Political Machine

Fireworks As a Campaign Strategy?

Liza Porteus Viana — 2008-07-08T09:10:00+00:00

Filed under: House, Democrats, Republicans, Fundraising

Here's another peek at what some of your campaign contributions go toward. Hint: They're loud, colorful and illegal in some states.

Yes, they're fireworks. The Center for Responsive Politics says the general consensus is: Set off the sparkle, win the White House.

Not only do politicians buy fireworks for events on the campaign trail (no news there), but the fireworks industry is tossing a fair amount of cash at lawmakers and lobbying efforts to battle what it views as unfair regulations post Sept. 11.

Since 2000, federal candidates, parties and committees have spent almost $50,700 on fireworks for advertising and fundraising. The Republicans spent far more in the White House races. The Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign spent nearly one-fourth of that $50,700 for an event in New Castle, Pa., the nation's fireworks capital. The Gore-Lieberman camp apparently spent nothing. The Republican National Committee spent $13,000 for the 2004 White House race, while John Kerry only spent half of that.
In Congress, the top fireworks spender has been Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, a Democrat whose district borders to New Castle's. Murtha spent $2,000 on fireworks last April, and has received $3,000 from New Castle residents.

This year, New Castle residents, including the president of fireworks firm Pyrotecnico have donated around $42,700 to federal candidates, parties and committees.

Since 2000, the American Pyrotechnics Association (APA), reported spending $100,000 to lobby on Capitol Hill; it spent $40,000 last year; second quarter lobbying reports are due July 21. Charlie Black, now an adviser to John McCain's presidential campaign, has lobbied for the APA. The group says fireworks are classified as more dangerous than they actually are and that the industry is unnecessarily burdened by forcing pyrotechnicians to undergo repeated background. It also stresses that there has been a 44% decrease in the injury rate of fireworks-related accidents; most people are injured because they're improperly using the explosives, they say.

It should be a policy of "'one credential, one clearance, you're golden," APA Executive Director Julie Heckman told Capital Eye.

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Daily Kos Founder: No Dough for O

Tommy Christopher — 2008-07-03T14:08:00+00:00

Filed under: Democrats, Barack Obama, 2008 President, Fundraising

Influential blogger and Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas caused a first-class kerfuffle on an economy-class budget, announcing that he would be withholding his $2300.00 donation from Barack Obama's campaign until he sees some "good behavior." From Daily Kos:

First, he reversed course and capitulated on FISA, not just turning back on the Constitution, but on the whole concept of "leadership". Personally, I like to see presidents who 1) lead, and 2) uphold their promises to protect the Constitution.

Then, he took his not-so-veiled swipe at MoveOn in his "patriotism" speech.

Finally, he reinforced right-wing and media talking points that Wes Clark had somehow impugned McCain's military service when, in reality, Clark had done no such thing.

Markos goes to great pains to explain that he still supports Obama, but that he won't be anyone's "water carrier."

He also tries to downplay the importance of his donation (with a 739-word story on the most popular blog in the universe.)

I applaud Markos for not being a water-carrier now, but it makes me wonder where he's been this whole campaign.

Let me start by saying that I am not trashing Markos Moulitsas. The guy has done more for progressive voices in the media than I can even dream of.

I have to confess, I don't read Kos religiously, so he might already know all of this, but he doesn't let on in his anti-donation "minifesto," so here goes, anyway.

Number one, Obama was never a leader on stripping FISA of the telecomm immunity provision. Neither was Hillary Clinton, or any other presidential candidate, save Chris Dodd. Like it or not, Obama's position on this is pretty consistent. He was more concerned with bringing the illegal program to an end. I don't like it, I think telecomm immunity is easy to defeat, but there are too many Democrats who wet themselves when a Republican says "weak on terror," so there you have it.

The "tin-foiler" in me wants him to stand fast on the Senate floor, vanquishing all comers with the lightsaber of truth, but the real guy who has lived through 7 years of disastrous Republican rule can live with Obama's position. He spoke out against it, said he'd try to get it stripped, but it didn't work out.

It's a little easier to live with knowing that criminal prosecutions for the telecomms who broke FISA are still on the table. I asked the Obama campaign about that last week, and they said, "No comment."

This is quiet encouragement. If it were really not on the table, what would they lose by saying that? They've already taken the hit for supporting the compromise.

Of course, Keith Olbermann laid out the whole super-secret plan during his "Special Comment" Monday night. Keith, next time you want to propose a stealth political maneuver, try sending an email. That's how I did it for Ron Paul.

As for the swipe at MoveOn's "General Betray Us" ad? Sorry, but he's right. They sacrificed all of the moral force of their argument for the sake of an obvious pun. It was stupid. At least when I do it, it's in service of a funny joke. ( I thought it was funny.)

On Clark, I agree with you that there was no attack, and he should be defended, but why should Obama put his hand into that dogfight? McCain already showed his jugular on that by hiring a Swift Boat Vet for Truth to be on his "Truth Squad." Why would Obama want to distract people from McCain stepping on rake after rake?

The "Babe in the Woods" routine goes into overdrive when Markos says his donation means very little. That is technically true, but when he writes about it, it becomes a hugely influential move. While his readers might still vote for Obama, it fuels the narrative that Obama is "shifting to the right," which is not helpful to him, or even true.

In any case, it is his money, but if he's not going to give his $2300.00 to Obama, why not throw some of it my way? I drive an hour each way to work every day, that would help out for a few weeks, at least.

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'Words' - New McCain Video

Greg McNeilly — 2008-06-24T09:56:00+00:00

Filed under: Ads, John McCain, 2008 President, Fundraising

John McCain's campaign has released a new web video mash-up. It's simply Barack Obama, in his own words, all in context. The one minute video is titled "Words." It takes on Obama's most recent public lie.

This is a powerful issue. Obama clearly lied.

Not only for the substance of the promise made and then the lack of substance for it being broken. But because it gives complete legitimacy to Obama's critics. "You can't trust Barack. He's simply another politician. Untested and too slick."

When Obama himself breaks such a public promise for mere political purposes, you can't call his critics racist for calling him on it. Well, I guess you can (and many may), but it won't stick.

This video is a smart move on McCain's part. McCain has to hold Obama accountable directly because the mainstream news media will not.

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MoveOn to Fold Its 527

Denise Williams — 2008-06-22T19:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Barack Obama, Fundraising

In a symbolic move that is meant to carry on the "people-powered" movement that has fueled millions of donations to Barack Obama's presidential campaign and helped down-ticket Dems via ActBlue and other fund-raisers, MoveOn.org's 527 group, MoveOn Voter Fund, will be shut down.

While the MoveOn.org PAC is an FEC registered political action group, such groups as these are limited to $5000 per year cap on individual contributions and cannot take corporate donations. The Voter Fund by contrast could take unregulated corporate donatons. While still active on paper, this 527 has actually been inactive for a couple of years.

From the letter sent to MoveOn members on Friday:

For almost ten years, we've worked together to change American politics. Millions of us have collaborated to build a new progressive moment, catalyzed by the Internet and motivated by our belief that the country we love deserves better.

Now, in Barack Obama, we have a Presidential candidate who has based his campaign on precisely that kind of new politics-a people-driven politics focused on the outside-of-the-beltway consensus around Iraq, climate change, and health care, not the gridlock in Washington.

Ironically, MoveOn (and a large chunk of the left blogosphere - including this writer) is a little peeved at Obama right now after his statement on the FISA compromise bill. It's expected that he'll vote for the bill when it comes up for the Senate vote this week while hoping that the telecom immunity clause somehow magically disappears.

One can call this a bad week for Obama with both right and left trashing him last week, or call it a good one - if you're pissing everyone off you must be doing something right. Time will tell...

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McCain In the Money Too

Dave — 2008-06-21T12:29:00+00:00

Filed under: John McCain, 2008 President, Fundraising

According to the Politico, it looks like McCain cannot thank Hillary enough for her help in leveling the playing field on the money front.

For the first time in the campaign, Republican John McCain in May raised about the same amount of money, $22 million, as Democrat Barack Obama.

McCain also closed the gap in the amount of cash in the bank the two parties' presumptive presidential nominees have at their respective disposals as they enter the first phase of the general election.

McCain reported having about $32 million in cash for primary related expenses at the end of May.
Obama reported having $43 million in hand at the start of June-but about $10 million of that is dedicated to the general election.

Obama's fundraising in May marked a sharp fall-off after months of record-breaking donations. Even in difficult times, such as when he suffered a key loss in Pennsylvania in April, Obama brought in a steady flow of cash that usually topped $30 million a month.

In other years the RNC is having a banner year:

As The Times' campaign finance guru Dan Morain points out, the sums are significant as presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain squares off against the far more richly-funded Sen. Barack Obama for the last 136 days of the general election campaign.

Based on the numbers so far, the Republican Party appears poised to act as the financial equalizer in the fall campaign. The RNC disclosed that it ended May with $53.5 million in the bank, compared to $3.9 million for the Democratic National Committee, which is headed by Howard Dean.

Another reason why Obama turned down public financing? Turns out he's not building the unassailable war chest everyone thought he was. This is pure speculation on my part, but my guess is that the business community is tilting heavily toward McCain due to rising gas prices and Obama's ambivalence on NAFTA.

But things are not all rosy with the McCain campaign, and I don't want to leave that impression. The Barack bounce is real, he is leading the polls and McCain has a long, long way to go. It isn't over, but McCain should be thankful the election isn't tomorrow.

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Rudy Will Stump for Cash

Christopher Weber — 2008-06-15T23:42:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Rudy Giuliani, Breaking News, 2008 President, Fundraising

Was there really a time when Rudy Giuliani was the GOP front runner? Surely that occurred in some alternate reality, right? These days Rudy is unemployed, aimless and deep in debt. To help get rid of some of that red ink, not to mention get back in the public eye, he has come up with an unorthodox idea. Rudy's offering to appear at fund raisers for Republican candidates... as long as some of the cash drummed up ends up in his coffers. That's right, he wants a percentage of the money he helps raise.

The unusual request underscores the financial predicament Mr. Giuliani finds himself in, after he ended his presidential bid this year with roughly $3.6 million in campaign debt. Traditionally, prominent party figures help lower-tier candidates by headlining fund-raising events in return for good will and future political alliances, but do not receive funds themselves.

Mr. Giuliani's debt includes a $500,000 personal loan that he made to the campaign, according to his latest campaign finance report.

Giuliani's plan is not sitting well with some GOP officials, who accuse him, anonymously, of selfishly trying to take money desperately needed by local candidates:

"In a year when our candidates are struggling to raise money, this is just another burden," said a leading Republican Party strategist, who was briefed about the mayor's request. "This is not about helping the party. This is about helping Rudy Giuliani."

Neither the GOP nor Giuliani's campaign is saying how many candidates have taken Rudy up on his cash grab. I'm betting that's because none have.

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Hillary Has Bills

Dave — 2008-06-06T09:57:00+00:00

Filed under: Hillary Clinton, 2008 President, Fundraising

And I'm sure she could use help from Obama to pay down some serious campaign debt:

The clock is ticking fast on her personal loan, made to her campaign after Super Tuesday, due to federal laws meant to keep politicians from lining their own pockets with contributions from contributors.

The last day Clinton can solicit contributions to repay the personal debt is Aug. 28 - the day Obama is set to be nominated at the Democratic convention. After that, Clinton can't be reimbursed by more than $250,000 - a tiny fraction of her outstanding loan.

Some reports have speculated that the personal loan may be much higher than the $11 million reported.

The other issue is Clinton's overall campaign debt, which has swelled to as high as $30 million, according to some reports.

And that's where Obama could come in and save her by telling his donors to direct their contribution to her payoff. I see that as unlikely. That article did not do a good job of explaining what happens after August, but this NPR article does:

The 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, however, pushes her the other way - setting no deadline for paying creditors but giving her only until the August convention to repay herself. After that, all but $250,000 of her $11.4 million in loans would automatically be converted into unrecoverable campaign contributions. The Millionaires Amendment in McCain-Feingold sets that deadline to prevent self-financing candidates from collecting and pocketing contributions years after their campaigns have folded.

Ah-ha, since a lot of this is actually Bill's money, this might explain a lot; her staying in, his blowing his top last week. They're probably going to end up personally in the hole for this venture. As it should be, since the Clintons are top earners and are likely to remain so. Assuming they stay married, as a divorce would open one big can of worms.

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No PAC $ for DNC, Conventions Hit 'Soft' Spot

Liza Porteus Viana — 2008-06-05T16:27:00+00:00

Filed under: Democrats, Republicans, Breaking News, 2008 President, Fundraising

Keeping in line with Barack Obama's policy, the Democratic National Committee won't accept donations from lobbyists and political committees heading into the general election against John McCain. Obama is keeping Howard Dean as the DNC head, and sent adviser Paul Tewes over to Democrats' headquarters to oversee the changes.

To be clear, AP notes - Obama does accept money from lobbyists who don't do business with the federal government and he accepts money from lobbyists' spouses and family members. He does have lobbyists for whom he relies on for policy and campaign support, even though they may not be paid. He has had unpaid advisers with federal lobbying clients, and some campaign officials have been lobbyists in their prior lives.

DNC officials said Thursday the committee had raised $4.7 million in May, bringing the total raised this election cycle to $82.3 million; $2 million came from PACs over the past 16 months. The Center for Responsive Politics says the DNC raised $53,360 from executives or associates in lobbying firms so far. Those numbers make up a small total of total money donated anyway. For comparison, the RNC said it raised $166 million so far and had $53.6 million in the bank at the end of last month. The DNC had $4 million in its account.

But another, perhaps more interesting, money story out today is that both Democrats and Republicans are using local "host committees" in Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul as vehicles for unlimited soft money contributions to their conventions this year.

A Campaign Finance Institute analysis, based in part on FOIA documents from governors, says these host committees are expected to pay for as much as 80% of convention expenses. Private financing is currently estimated to total $12 million, but that number could rise.

The CFI notes that after the 2002 law banned unlimited corporate, union and individual "soft money" to political parties went into effect, the FEC considered its exemption for host committee spending had turned into a huge loophole. But the agency decided that the system can carry on, since convention motivation is "a desire to promote the convention city and not by political considerations." (Ri-ight.)

But CFI found that this simply isn't reality, and that a loophole to the law is, in fact, being exploited.

"When one looks not simply at the formal organization of the host committee (as the FEC did) but at who is actually raising the money, one sees that the dominant roles are being played by teams of elected officials at all levels of government from the convention party and their associates in the party's network of financiers and operatives."

It also found that when officials ask for money, they're often promising special access to federal elected officials, national party leaders and other party influentials, in return.

"Contrary to the FEC's conclusion, 'political considerations' have a lot to do with host committee fundraising activity. All the more so when one considers that about half of the private money for both conventions this year is slated to come from out-of-state companies with relatively little desire to 'promote the convention city.'"

The Minneapolis St. Paul Host Committee defended the system, reports the Star-Tribune, saying the convention is an opportunity to showcase the Twin Cities and without the private donations, cities and the state would have to shoulder the costs.

A "rigorous compliance program in place" to make sure all its activities comply with all applicable fundraising, tax and campaign finance laws, the committee's CEO Jeff Larson said in a statement. All money raised and spent will be detailed in an FEC report, he said.

Get real, one Minnesota political insider who has worked with both parties told CFI.

"If I'm a Republican senator and there is a convention in my city, I want a successful convention not only for its civic value but partly for its political value," the insider says. "I have more at stake than a Democratic senator who can advance no political goals."

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On the Money

Christopher Weber — 2008-06-05T12:05:00+00:00

Filed under: Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 President, Fundraising

The onslaught of national campaign commercials usually begins after Labor Day, when candidates get their federal matching funds. But you'll be seeing Barack Obama ads right away since he's expected to skip federal funds, which means he doesn't have to adhere to rules about when and how much you can spend. The reason Obama can do that is because his campaign is filthy stinking rich.

Obama has out-raised John McCain more than three-to-one, $265 million to McCain's $90 million. Wow. And the money is still rolling in, of course, now that he's definitely the nominee.

"Money is not dispositive," said Jim Jordan, who advised (John) Kerry in his 2004 presidential campaign. "But I would rather outspend my opponent 4 to 1 than be outspent 4 to 1."

With Obama expected to face an onslaught from Republicans and their allies -- who may go after his lack of experience and his controversial former church affiliation -- having the money available now means at the very least that Democrats would be better positioned this year to respond to the kind of Swift boat attacks that damaged Kerry during his cash-starved weeks.

For his part, McCain isn't worried, yet. He's getting help from the Republican National Committee. Parties can raise a lot more at a time than individual candidates and it appears the RNC has and is ready to spend millions to help bridge the financial gap between the candidates.

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Denver Struggling to Raise Convention Cash

Christopher Weber — 2008-05-28T07:46:00+00:00

Filed under: Democrats, 2008 President, Fundraising, Conventions

In March we told you about the difficulty Denver was having getting funding for the Democratic Convention in August. The city needs just over $40 million by June 16 and today with little more than two weeks left it's still $15 million in the hole.

The main reason for the shortfall? Many place the blame on the ongoing nomination battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It seems donors don't want to pony up until they see a resolution.

The GOP on the other hand has plenty of cash:

The Democrats' situation contrasts markedly with that of the Republicans, whose committee is on budget in its $39 million fund-raising drive for the Republican National Convention, to be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul on Sept. 1-4. Teresa McFarland, a spokeswoman for the host committee, said it expected to meet its June 15 target of having 80 percent of the money raised by that date.

The Denver fundraising committee is scrambling to woo corporate underwriters and is even working up a backup plan in case the convention has to be held on the cheap.

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McCain Taps High-Roller Donors

Liza Porteus Viana — 2008-05-27T12:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, John McCain, 2008 President, Fundraising

As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton continue their battle for the Democratic nomination, John McCain has been raking in campaign contributions. He's still not raising anywhere near the amount of money as the two Democratic contenders, but he has the advantage of having the Republican National Committee machine behind him.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Arizona senator has been headlining of high-dollar GOP fundraisers from the San Joaquin Valley in California to Wall Street. As a reward for raising $250,000, former Univison Chairman A. Jerrold Perenchio, MGM Chairman Harry Sloan and eight will reportedly "receive a Private Greet with Senator McCain, a Private Reception with Photo Opportunity and Premier Seating at Dinner," reads the invitation to a Los Angeles event this week at the home of RNC finance committee chairman and venture capitalist Elliott Broidy. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nancy Reagan are expected to make appearances. That Times says the fundraiser is expected to take in more than $5 million for McCain and the Republican Party.

McCain's fundraisers are bringing in money for his campaign, as well as the state and national GOP operations. Because McCain is the presumed Republican nominee for the White House general election, he has access to RNC funds. He needs those funds to compete, especially if the money machine that is Obama is the Democratic nominee. McCain, for example, raised $18 million in April, as compared to Obama's $31 million. Whereas Obama romps the competition with money raised from small donors, McCain raises more - as a percentage of total money raised - than the Illinois senator from donors giving $2,300 or more

Although McCain himself can only raise $2,300 per donor because of campaign finance rules, the RNC can raise $28,500 per donor. Donors can give up to $10,000 to the California party's federal political action committee, plus another $2,300. The Times notes that by the end of April, McCain and the RNC had $62 million in the bank - $10 million more than Obama and the Democratic National Committee.The Times also plowed through campaign finance reports to highlight some who are maxing out their donations to McCain and the GOP. They include: Daniel F. Akerson, managing director of the Carlyle Group ($28,500 to the RNC in April); his wife, Karin Akerson ($2,300 to McCain); Chevron Chairman David O'Reilly ($28,500 to the RNC); hedge fund mogul Paul E. Singer, former Giuliani fundraiser, ($28,500 to the RNC on April 25, and $2,300 to McCain on April 30). Singer and partners at his Elliott Associates and their families gave $400,000 to the RNC and $14,800 to McCain in March and April.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports on the delicate balancing act the McCain camp has to do with the Bush White House. McCain will appear with President Bush at a Phoenix fundraiser today - the first time in nearly three months the two will be seen together. With Bush's popularity ratings at an all-time low, he's not exactly the first person McCain wants to be associated with. He agrees with many of the administration's policies but stresses his differences with them on the trail. But McCain needs the president's fundraising prowess.

A senior McCain adviser told the Journal the campaign concluded there was no way to avoid the two men being seen together given that the event was in the presidential hopeful's home state. Bush will headline two fund-raisers this week in Utah that McCain doesn't plan to attend. "We have a bunch of goals and sometimes they conflict, so you work them out," a McCain adviser told the Journal.

The Journal reports separately that McCain and Obama are battling for tech sector donations.

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Bush Helps McCain... Behind Closed Doors

Christopher Weber — 2008-05-27T10:40:00+00:00

Filed under: President Bush, Republicans, John McCain, 2008 President, Fundraising

The conundrum for McCain: George W. Bush can still draw rich Republicans willing to open their wallets in exchange for a photo with a sitting president. Unfortunately that president is wildly unpopular with the public, so no candidate wants to get too close to him. One GOP congressman went as far as to say Bush is "absolutely radioactive."

That sort of thinking has led the McCain campaign to scale back upcoming events featuring Bush. The president was to attend fundraisers in Arizona and Utah, both of which had been open to the public and press. Now the events have been moved indoors to the homes of private donors and away from prying eyes. The campaign is citing concerns over "privacy," whatever that means.

The Phoenix Business Journal reports that other factors also played a part: "Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside."

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A Question on Clinton's Debt: Please Help!

David Knowles — 2008-05-21T09:11:00+00:00

Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Democrats, 2008 President, Fundraising

One of our devoted readers, Mr. Sandy Clark, sent me a very good question this morning:

When Hillary does end her candidacy, does she get back the $22 million she has set aside for the General Election to offset her debt?

Clinton's campaign is now an estimated $20 million dollars in the hole. Some commentators speculated that she might be staying in the race so that she could raise money to help re-pay it. Given that she has not managed to bring her debt down following Indiana and North Carolina, it seems fair to say that this theory has been something of a stretch.

So, back to Mr. Clark's point. Clinton has received a lot of criticism for allocating much of the early money she raised for the general election.

Back then she was still functioning under Mark Penn's strategy of "inevitability." Barack Obama knew that, in order to overcome Clinton's name recognition, he'd have to outspend her big time, so he made sure to front-load his cash for the primary season. As the The New York Times reports:

Over all, Mr. Obama has raised $268 million, and he has spent it liberally in the battle for the Democratic nomination. Much of the money he takes in continues to come from small donors, with the average donation $91 in April. that month, the campaign also attracted 200,000 new donors, 94 percent of whom gave less than $200. Nearly 1.5 million have donated to Mr. Obama, the campaign said.

Mrs. Clinton has raised $215 million since the primary race began. But a larger part of Mrs. Clinton's money was earmarked for her general election campaign and could not be used in her primary effort. As a result, she has been forced to lend her own campaign money and delay paying creditors.

What about money a candidate raises for use in the primaries, but has left over at the end? Can it simply be rolled over into the general campaign? Obama currently sits on a war chest of approximately $37 million dollars. If the money cannot be rolled over, and Clinton stays in the race, Obama could simply run ads targeting McCain right up until the August convention, then hit his huge donor base up again for the general.

Unfortunately, for Clinton, once you allocate money for the general election, you can't touch it until that time. So could the final irony of the Democratic contest be that the money that could have won her the nomination will eventually be used to help pay off the debt she has incurred in a valiant losing effort?

Some will recall that Clinton transferred money left over from her most recent Senate election to help fund her presidential bid. If there are any campaign finance experts out there, we'd like to know whether this sounds plausible. I'll keep digging on this end.

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$31 Million in Debt

Dave — 2008-05-21T08:04:00+00:00

Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Breaking News, 2008 President, Fundraising

That's the Clinton campaign blowing out earlier estimates of $20 million, according to papers released in the wake of her Kentucky victory, presumably hoping the news would be lost in the uproar. Nope. My eagle eyes saw it this morning. I thought David Knowles would already have had a story filed, and that he did, but that was two weeks and $11 million dollars ago.

From the LA Times:

She added another $9.5 million in unpaid bills to vendors this past month alone, pushing her total debt to vendors and herself to the new astronomical figure, about a 50% debt increase in one month.

According to a campaign release put out Tuesday evening as election returns revealed her big win in Kentucky and loss in Oregon, Clinton raised "approximately $22 million" from other people in April. The release also touted that $10 million had poured in within 48 hours of another lopsided Clinton victory over Obama, that one in Pennsylvania, and said it was the second best fundraising month of her entire campaign.

But the number collected is actually closer to $21 million and the release also neglected to mention that she spent $28.9 million, nearly $8 million more than she took in. She used personal loans to make up part of the difference. She also delayed payments to consultants. Including the $9.5 million in unpaid bills from April, she owes consultants and other venders $19.5 million.

That's not surprising, as everyone knew she was taking the white knuckle approach to the election, the surprising part is that the Republican Party is catching up on fundraising:

...Obama's $46.5 million. But the Republican National Committee is proving to be a real financial equalizer for the Arizona senator with the notorious disaste for fundraising.

With significant time and help from President George W. Bush, the RNC ended April with $40.6 million in the bank-10 times more than the Democratic National Committee, which had a modest $4.4 million in the bank.

It appears that the Republicans are really benefitting from this drawn out Democratic primary. At least in monetary terms. The danger is that the money comforts them into thinking they can handle things in November. The GOP had a lot of money in November of 2006 as well.

As for Hillary, retiring campaign debts is hard for the loser, apparently. It's just that the Clintons are unaccustomed to losing.

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Hillary Implosion Watch

Dave — 2008-05-10T21:24:00+00:00

Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, 2008 President, Fundraising

Tommy has a great rundown, but let me add one interesting fact-o-tum to the mix. UPI is reporting that the Clinton campaign is out of money and canceling events:

The cash-strapped campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton has forced curtailments of political events and advertising as the primary season winds down, aides say.

...

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported options are being considered to allow Clinton a graceful exit from race with Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who leads in pledged delegates and popular vote.

One supporter familiar with the campaign said Clinton wanted to leave on an up note, possibly after winning a couple of the remaining primaries. The supporter also said Clinton would want a resolution concerning the seating of Florida and Michigan delegates, who lost their seats the Democratic national convention as punishment for the states' changing their primaries.

The last paragraph (emphasis mine) is an important one and the reason why she hasn't thrown in the towel yet. She will win in WV and KY, she may even blow Obama out, and this is where I disagree with Tommy, even with the late news, I don't think it's likely that she will lose outright. She will have more delegates and more bargaining power in a few days, so it would be quite easy to persuade her that she owes it to her supporters to stick it out for at least a little while longer.

And if that's so bad, why did Reagan go to the convention in 1976 and Kennedy in 1980. That was Kennedy's last hurrah, but Reagan weirdly enough might be an inspiration to Hillary (yeah I know!) . By going to the convention and fighting for his platform, he was able to set himself up for 1980, thanks to Gerald Ford's loss.

It's not outside the realm of possibility that Hillary doesn't care about the damage to the party, because she is setting herself up for 2012 in the face of an Obama loss. In this case, she would need Obama to actually lose, so again, her interests are aligned with McCain, not the Democratic party. If that's the scenario, she fights to the end, regardless of the delegate count. For the Democratic party, that's one ugly thing to think about. This is where my healthy dose of cynicism comes in handy.

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Hillary Support Crashing

Dave — 2008-05-09T07:44:00+00:00

Filed under: Hillary Clinton, 2008 President, Fundraising

As expected following her blowout in NC and squeaker in IN:

The campaign is clearly running low on cash, although advisers would not say how much money - or how little - Mrs. Clinton currently has. The campaign had started April with over $10 million in unpaid debts, and Mrs. Clinton was vastly outspent by Senator Barack Obama in North Carolina and Indiana.

...

Mrs. Clinton had been increasingly relying on Internet donations this spring from new and small-amount contributors; the day after she won the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, the campaign brought in a record $10 million online. But Hassan Nemazee, one of Mrs. Clinton's national finance chairmen, put the amount she collected online in the 24 hours after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries at only "$1 million-plus."

...

Still, other top fund-raisers working for Mrs. Clinton said that enthusiasm among donors had fallen sharply and that they had little confidence there would be a financial turnaround. They said that some donors had questioned why they should give more money when another set of numbers - the calculus to win enough delegates for the nomination - seemed so against Mrs. Clinton at this point.

The one bright spot for Hillary is that the next two primaries are in extremely friendly Clinton territory. Check the map.

Blue is for higher Clinton margin of victory which shows that both Kentucky and WV are smack in the middle of the demographical area that has been swinging for Clinton by large 40 point margins.

Although the Ohio and PA elections she was more viable, but still, if she is able to maintain these blowout conditions, at the very least, her bargaining power will increase over the next couple of weeks, not decrease. She's in it through May, for sure.

Thanks to Jay Cost for the map and he also aptly handles the Puerto Rico question.

There are good reasons not to take Puerto Rico lightly, even though the press has continued to do exactly that. I would note: (a) Puerto Ricans vote in large numbers (2 million in the last gubernatorial election); (b) Puerto Ricans have never had this important a role in United States presidential politics; (c) Puerto Rico's politics is focused at least partially on how (if at all) to adjust its relationship with the United States; (d) Puerto Rico's is an open primary, and the residents of the Commonwealth, who are United States citizens, do not see themselves as Republicans or Democrats.

The inference I draw is that Puerto Ricans could turn out in huge numbers. If they do, and they swing for Clinton in a sizeable way, the popular vote lead could swing, too. Add 290,000 votes from West Virginia and Kentucky to 250,000 votes from Puerto Rico, account for expected losses in Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota, and you get Clinton leading in many popular vote counts, some of which are really quite valid. If she has one of those leads when the final votes are counted on June 3rd, the race will go on to the convention.

Realistically, she still has only a small shot at the election, but she won't hurt herself by staying in through WV, KY, Oregon, and Puerto Rico.

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Is Clinton Broke Again?

David Knowles — 2008-05-07T09:22:00+00:00

Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Democrats, Featured Stories, 2008 President, Fundraising

That's the news leaked by The Drudge Report, a suspect source if ever there was one, but now confirmed by the AP and Howard Wolfson. The details? Hillary Clinton has dipped into her personal fortune once again, loaning her campaign another $6.4 million last month, and that she'll be transferring even more funds from the joint bank account soon.

The last time the alarm was sounded that hard financial times had befallen Clinton's campaign, donors opened their wallets big time, and came to her rescue. Since then, however, we've learned how much money the Clintons made since Bill left office, and, after yesterday's primaries, Hillary's chances suddenly look bleak at best. So will loyal Clinton supporters ride to the rescue yet again?

Camp Clinton has struggled with debt ever since Super Tuesday. Last night, I even heard one MSNBC pundit suggest that one factor in any deal paving Clinton's exit from the race would be for Obama to agree to pay off Hillary's outstanding campaign debts.

Meanwhile, kos wonders if Hillary will stay in the race to try and raise money to cover her debts. I suppose he means that she'd technically still be in it, hold fundraisers and continue to take in money online, but not actually spend all that much in the next few primaries.

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Clinton's In the Money

Faye Anderson — 2008-04-23T21:21:00+00:00

Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Democrats, 2008 President, Fundraising

Hillary Clinton is banking on her impressive victory in the Pennsylvania primary to convince superdelegates that she's more electable in November. In a memo to "Interested Parties," the Clinton campaign says:

The voters in Pennsylvania have spoken. America is listening. And the tide is turning.

By providing fresh evidence that Hillary is the candidate best positioned to beat John McCain in the fall, the Pennsylvania primary is a turning point in the nominating contest.

Despite making an unprecedented financial investment in his Pennsylvania campaign, including millions on negative ads in the closing days of the race, Sen. Obama again failed to win a state that will be vital to a Democratic victory in November and spurred new questions about his ability to beat John McCain. No candidate has ever had more resources or enjoyed the kind of momentum that Sen. Obama had in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania victory also means money in the bank. The Clinton campaign is on track to rake in $10 million in less than 24 hours. The New York Times reports:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is in the midst of a record-breaking fund-raising day on the Internet, collecting $8.3 million as of just before 6 p.m. today since the race was called for her in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, her campaign said.

The money has come from roughly 85,000 donors, about 70,000 of whom are new to the campaign, said Peter Daou, the Clinton campaign's Internet director. Donations have averaged a bit over $100, he said.

Nothing succeeds like success.

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McCain Opts for Public Financing

Mark Impomeni — 2008-04-22T10:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 President, Fundraising

Sen. John McCain's campaign is reportedly set to accept public financing for the general election campaign in the fall according to documents released by the campaign on Sunday. Members of McCain's finance team tell the Politico that the campaign will share expenditures with the Republican National Committee in a bid to stretch its campaign dollars and keep up with its Democratic rivals. McCain has thus far raised a total of about $72 million dollars for the primary, and reports having $11.5 million on hand. By contrast, Democrats Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama have raised totals of $195 million and $236 million respectively. Clinton reports having $32 million in the bank, while Obama has $51 million.

But while the numbers make his situation look bleak, the impact of McCain's decision to use public money may not be as great as it appears. McCain will be allocated $84.1 million for the general election to be used once he is officially nominated at the Republican National Convention in September. The general election ends on Election Day, November 4, leaving a little over two months for the general election season. That breaks down to $42 million per month for McCain, more than enough money to mount a vigorous campaign. In addition, should the Democrats nominate Obama, McCain will be able to criticize his rival for breaking a campaign pledge to accept public financing.

Back in early 2007, soon after announcing his candidacy and long before anyone envisioned his popular appeal or anticipated the huge sums of money he would be able to raise, Sen. Obama pledged to accept public financing for the general election if his Republican opponent would do the same. McCain accepted that pledge at the time and will look to hold Obama to his word. McCain previewed his line of attack on the subject recently in comments he made in reaction to Sen. Obama's announcement that he was reconsidering the public financing pledge.

"I committed to it. Now all those other discussions might be interesting and, I hope, over time, valuable. But the fact is he's saying one thing and he's doing another. I mean, that's indisputable. The piece of paper is there. He didn't talk about having discussions about third parties and all that when he committed to saying that he would take public financing if the Republican nominee did.

I am the presumptive Republican nominee; I will take public financing. Keep your word to the American people. He's always talking in his speeches about how we need to keep our word to the American people. Please keep your word to the American people on the commitment you made in writing."

This could be a particularly effective strategy for McCain, especially against a candidate like Sen. Obama. Obama's appeal is built almost entirely upon his self-crafted image as being a different kind of politician. With a comparatively thin record to highlight, Obama's campaign has based its message exclusively on the Senator's potential to transform American politics. But reneging on a commitment or being perceived as an opportunist is not new politics, it's politics-as-usual. If McCain can successfully paint Obama not as a bad politician, but just as a run-of-the-mill one, he will go a long way toward blunting Obama's money advantage.

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McCain's Money Challenge

Liza Porteus Viana — 2008-04-21T17:04:00+00:00

Filed under: John McCain, Breaking News, 2008 President, Fundraising

Sen. John McCain has decided to opt into the public financing system for his general election bid, essentially laying down a challenge for his Democratic White House opponent to do the same.

Political Machine confirmed today that the Arizona Republican will instead accept taxpayer money to finance his campaign. McCain will be eligible to receive about $84.1 million from the national treasury to run his campaign between his official September nomination at the GOP convention and Election Day. The Republican National Committee will also shoulder some of the costs. Politico reported the story earlier in the day.

"Our campaign intends to participate in the public financing system for the general election," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds told the Machine.

The McCain campaign is, however, leaving the door open to opting out of the system if their candidate's opponent also opts out.

The question now is: Will the Democratic nominee give up all that donor money and put him or herself on a level playing field - with spending limits - with the Arizona Republican so the country can have a real competition where headlines can be about issues, not about how much cash one has to throw away on ads?

Earlier this month, McCain said if his opponent is Obama and if he "decides not to take public financing, then obviously we have to evaluate our options on it." McCain has blasted Obama for changing his tune on public funds; last year the Illinois senator said he would use public money if his opponent did. But in recent months, the Democrat has showed signs that he is reconsidering that, even calling the system "creaky."

"John McCain's choice is to keep his word, which means he is going to opt into the public financing system and the only exception to that would be if his opponent broke his word," Bounds said today.Much of the news for sure will be about how McCain doesn't have an option, since he simply can't raise enough money to compete with his Democratic opponent to stay competitive, especially with the Democratic National Committee having more cash to spend then the Republican National Committee.

But do not be distracted. The larger issue is whether Obama or Hillary Clinton - whoever the official Democratic nominee turns out to be - keeps to tradition like every other presidential candidate has done in the past 30 years or so. Opting into that system allows candidates to focus on their message and the issues, instead of worrying about who's raking in more dough.

Both Obama and Clinton have had much more success than McCain fundraising via the Internet, so of course they're reluctant to give up that cash and opt into the public financing system.

March campaign finance reports released by the Federal Election Commission early this morning show that McCain raised about $14.5 million last month and has $11.6 million cash on hand. While that's a lot for him, the numbers are in stark contrast to the $42 million Obama raked in during that period; he has about $51 million cash on hand (with $662,784.55 in debts) Clinton took in about $21 million in March and had almost $32 million cash on hand, although she owes about $10 million in debts.

Let's see if the Democrats are up to the challenge.

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