Posted on 04/11/2011 7:43:32 PM PDT by MNJohnnie
Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:
REPUBLICAN DONALD TRUMP’S PAST AND CURRENT GENEROSITY TO DEMOCRATS: Billionaire real estate tycoon Donald Trump's recent speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference excited a number of Republicans, many of whom applauded his statement that Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has "zero chance" of winning.
It also fueled speculation that the mogul would run for president. Cries of "you're hired!" to a Draft Trump 2012 website added to a growing sense of support among Republicans.
But that GOP support has not always been reciprocated by Trump.
According to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of Trump's federal campaign contribution history, The Donald has been a prolific donor to both Democrats and Republicans during the past two decades.
In all, Trump has contributed to 96 candidates running for federal political office since the 1990 election cycle, the Center finds. Only 48 of the recipients -- exactly half -- were Republicans at the time they received their contribution, including ex-Gov. Charlie Crist (I-Fla.) and ex-Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), who both of whom received their Trump contributions as Republicans.
Since the 1990 election cycle, the top 10 recipients of Trump's political contributions number six Democrats and four Republicans. Embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), who was censured last year by his U.S. House colleagues, has received the most Trump money, totaling $24,750. The most recent contribution from Trump to Rangel was a $10,000 gift during the 2006 election cycle.
In the most recent election cycle, Trump doled out $22,500 to political candidates, of which $16,200 benefited Democrats.
The top Republican recipient of Trump's money is Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who has collected $13,600 from the billionaire magnate, the second most of any politician. Trump did not contribute to McCain during the 2010 election cycle, during which the former presidential candidate was facing re-election.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) is the recipient of $12,000 in Trump contributions, including $10,000 for his 2006 re-election campaign.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has received the fourth-largest amount of Trump's contributions, including $4,800 in the successful 2010 campaign against Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle. In total Trump has contributed $10,400 to Reid.
In 2010, Trump also contributed $4,000 to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who easily won re-election. Schumer has received $8,900 from Trump since the 1996 election cycle. Trump has also been generous to New York's other Democratic U.S. senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, who's received $5,850 in Trump money.
After McCain, the Republican with the largest amount of Trump's contributions is former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), who left office in disgrace in 2006 when his online solicitation of male House pages became known. Trump contributed $9,500 to Foley between the 1996 and 2006 election cycles.
Trump has also supported other notable politicians, including:
• $7,000 to former Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), the "liberal lion of the Senate" • $7,500 to former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) • $5,500 to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) including $2,000 during his 2004 presidential run • $5,000 to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) • $4,000 to former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) • $2,000 to former President George W. Bush (R) • $1,000 to then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.)
Trump's donations to various political action committees and 527 groups also demonstrate his bipartisan checkbook.
During the most recent election cycle, Trump contributed $170,000 to the Republican Governor's Association, $50,000 to the ultra-conservative American Crossroads PAC, $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and $10,000 to the Democratic Party of New York.
However, of the nearly $420,000 Trump has donated to committees, the largest recipient has been the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee with $116,000 -- or more than one fourth of his total contributions to all party and political action committees.
Trump is not a serious candidate, not a conservative and not a real Republican.
He will probably end up running as an independent at some point and siphon off 5-10% of the Republican vote, thus splitting the right just enough to ensure 4 more years of Obama.
This guy has already said if he doesn’t win the GOP nomination he will likely go independent. Basically, he’s saying if he doesn’t win he will take his ball and go home and screw the party he suddenly claims to belong to.
We are likely to have at least one conservative Supreme Court justice retire between 2012-2016, and it is vital we get an actual Republican in office. Donald Trump is NOT a serious candidate and will never be President of the United States, unfortunately, even if he goes independent there is a small percentage of Republicans that are so fanatical about the BC issue that they will waste their vote on him.
Would you prefer a second helping of Barack Hussein Obama then? We will have to appeal to a general electorate as well as a primary electorate and it’s the general electorate that will close the deal one way or the other. It would feel good to vote for Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachman but they won’t appeal to the general electorate they way they appeal to the primary electorate. I don’t want to peddle RINO BS. I’m just offering a pragmatic opinion. take it or don’t. Seriously though, I dread the thought of a second term for BHO. OMG.
I find it interesting that Open Secrets, that is normally not afraid to post who donated what, said “ the Center for Responsive Politics” said this.... and not Open Secrets. Oh and by their way their link does not work. Hmmmmm????
If this is true, then I will wait to see what Trump has to say about it. Trump has not been a career politician he was out in the real world.
Nice try.... but its not going to work.
Trump has “more guts” than the rest of the Republican candidates
IMHO....
1. He’s NOT a politician.
2. He has nothing to lose, and everything to gain from running.
3. He can’t be hurt politically by the other politicians as he’s not one himself (this scares the hell out of all politicians).
4. He does not need to “spin” anything.
5. As such, he says what he means, and means what he says. This is absolutely the opposite of how politicians frame their words, thoughts, and deeds.
6. He is at least as intelligent as the stain, and has far heavier “street smarts” than the stain’s team
7. He has a wealth of “hands-on” management and administrative skills and experience - the stain (even to this point) has little of either.
8. He knows full well how to market himself, his ideas, and his objectives.
9. He has a fully functional managerial team of proactive experts, and
10. He hates to lose.
Yes....this is gonna be some fight!
well, you better keep a bucket handy then. lol
Another Huckatrump.
The idealists behind their keyboards are wringing their hands. Losers! Who cares what is the Donald’s current party registration. Party registrations are so passe, anyway. We’ve got ourselves a one party system, just like the Commies, who (learn your history) had nominal opposition parties in their domains, as negotiated with our genius politicians like the crippled schmuck FDR. People of this country like a practical man with common sense, who has the bollocks to stand behind his ideas. The Donald fits the bill. On the other side you have the ideologists, the Klintoons, the Obambis, the thoughtless rich like the Pelosis, who then do you choose?
Wanna rethink that statement? Here are some of the Democratic Senators in 1990:
• Dale Bumpers (D)
• Alan Cranston (D)
• Chris Dodd (D)
• Joe Lieberman (D)
• Joe Biden (D)
• Bob Graham (D)
• Daniel K. Inouye (D)
• Daniel Akaka (D),
• Alan J. Dixon (D)
• Paul Simon (D)
• Tom Harkin (D)
• George J. Mitchell (D)
• Paul S. Sarbanes (D)
• Barbara A. Mikulski (D)
• Ted Kennedy (D)
• John Kerry (D)
• Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (D)
• Carl Levin (D)
• Bill Bradley (D)
• Frank Lautenberg (D)
• Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D)
• Terry Sanford (D)
• Quentin N. Burdick (D)
• Kent Conrad (D)
• John Glenn (D)
• Howard Metzenbaum (D)
• Claiborne Pell (D)
• Ernest F. Hollings (D)
• Tom Daschle (D)
• Jim Sasser (D)
• Al Gore (D)
• Lloyd Bentsen (D)
• Patrick Leahy (D)
• Jim Exon (D)
• J. Robert Kerrey (D)
• Harry Reid (D)
• Richard H. Bryan (D)
• Robert Byrd (D)
• John D. Rockefeller IV (D)
• Herb Kohl (D)
Ross Perot, remember him? Maybe everyone should take a deep breath before getting on a similar bandwagon.
I don't have to. I lived thru those years.
I even lived thru the years when republicans tried the same thing with Ronald Reagan. Calling him a democrat who switched parties.
Hillarycare was hardly different than Obamacare in the nineties, and most of what they wanted to do was eerily similar then.
It was the loss of the house and senate that prevented them from getting most of the stuff they wanted done, not that they were truly more moderate.
Who cares as long as he’s getting under the skin of Obamabots.
I remember the Reagan era well as I supported him all three times for President. I don’t recall anyone having a problem with Reagan switching parties as he did so in 1964 (to support Goldwater, if now before). He didn’t switch parties (as an opportunist) to run for President.
Reagan’s opposition came from the Rockefeller Wing of the GOP (which is today known as the Bush Wing of the GOP, and attacks true conservatives).
You mean like this: Rodney Dangerfield's First Economics Class
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlVDGmjz7eM
“Maybe so, but at least he’s calling more attention to the BC than anyone else has.”
Talk is cheap, and its about him getting attention. The BC issue is designed to get attention not to do anything (it will go nowhere).
You mean like this:
Rodney Dangerfield's First Economics Class
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlVDGmjz7eM
born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York, NY (Meets the Jus Soli Requirement)
Parents were
Frederick Christ Trump, born October 11, 1905 in Queens, NY, died June 1999 in Queens, NY
Mary Ann MacLeod, born May 10, 1912 in SCOTLAND, died August 7, 2000 in Queens, NY. Arrived in US October 5, 1935. Married January 1936. Naturalized as a US Citizen March 10, 1942.
Both parents were US Citizens at the time of his birth (Meets the Jus Sanguinis Requirement)
Donald Trump is a NATURAL BORN CITIZEN unlike Comrade Barry Soetoro aka Barack Hussein Obama.
I know he didn't. But those republicans that bashed him for even thinking about even running for President used that as an excuse to try to destroy him which was their way of bringing their own candidate up in the polls.
They used the liberal approach which is destroy the other guy so my guy looks good rather than focus on bringing up their guy to be able to go against the one they opposed. End result? Their candidate never went up in the polls because they kept the spotlight so much on the republican they attacked they forgot to put the spotlight on their own candidate.
The Newsmax poll just released (which mirrors very closely to another poll released a few days ago) suggests that's happening again.
Trump MIGHT get past the primary but he wont. He has to say crazier pro-rightwing things to get people to the primary voters to vote for him.
The BC issue: he’s relentless. But this is a marathon. Too early for him to peak right now and there is a reason why Palin is silent. She’s allowing him to grab the MSM target for now.
I am very grateful also for the efforts Mr. Trump has made on the BC travesty, but I am suspicious of him as a candidate given his previous contributions and positions. Despite Bill Clinton’s comments the other day; I still feel that he may be doing this right now to clear the way for Hillary. Obama has reached a vulnerable point. His hope and change has turned this country’s prospects into a nightmare and people are starting to realize it.
All of a sudden we have a guy whose positions seem more in line with traditional democrats being the one to poke at Obama’s soft under-belly, and the media has been actually been going pretty easy on him. It seems a little too convenient, but who knows...
Trump is a Trojan Horse for Soros.
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