John Kerry's Top 10 campaign donors

[freetempe]

I found this on Rense.com, the link is below. Make of it what you will. I found some of the donors, well, interesting.

<http://www.rense.com/general48/topten.htm>

Here is the money behind the new top dog in the Democratic dog pound, John Kerry's Top Ten Career Patrons calculated by the Center for Public Integrity, Washington.

1. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC, Boston $223,046

2. Fleet Boston Financial Corp., Boston $172,387

3. AOL Time Warner Inc., New York $134,960

4. Hale and Dorr LLP, Boston $123,258

5. Hill, Holiday, Connors, Cosmopulos Inc., Boston $119,300

6. Harvard University $108,700

7. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, NY $105,150

8. Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP, Minneapolis $103,450

9. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., NY $100,000

10. Piper Rudnick, Baltimore $92,300

[JI7]

1. how about himself ?

he donated the most to himself .

[Feanorcurufinwe]

2. What did you find so interesting in this list of lifetime donors?

I mean, you said it's "well, interesting"


would you care to share what is interesting about it?


For example in Kerry's what, 30-something years in public life, he's received a total of $108,700 from employees of Harvard University.


Just what is it that you find 'well, interesting' about that?


Or is this just a lame attempt to imply that there is something wrong here? lol

[sandnsea]

8. Lifetime? Oh, I see

Dean took in $60,000 from AOL and $25,000 from Microsoft this campaign alone. If you added that kind of money up over, 20 years actually, yep it would be alot too.

Aren't we supposed to go after Bush or something... I keep forgetting...

[spooky3]

10. "Aren't we supposed to go after Bush or something... I keep forgetting..."

I agree. Come on, folks, let's not eat our own.

[bearfartinthewoods]

13. please don't confuse things

did dean take 25 grand from AOL or from AOL employees? the listings of donors is grouped by who they work for but it doesn't mean the company donated the money.

the same may apply to the kerry list. there is no info to say that this money came from the corps or from the employees, acting on their own.

[denverbill]

25. Maybe this will be more enlightening.

http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/donordems.asp

55% of Kerry's contributors have given $2000. 12% have given $200 or less.

OTOH, Dean has raised 56% of his money from people contributing less than $200 and only 13% from those given $2000.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. He's gonna take down BFEE?

That is BFEE!




:D

[Feanorcurufinwe]

4. Might as well say

brown is smooth.


It has just as much meaning as your comment.

[Voltaire99]

5. No, not at all

He was referring to Kerry's fondness for big corporate money, which also underwrites the Bush clan's power. Your non sequitur doesn't account for that.

Put simply: the guardians of the establishment at AOL/Time Warner don't exactly expect to see challenges to the status quo when investing heavily in a candidate.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

7. This list is presented with no context, no explanation of how they arrived

at this. It says for example that it is from the Center for Public Integrity but I can't find any such list on their website.

And there is an implication that isn't stated.

Now you've stated that Kerry has a 'fondness for big corporate money'. You did note that this says this is a 'career' list right? You are aware that corporations can't give money to campaigns, right? Individuals can, and they have to report the company they work for when they do, and they are subject to a limit. And you are aware that Kerry has never taken PAC money on any of his Senate campaigns, right? So add up all the years and all the campaigns and all the people who work at those companies, and look at the actual figure involved, and you'll see this is either a tempest in a teapot, or a desperate political smear, depending on how you'd like to characterize it.

[sandnsea]

9. Please compare to Bush

Here's George Bush. So far, this campaign season.
http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/contrib.asp?id=N00008072&cycle=2004

Merrill Lynch
$368,200

UBS Americas
$269,000

Credit Suisse First Boston
$212,050

PricewaterhouseCoopers
$209,800

Lehman Brothers
$199,500

Goldman Sachs
$198,725

MBNA Corp
$194,500

Blank Rome LLP
$192,900

Bear Stearns
$165,000

Union Pacific Corp
$161,500

Microsoft Corp
$159,750

Haynes & Boone
$154,400

Ernst & Young
$147,250

Winston & Strawn
$144,000

Vinson & Elkins
$135,750

SBC Communications
$125,750

Citigroup Inc
$121,350

Ameriquest Mortgage
$120,300

United Technologies
$110,250

Morgan Stanley
$106,750

[AntiCoup2K4]

20. Skull & Bones and PNAC are definitely "BFEE"/BCE

Why does Kerry not renounce S&B?

Why does he have a traitorous PNAC shitbag on his campaign?

These are legitimate questions. You cannot expect someone involved with criminals and traitors to remove criminals and traitors from power.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

21. I want to know why Kerry hasn't said a WORD about the BCCI trial

I guess his big "investigation" really *was* a whitewash for his frat brother, George H. W. Bush:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=154665

[molly]

22. Why didn't Dean release his records?

why did he seal them in the first place? Hmmmm?

[blm]

16. Can you back up that claim with a link?

His brother's coworkers donating 220,000 over an 18 YEAR period has a quid pro quo attached?

What did he promise his brother? Donate to my campaign and I'll stop giving you wedgies?

[AP]

6. People complain about Edward's lawyer donations.

However, it's probably worth noting that Edward's law firm donatiosn come from lawyers who generally sue big companies and are regional players.

The law firms on Kerry's list are some of the biggest national and international firms which make almost all their money representing huge corporations in their transactional matters (not even litigation).

[Jacobin]

11. Here we go again. Instead of thousands of small donations from

thousands of citizens, we have folks buying politicians.

then again, why would thousands of people send Kerry money....he's no Dean.

[molly]

12. Thank goodness for that!

"he's no Dean"

BTW - I've sent Kerry money on a few occasions and I'm certainly not a big corporation.

[KittyWampus]

14. Kerry Is Bought & Paid For By Telecom. -Center for Public Integrity

Kerry is neither a Saint nor is he Irish although he pretends to be both.

His largest camaign contributors are Lobbyists for Telecom. and he voted in their favor against the public interest many times.

And to say theat it is legal for him to accept that money only underlies how unethical it is. It is illegal for corporations to give money to Kerry so he bucks the system and does it through Lobbyists. So his supporters who claim that "it's JUST EMPLOYEES are trying to blow smoke over what is going on.

Plus, Kerry has major holdings in Telecom. Companies involved.

Center for Public Interest has publicshed a book entitled "Buying of the President" with a whole section featuring Kerry.


.....................................................................................................................................................................................................
Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., whose largest campaign contributor lobbies on behalf of telecommunication interests, pushed the legislative priorities of its clients in the wireless industry on several occasions, a Center for Public Integrity analysis of campaign, lobbying and congressional records has found. That analysis is part of the Center's research for The Buying of the President 2004 (to be published by HarperCollins), which tracks the financial backers and interests of the major candidates for the White House.

Kerry, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, has sponsored or co-sponsored a number of bills favorable to the industry and has written letters to government agencies on behalf of the clientele of his largest donor. Boston-based Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C. has been the biggest financial backer of the Massachusetts Democrat's two decades-long political career in elected office, with its employees contributing nearly $187,000 to various Kerry races, including his current presidential campaign.

Kerry's ties to the firm go beyond campaign contributions. His brother Cameron F. Kerry is an attorney at the firm's Boston office, and David Leiter, who was the Senator's chief of staff for six years, is a lobbyist for ML Strategies LLC, a Mintz, Levin affiliate that provides consulting and lobbying services.

Mintz, Levin advertises communications law among its areas of expertise and lobbies on behalf of wireless industry clients such as AT&T Wireless Service, XO Communications Inc. and the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association. CTIA is the trade association of the wireless industry; its more than 320 members include carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers. CTIA-affiliated companies and their employees have contributed at least $152,000 to Kerry. The amount includes contributions made to his presidential campaign and his previous election efforts, his political action committees and the 527 group that Kerry formed. Verizon employees donated close to a third of that amount ($45,400).

snip
Since 1999, Kerry has taken positions that closely reflect the legislative agenda of CTIA. Between January 1999 and December 2002, he sponsored two bills for which CTIA lobbied and co-sponsored six more, the Center found. He also sponsored amendments and made floor statements that were favorable to CTIA's interests.

Ever so much more at link-
http://www.bop2004.org/bop2004/report.aspx?aid=4

[Fabio]

15. This is intentionally misleading!

You are insinuating that these organizations gave JK money as their own entity, when in fact these figures show the total dollars of donations from individual employees at a company.

John Kerry has never taken PAC or soft money, and never will.

[adadem]

17. Howard Dean's Top 10 Campaign Donors

http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/leadpac_contrib.asp?id=N00025663&cycle=2002

Maybe his behavior on Tuesday night is explained by his third top donor.

This entire thread is silly.

[molly]

18. LOL!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

24. Compare that list to this one:

http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/leadpac_contrib.asp?id=N00000245&cycle=2004


A blind man can see the difference.

[DaisyUCSB]

19. These are from individuals who work for these companies

Kerry has never taken from lobbyist and PAC money, something only he, Edwards, and I believe Kucinich can say

[GabysPoppy]

23. As someone who is starting to lean toward the General

Big Fucking Deal who is giving to Kerry, Dean, Edwards or the man in the moon.

How about being glad these monies aren't going to the repugs?

Boy can we eat our own and the dinner bell hasn't even rung yet.