal “Dr. Barack” and the politically calculating, win at-all-costs “Fast Eddie Obama,” writes David Brooks in the New York Times. The split personality clearly emerged in Obama’s announcement that he won’t accept public financing—a...

McCain Blasts Obama for Declining Funds

But Dem blames Mac for having to opt out of public financing

(Newser) - Following fast on Barack Obama’s decision to abandon public financing, a McCain rep said the Dem has failed “the true test of a candidate”—whether he'll stick to his word, Time reports. But Politico notes that an Obama rep blamed McCain: “Our campaign counsels met, and...

Obama Opts Out of Public Financing

Says system 'as it exists is broken,' and opponents 'masters at gaming' it

(Newser) - Barack Obama has opted out of public financing in the general election, the AP reports, reversing a joint pledge made last year with John McCain to spend only the $84 million in taxpayer cash between the party conventions and Election Day. While McCain appears set to accept public financing, Obama...

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