Posted on 07/14/2004 8:03:29 PM PDT by nypokerface
WASHINGTON - A pro-Republican get-out-the-vote group aimed at counteracting multimillion-dollar organizations that oppose President Bush has logged its first $1 million donation.
The Progress for America Voter Fund received $1 million in June from Jerry Perenchio, chief executive of the Univision Communications Inc. Spanish-language media company. Perenchio, a volunteer GOP fund-raiser, has also raised at least $100,000 for Bush's re-election effort.
Perenchio's donation was among three accounting for nearly all the $2.26 million the Progress for America Voter Fund raised in the second quarter, a report by the group to the Internal Revenue Service shows.
The group also received $500,000 each from Carl Lindner, chairman of Ohio-based American Financial Corp., and Paul Singer of the Elliott Capital Partners investment firm in New York. Lindner raised more than $200,000 for Bush's campaign. Singer collected at least $100,000 for Bush.
The Progress for America Voter Fund is collecting unlimited donations from corporations and individuals known as "soft money" contributions.
The group beefed up its fund-raising efforts after the Federal Election Commission this spring decided against imposing new restrictions on nonparty soft money groups, rejecting the GOP's contention that pro-Democratic interest groups were breaking campaign finance laws with a multimillion-dollar soft money effort to get out the vote against Bush.
Several anti-Bush soft money groups were formed after a law took effect in November 2002 banning the national party committees from raising soft money. While pro-Republican interest groups also appeared, they have raised far less soft money overall than the pro-Democratic efforts have, though Bush has raised millions more in limited "hard money" donations from individuals than has Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
Other soft money groups raising $1 million or more from April through June included the Democratic Governors' Association, $1.9 million; and the Republican State Leadership Committee, $1.1 million, quarterly contribution data compiled Wednesday by the nonpartisan Political Money Line campaign finance tracking service shows.
ON THE NET
Internal Revenue Service: http://forms.irs.gov/politicalOrgsSearch/
Political Money Line: http://www.politicalmoneyline.com/
If the GOP is the party of the rich, how come the GOP can't get any allied 527s the $10+ million dollar donations that the Dems rake in?
And while I'm at it... given that 527s are legal, what's the point of campaign finance law to begin with?
"what's the point of campaign finance law to begin with?"
To keep out the "riff-raff" --- US!
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I think someone switched the campaign finance law with the immigration laws...
Everyone against CFR predicted that money would find a way to candidates, and it turns out, they were right. Eliminate 527s and then there'll be something else. And it'll continue that way until they repeal the First Amendment.
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