Posted on 03/22/2004 1:54:05 PM PST by .cnI redruM
Rex Sinquefield gave all the campaign donations he could to U.S. Rep. Patrick Toomey, the Republican trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter. But he did not stop there.
The California investment banker then dropped $40,000 on the Club for Growth, a conservative Washington group that considers Specter's defeat its top priority.
The cross-country contributions highlight a central component of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race: It is playing to a national audience. In the face of a clash between the moderate and conservative wings of the Republican Party, Toomey and Specter are raising a large portion of their money outside the state.
An Inquirer analysis of campaign data found that Toomey, a three-term congressman, has raised half of his $1.5 million in individual contributions from other states.
"For a House member who was literally anonymous when his campaign began, it is extremely rare," said Larry Sabato, a professor of political science at the University of Virginia.
Specter has collected 44 percent of his $8.4 million in individual contributions from other states. The amount is larger than for his 1998 campaign, but not unusual for a well-known incumbent, political experts say.
The analysis includes only individual contributions of $200 or more because donations smaller than that are not detailed in campaign filings.
The key for Toomey has been the support of the Club for Growth, a scrappy five-year-old group that backs candidates who adhere to strict principles of limited government and lower taxes. The club decided early last year that its top congressional target would be Specter.
The club since has raised at least $700,000 for Toomey by collecting, or bundling, donations from its nationwide network of members and sending them to the campaign, said David Keating, the group's executive director.
The Inquirer analysis found that more than 175 people who gave $225,000 to Toomey also provided more than $1.4 million to the club through its political action committee and 527 committee - sources for TV ads and other political activities.
So-called 527s - committees formed under Section 527 of the IRS code - have emerged as a legal avenue for independent groups to collect the large unregulated contributions, known as soft money, that political parties have been prohibited from raising since 2002.
The club's 527, which has spent at least $500,000 on anti-Specter TV ads, raised $4 million in the last two years, Keating said. The donor list is dominated by financial firms and leaders of conservative causes.
Groups operate both a 527 and political action committee, which must abide by contribution limits, to provide flexibility in influencing elections, said Derek Willis, coauthor of a campaign-financing report for the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity.
"It gives them options: If you have a wealthy donor who gives the maximum amount to the federal PAC, they don't have to stop there," Willis said.
One wealthy donor is Richard Gilder, a New York financier and philanthropist who serves on the club's board. He contributed the maximum amount allowed under law to Toomey ($2,000 each for the primary and general elections) and the club's political action committee ($5,000). But Gilder extended his reach by donating $300,000 in November to the club's 527 committee, according to IRS filings.
The club has also linked Toomey to less probable money sources, such as Thomas Selby, a 77-year-old retired accountant. He lives on the Puget Sound in Washington, about as far away as one can get from the Senate race without leaving the country.
Selby cut two checks totaling $1,100 for Toomey, a guy he's only read about.
"Frankly, he is not my kind of Republican," Selby said of Specter, explaining why a Pacific Northwest retiree would take an interest in a Pennsylvania campaign.
Among 29 U.S. Senate candidates in the five largest states this year, Toomey is the only one who has raised more than $1 million and taken in more than half from out of state.
In Pennsylvania's 2000 Senate race, incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and Democrat Ron Klink raised 17 percent and 27 percent, respectively, from outside interests.
Specter, 74, has criticized Toomey as being too cozy with the club. He alleged in a Federal Election Commission complaint last month that they were coordinating their TV advertisements, a violation of federal law.
Specter even used the relationship as a rallying cry in a fund-raising letter this month.
Toomey "supports a narrow political agenda far from the mainstream of Pennsylvania tradition," Specter wrote. "But deep-pocketed groups from out of state support him. One such group has boasted that it has already raised more than $1 million for him. Stephen Moore, the head of that group, Club for Growth, has publicly declared that he wants 'my scalp on the wall' - so they can make other Republican Senators 'behave.' "
Without the club, "Toomey would not have a campaign," said Christopher Nicholas, Specter's campaign manager.
Toomey, 42, of Lehigh County, said he made "no apologies" about his donors.
"Club for Growth members are contributing to my campaign because they believe I will do more to help advance policies that will encourage economic prosperity," Toomey said. "They know that Arlen Specter votes to raise taxes for enormously wasteful government spending and supports all kinds of excessive regulation."
In New Jersey, the club had targeted now-retired U.S. Rep. Marge Roukema for her moderate views, as well as other prominent moderate Republicans.
Toomey said Specter had benefited from his own narrow interests - lawyers, who are the single largest industry to donate to his campaign.
The club has been the most active third party in the race, but it hasn't been the only one.
Members of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership have contributed $250,000 to Specter, as well as thousands more to the group's 527 committee, said Sarah Chamberlain Resnick, the executive director. Anti-Toomey TV ads will be released in April, she said.
In the meantime, Toomey and Specter are expected to continue their nationwide hunt for cash until the April 27 primary.
They will be looking for more people like Lawrence Field, a Beverly Hills developer who lives in the wealthy 90210 zip code. He said he receives a handful of political solicitations each day.
This year, Field blanketed the Pennsylvania primary. He gave $1,000 to Specter. But as a club member, Field slipped a little extra to Toomey - $1,250.
But remember, PA went for Gore. Philly and Pittsburgh kill conservative ambitions here. Shalom.
Oh the irony. Did the guy who cites foreign legal jargon in United States courts vote for CFR? I'll bet he did. May he reap what he has sown.
The 16th amendment radically changed the relative power of the federal government versus the state governments. Prior to the 16th amendment, the state legislatures appointed senators. This meant that senators had lots of incentives to prevent passage of legislation that would take power from the state government and give more power to the federal government.
Direct election of senators means senators are more concerned with pleasing the marginal voter within each state to get reelected every six years rather than maintaining good relations with the state legislature back home. Another thing that should be mentioned is that marginal voters can be located anywhere within a state. When legislatures elected senators it was important to pay attention to different constituencies throughout a state, because gain a large number of votes in a highly concentrated geographical area would not help elect a senator. A senate candidate would have to win votes from state legislators representing at least 50% + 1 of the districts in each house of the state legislature. With direct election of senators, a senator can safely ignore vast areas of his or her own state and pile up huge majorities in large urban areas. This is why states with very large urban areas elect much more leftists senators.
Shalom.
Shalom.
I hope you like junk mail.
OTOH: Toomey always sends a stamped envelope. You can cut the stamps off and use them.
I don't mean to be rude, but like you, I decide how much I have to give, then give it. When they take my first donation as a sign there may be more, it makes me grumpy.
One of the campaign's recent tricks was to mail me a $1 bill in a clear envelope so I could see the dollar. I mailed the bill back in the stamped envelope. That way they only wasted $.63 plus the original postage.
Shalom.
If the Republicans could hold the Senate with a Democrat senator from PA, I would vote for a Democrat against Sen. Spectacle. That's because Spectacle is likely to be head of the Judiciary committee. That would be worse than another junior Dim. senator.
As they say, "Go, Pat! Go."
Shalom.
It would be so great to see Specter out and Toomey in.
Thanks for the link
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.