Donations to Sen. Edwards questioned

[robbedvoter]

Donations to Sen. Edwards questioned
By Sam Dealey
http://www.hillnews.com/news/050703/edwards.aspx
Sen. John Edwards' presidential campaign finance documents show a pattern of giving by low-level employees at law firms, a number of whom appear to have limited financial resources and no prior record of political donations.
snip
Edwards' campaign records also reveal that many of these individuals' spouses and relatives contributed the maximum on the same day. The Hill found many of them to be first-time givers. Some have no previous demonstrable interest in politics, while others appear to be active Republicans.
and

A BIG PIECE of North Carolina Sen. John Edwards's campaign message is about how he would work to "clean up" Washington if elected president. He accuses President Bush of putting "the interests of lobbyists and campaign contributors above the interests of regular people." But Mr. Edwards -- alone among the serious candidates for president -- declines to provide a list of his major campaign financiers: the men and women who have not only the capability to write $2,000 checks themselves but the networks that allow them to harvest bigger bundles for their favored candidates. President Bush posts on his Web site the names of his $100,000 Pioneers and $200,000 Rangers. Mr. Edwards's Democratic rivals -- Sens. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), former Vermont governor Howard Dean and retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark -- have, at our request, provided similar lists of major underwriters.
more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40385-2004Jan22.html

[bowens43]

1. Wow. Talk about a baseless smear........

The article basically says we can't find anything wrong so we'll pretend that that in itself is suspicious.

Pathetic.

[KC21304]

4. And the debauchery of it ! Some of them had never given to

campaigns before ! LOL

Isn't this the same thing that the Dean campaign has been bragging about ? Go figure ?


I didn't mean to imply that the Dean campaign is behind this. Just showing that what some find an outrage others think is peachy-keen.

[Toucano]

15. Distinction

Dean's contributors didn't max out.

It is statistically rare for people who've never donated before to send $2,000 checks.

Dean's first-timers were small contributions, which would be the norm.

This isn't an issue for Edwards, however. I think he already sent the suspicious money back.

[HFishbine]

5. Except that it's not baseless

They are observering a pattern that has already been a problem for Edwards previously.

Edwards' fund raising came under scrutiny in April when the U.S. Justice Department began investigating reports of four paralegals at a Little Rock, Ark., law firm giving $2,000 each. One of the paralegals told The Washington Post that one of the firm's top lawyers promised to reimburse her. It is illegal to funnel campaign contributions through another person. The paralegal later said she would not be reimbursed.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/6329784.htm

[Edwards4President]

9. Of course, if the Ashcroft Justice Department is investigating a Democrat,

that's conclusive proof that the Democrat is corrupt!

[Edwards4President]

16. You DO realize that the "investigation" you cite is looking into the

allegations you're also referring to. This is not a "pattern" but all part of the same allegation. In other words, an investigation of an allegation is not a "pattern."

[sandnsea]

6. Special Interests

This is the exact same charge against Kerry and the $600,000 lifetime contributions. Edwards' money is from trial lawyers. The bulk of Kerry's money was from his brother's law firm. They both come in checks from single donors.

[sleipnir]

2. It does sound suspicious, but then again, look at the source.

I don't like the sound of this article, but I've been a little on the suspect side of Mr. Edwards. He's not all grins and smiles and I strongly feel this could evolve into a more serious problem down the road, should he get the nomination. We'll see, I'm sure the Post is more than happy to investigate anything against a Dem...

[Edwards4President]

3. You forgot to mention

that the first article you cited is more than NINE MONTHS old AND that the Edwards campaign immediately returned the contributions upon discovering that they might have been improper.

Jeez.

[DU9598]

7. Law firm giving

It is also important to note that I suggest to my staff (I am an attorney) that if they can give, they should give ... I know other firms doing the same.

The civil justice system in this country is under attack and whomever the nominee is in November, I will once again ask my staff to give to the Democratic nominee. If Bush gets to appoint 3-5 new justices to the Supreme Court in the next four years I may not be able to keep my practice afloat. Caps in damages would strike just as harmful to the viability of my practice.

So please don't be surprised when law office support staff contribute to Edwards or other Democratic candidates.

[xultar]

13. You wouldn't believe the stuff people Dug and Dig up on Clark

It is a fair question...
IT is also good to know.

[BootinUp]

8. Why does Edwards have a higher Fat Cat ratio?

snip

Based on the latest data available, Mr. Edwards has collected a bigger chunk of his donations in the form of $2,000 checks, the largest allowable, than any of the other Democratic candidates: 65 percent, compared with Mr. Kerry's 55 percent and Mr. Dean's 13 percent. Now, with his surprise second-place showing in Iowa, Mr. Edwards is scrambling to collect even more of those checks. It's no secret that the backbone of Mr. Edwards's financial support has been his fellow trial lawyers, nor does Mr. Edwards minimize that part of his biography; rather, he embraces it as a role in which he fought for ordinary citizens against powerful corporations. That's fine; voters can judge for themselves between his view of the profession and the Republicans' depiction of trial lawyers as sharks savaging the public interest. What's beyond dispute is that trial lawyers are a special interest. They pump millions of dollars into Democratic coffers because their livelihoods depend on such legislative issues as caps on damages in medical malpractice cases, limits on class action lawsuits and the settlement of asbestos litigation.

[xultar]

11. Is that why there is no display of individual # of contributions on

Edwards' site?

Hummm :shrug:

[xultar]

10. Let's be honest if Clark had this stuff going on there'd be an uproar here

I remember donations to Clark from some dude with the same name as a RW fueled 3 days worth of flamebait around here.

I also remember someone saying Sunday that Edwards didn't have to beg for money like Clark does.

We'll it appears that there is BEGGIN going on, just quietly.

Doesn't anyone see a problem with the double standards around here? Or, is it o.k. to accuse Clark of being a DLC mole, and a rethug, and a war monger with no experience and every other candidate is a picture of innocence?

I just wanna know. :shrug:

[sandnsea]

14. From who?

Do you remember who was causing the uproar? I do.

[ShaneGR]

12. I've given to 350 to Edwards, I'm not a lawyer

And isn't this stoory actually a repeat from last year?

[kurtyboy]

17. Please regard this as a bunch of hooey

This year will see a LOT of previously uninterested people making max donations to unseat Bush* (like I will).

And a LOT of people who never worked for a Prez campaign will volunteer their time (like I did)

And a LOT of people who never voted before will go to the polls (Okay, I always voted, but you get what I mean).

We're going to break the vote-total record by a single candidate by millions, and while it's extraordinary, it ain't a crime.

If you want to blame someone for this, blame Bush*! Yep, he's the great uniter.