Kerry, Edwards Boasts Hardly Tell Story/Center for Public Integrity

[Gloria]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/7850840.htm

Posted on Sun, Feb. 01, 2004 story:PUB_DESC
Kerry, Edwards Boasts Hardly Tell Story
JOHN SOLOMON
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards are fond of telling voters they are spurning special-interest money during their White House bids, but voters beware. Their boasts hardly tell the whole story.

Sen. Kerry, who says he hasn't taken a dime of political action committee money for his presidential campaign, in fact ran a tax-exempt political committee that collected nearly a half million dollars directly from companies and labor unions just before those types of donations were outlawed in late 2002, tax records show.

(snip)

Sen. Edwards, who tells voters he rejects donations to his presidential campaign from Washington lobbyists, took one donation in 2002 directly from a lobbying firm. He also collected more than $80,000 from people who aren't formally registered as lobbyists but nonetheless work for some of Washington's powerhouse firms.

Edwards also has accepted more than $150,000 worth of flights aboard the corporate jets of special interests, a helpful perk for a candidate crisscrossing the country that also allows the corporate provider to bend the ear of a White House aspirant.

"They are both in up to their necks with special interest money," said Charles Lewis, head of the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington watchdog group that recently published "The Buying of the President 2004," which tracks the sources of political money for the presidential hopefuls.

MORE

[Tatiana]

1. I'm not surprised.

It's a popular thing to denounce money from special interests. Unfortunately it's harder to actually reject it in the midst of financial crunches of a Presidential campaign.

Honestly, I'm starting to not like Edwards as much.

[girl gone mad]

2. me, too..

still worlds away from Bush, but I hope if Kerry wins he picks Kucinich, Clark or Dean.

[Tatiana]

4. Same here.

He's starting to remind me of a snake oil salesman. He's a wonderful public speaker. What are his policies? Where are his budgets? Why doesn't his agenda (whatever that may be) get scrutinized the same way Kerry, Clark, and Dean have been?

[windansea]

6. snake oil salesman

with a populist twang

[anti-bush]

7. Have you looked?

Go to his website and download Real Solutions. It is packed with agenda, budgets, and his policy positions.

[papau]

3. AP distorts Kerry's good deed veterans PAC-that doesn't fund re-elections

AP distorts Kerry's good deed veterans PAC-that doesn't fund re-elections


Kerry's verterans PAC is a good deed - and doesn't fund re-elections

but god-forbid that this make it into the story.

INSTEAD WE HAVE SPIN "I'm the only person in the United States Senate who has been elected four times who has voluntarily refused to ever take one dime of political action committee, special interest money in my elections," Kerry said just last week -While technically correct ...... - AND NOW WE SPIN?

AND A PAC THAT DOES GOOD, NOT USED FOR ELECTIONS IS
"Kerry collected more than $470,000 directly from companies and unions in 2002 for his Citizen Soldier Fund, and spent large amounts of it sowing goodwill in key primary states"

SO DOING GOOD IS NOW "SOWING GOODWILL" AND THAT PROVES KERRY IS A HYPOCRIT?
For general questions and comments: [e-mail]
For career opportunities: [e-mail]
To send a press release: [e-mail]
To contact a specific employee: [e-mail]


Departments, Editors and Writers
Individual phone numbers and e-mail addresses are not available to the public. To send press releases to specific departments, consult this list of AP editors and writers or send e-mail to [e-mail] (no attachments).

[isbister]

5. Who Bankrolls Bush and his Democratic Rivals?

(snip)
While governor, Howard Dean pushed for utility contract provisions that aided the power companies, but cost Vermont families millions of dollars in skyrocketing rates. Vermont has the sixth highest utility rates in the country, due in part to a series of long-term contracts between its major power companies. After years of pushing for Central Vermont Public Service Corp. and the smaller utilities it held to absorb the excess costs of their expensive contracts, Dean's Department of Public Service agreed to let ratepayers be billed for more than 90 percent of the excess costs—which could soar into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Central Vermont Public Service Corp. donated more than $10,000 to Dean's Fund for a Healthy America PAC—a hefty contribution in a state that limits campaign contributions for statewide offices to $400.

http://www.bop2004.org/bop2004/report.aspx?aid=132

[DrFunkenstein]

9. Not A Bad Take For A Tiny State

That's not even going into IBM and Goldman-Sachs and the other corporations Dean went to bat for.

[KittyWampus]

10. This Thread Is About Kerry and Edwards

why change the subject?

[spooky3]

8. Edwards returned the ONE contribution discovered later to be

from a lobbying firm.

I have not heard about the flights previously, but people owe it to him and every other candidate to hear their side of the story before jumping to conclusions.

I wanted to know more about this self-appointed "Center for Public Integrity", who, according to another thread, considers Emily's List to be a lobbying group. Emily's List's purpose is to get pro-choice women elected to office, an important public service in a society where women are woefully underrepresented in positions of power. That is hardly in the same category as corporate and industry groups trying to pressure elected officials to give them tax or regulatory breaks. As for "special interests", exactly to whom is Lewis referring? Lawyers? Excuse me, but they are entitled to contribute their $2000 like everyone else, and Edwards has not made any secret about the fact that lawyers like him and what he stands for.