Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Right has few deep pockets
American Conservative Union ^ | 6/15/04 | David Keene

Posted on 06/15/2004 1:35:53 PM PDT by diotima

 

Register Early for CPAC 2005

The Hill
Tuesday, June 15, 2004

David KeeneRight has few deep pockets
By David Keene

Back in 1980, the late Terry Dolan, chairman of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC), asked me to head up an independent effort supporting Ronald Reagan's campaign against President Jimmy Carter. Dolan felt he could raise substantial funds and quickly persuaded me to sign on.

Independent expenditures of the sort we planned were perfectly legal as long as we resisted the temptation to coordinate any of our activities with the official campaign. We spent nearly $3 million (a lot of money in those days) and like to think we helped Reagan drive Carter from the White House.

At about the same time, a number of establishment Republicans led by Rod Hills, who had served as President Ford's counsel, launched a similar effort to be financed by raising big bucks not from activists but from more traditional givers within the business community. Their effort failed for many of the same reasons this year's effort to match the Democrats in forming and raising money for the so-called "527" independent groups is running into trouble.

It didn't take Fred Wertheimer, who headed Common Cause at the time, long to file Federal Election Commission complaint charging that the Hills effort was, in fact, something less than independent and therefore could not legally accept contributions for an independent-expenditure campaign. The charges were essentially baseless, but they had the desired impact: The money Hills and his friends were expecting never materialized.

I ran into Wertheimer at a party just after the charges were filed and asked him why Common Cause targeted Hills and ignored us. He told me quite candidly that he believed the charges alone -- provable or not -- would be enough to derail the Hills effort but that the kind of people we were relying on for our money probably couldn't be as easily "scared off."

Wertheimer was right. The ideological contributors we were counting on may not have had the deep pockets of Hills's big givers, but they truly believed in Ronald Reagan and were ready to put their values and their money on the line regardless of what Common Cause might say.

The problem the organizers of Republican 527 groups face today is that there aren't many Republican or conservative givers with the deep commitment of a Jane Fonda or the resources of a George Soros. Conservative true believers tend to give what they can, but that's usually more like a hundred dollars than a million. By way of contrast, Soros, Progressive Insurance Corp. Chairman Peter Lewis and Hollywood's Stephen Bing has each already given more than $7 million to liberal or Democratic 527s.

A lot of rich Republican-leaning business types out there would write sizeable individual and corporate checks to the party if they could, and many, many more would be willing to contribute a couple of thousand dollars to President Bush's re-election campaign, but very are few willing to give big bucks to a conservative independent effort, even one organized by well-known fellow establishmentarians.

There are good reasons for that. Non-ideological contributors tend to be politically risk-averse. Giving to a party (or both parties) is safe; giving to a 527 might bring scrutiny and criticism. The GOP benefits from the activities of nonparty and non-sanctioned groups, but party leaders have never really appreciated or encouraged them.

Indeed, the leaders have tended to see the groups as competitors and have actively discouraged the party's best supporters from contributing to the groups.

And, finally, few big GOP givers are ideological, self-motivated conservatives. There is no conservative George Soros, and it is virtually impossible to imagine three people giving anything like $7 million each to independent Republican or conservative organizations. Rich Democrats are often strong liberals; rich Republicans tend to be moderates.

A former GOP national chairman predicted last year that this would be a problem once McCain/Feingold became law. "If they can't give to the party, their money is more likely to go to the Sierra Club and Common Cause than to the American Conservative Union or the National Rifle Association," he said.

As a result, Democratic 527s are on track this year to raise and spend as much as $300 million to take out Bush, while their Republican counterparts will be lucky to raise 10 percent of that.


David Keene is chairman of the American Conservative Union and a Washington-based government affairs consultant.

 



TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 527; 527groups; acu; bush; campaignfinance; cfr; davidkeene; democratscheat; donors; elections

1 posted on 06/15/2004 1:35:56 PM PDT by diotima
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: abner; DoughtyOne; Nick Danger; Bob J; Seeking the truth; MinuteGal; diotima; Libertina; ...

ping!


2 posted on 06/15/2004 1:37:16 PM PDT by diotima (Telegram Sam, you're my main man)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: diotima

George W. Bush signed the law that made 527's possible. Pardon me if I fail to sympathize


3 posted on 06/15/2004 1:42:48 PM PDT by Charlotte Corday
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: diotima
Indeed, the leaders have tended to see the groups as competitors and have actively discouraged the party's best supporters from contributing to the groups.

That's the Bob "it's my turn" Dole mentality: power over principle.

4 posted on 06/15/2004 1:43:04 PM PDT by Know your rights (The modern enlightened liberal doesn't care what you believe as long as you don't really believe it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Charlotte Corday

527's were written into law to do one thing and the electon commission neutered the law. In essense when the Democrats discovered the law was hurting them, they changed the definitions to make the law back to square one.


5 posted on 06/15/2004 1:58:39 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: longtermmemmory
The GOP controls the FEC, not the Democrats. Signing that law was realy idiotic. Let us hope it is challenged during the quite period.

And the article is wrong about 527 scrutiny - they do not have to say who the donors are and they may be international donors. The Rats are going to end up with 2 to one moneyies this year.

This is the sort of political corruption that one sees in Latin America. I cannot for the life of me see why the GOP let themselves get pushed into this corner.

6 posted on 06/15/2004 2:03:38 PM PDT by CasearianDaoist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: All

I suggest anyone using Progressive Insurance switch to another company. Because, according to this story, Progressive Insurance Corp. Chairman, Peter Lewis, likes to give to the liberal 527s..... Let's make those pockets not so deep!


7 posted on 06/15/2004 2:04:36 PM PDT by fhlh ("Work Harder.... Millions of people on welfare are counting on you!!!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: diotima

Thanks for posting this. I read it today but had no time to post.


8 posted on 06/15/2004 2:05:22 PM PDT by Constitution Day (Burger Eating War Monkey)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Thud

FYI


9 posted on 06/15/2004 2:06:48 PM PDT by Dark Wing
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Charlotte Corday
George W. Bush signed the law that made 527's possible. Pardon me if I fail to sympathize...

I think 527s were around before that time...the new BS CFR law didn't make them possible. :)

10 posted on 06/15/2004 2:14:01 PM PDT by Recovering_Democrat (I'm so glad to no longer be associated with the Party of Dependence on Government!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Charlotte Corday
George W. Bush signed the law that made 527's possible. Pardon me if I fail to sympathize

They already existed, the CFR law just "rolled" the moola in their direction.

McCain should be using his considerable press power to Squawk loudly, but he'd prefer telling them he's sorta not gonna run with Kerry.

What a high minded guy, NOT!

11 posted on 06/15/2004 2:25:14 PM PDT by Mister Baredog ((Part of the Reagan legacy is to re-elect G.W. Bush))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: diotima
As a result, Democratic 527s are on track this year to raise and spend as much as $300 million to take out Bush, while their Republican counterparts will be lucky to raise 10 percent of that.

Bush already has that to date in his war chest. Once the Christian and Conservative 527's start kicking in, they'll be double the Rats!

12 posted on 06/15/2004 3:10:23 PM PDT by Bommer (RIP Ronald Reagan!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: diotima

Well, we've talked about this before.... If conservatives don't put their money and actions where their mouths ae, they'll get trounced.


13 posted on 06/15/2004 7:31:05 PM PDT by Libertina (Reagan showed us what being a great president was all about. Thank you sir for bringing pride!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson