Free Republic

Governor's evolving rules on donors Some OK, Others Not: Schwarzenegger Insists He Can't Be Bought SACRAMENTO, Calif. - (KRT) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he is a new breed of politician, a man who rejects money from special-interest groups and won’t let powerful lobbyists run roughshod over Sacramento. Despite that pledge, the Republican governor has collected millions of dollars from friends, allies and companies with some of the biggest political interests in California. In the eight months since he declared his candidacy on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, Schwarzenegger has raised a record-breaking $27 million for himself and his...

<p>For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is his celebrity status as a Hollywood icon, Schwarzenegger's job is boosting state security costs, siphoning cash from political donors and draining dollars from his own wallet.</p> <p>He's too popular, aides said, to fly on commercial airlines, as predecessor Gov. Gray Davis did, so he uses private jets. So far, he's not sought reimbursement - aides said that may change - and air travel is costing him tens of thousands of dollars.</p>

Why is Amazon.com doing this? We're trying to take the friction out of grass-roots contributions to presidential candidates. We're making it as easy for people to contribute as it is to buy the latest Harry Potter. If you meet the necessary qualifications, contributing small amounts couldn't be easier. Is Amazon.com getting paid to do this? U.S. federal law prohibits us from donating services to any or all presidential campaigns, so we are charging the campaigns our usual and normal Amazon.com Payments fee ($0.25 per contribution and 2.5% of the contribution amount). We've also decided that we'll eventually contribute the aggregate...

BERLIN: Afghanistan’s top donors are to pledge some nine billion dollars to the war-torn country over the next four years at an international conference in Berlin this month, Germany’s daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday. The newspaper, citing sources at the German Overseas Development Ministry, said that the United States, Japan, Germany and Britain would maintain their current levels of aid for Afghanistan between 2005 and 2008, which taken together would ensure nine billion dollars in support. Afghan Finance Minister, Ashraf Ghani complained on Tuesday on a visit to Tokyo that his country would need 27.5 billion dollars to rebuild...

In its be all things to everyone philosphy, Amazon.com has a link to make campaign donations to all the announced candidates for president. G. W. Bush is in the lead with about 17k. Kerry is a 2.5k. If you want someone elected, you have to give them some $ to run a campaign.

John Kerry for President, Inc. Failed to Report Contribution of Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against John Kerry for President, Inc. for failing to report a campaign contribution that appears to be in excess of legal limits. A review of the reports John Kerry for President, Inc. (“the Committee”) submitted to the FEC indicates that the Committee received $850,000 in unsecured loans from the candidate, including $100,000 identified as “personal funds.” The Committee...

<p>ODD, JOHN KERRY has not yet spanked Viacom for its raunchy Super Bowl halftime show. This is interesting because Kerry fancies himself the warmonger on special interests who gouge us for our medicines and pollute our environment. Kerry warns he's coming, you're going, and don't let the door hit you on the way out.</p>

Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, frequently calls companies and chief executives "Benedict Arnolds" if they move jobs and operations overseas to avoid paying U.S. taxes. But Kerry has accepted money and fundraising assistance from top executives at companies that fit the candidate's description of a notorious traitor of the American Revolution. Executives and employees at such companies have contributed more than $140,000 to Kerry's presidential campaign, a review of his donor records shows. Additionally, two of Kerry's biggest fundraisers, who together have raised more than $400,000 for the candidate, are top executives at...

"Sen. John F. Kerry sent 28 letters in behalf of a San Diego defense contractor who pleaded guilty last week to illegally funneling campaign contributions to the Massachusetts senator and four other congressmen," the Los Angeles Times reports: Between 1996 and 1999, Kerry participated in a letter-writing campaign to free up federal funds for a guided missile system that defense contractor Parthasarathi "Bob" Majumder was trying to build for U.S. warplanes. . . . Kerry's letters were sent to fellow members of Congress--and to the Pentagon--while Majumder and his employees were donating money to the senator, court records show. During...

SACRAMENTO -- As one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, Arnold Schwarzenegger needed little financial help three years ago to get his political ambitions off the ground. But now as California governor, after the expensive recall campaign and commitments to push two measures on the March ballot, Schwarzenegger is turning increasingly to a core group of 10 old friends and business associates to help bankroll his campaigns. They're led by Paul Folino, head of an Orange County high tech firm, who has given nearly $1.4 million beginning with Proposition 49, a 2002 ballot measure that Schwarzenegger sponsored to benefit after-school programs. That...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A San Diego-based defense contractor pleaded guilty Wednesday to making donations to politicians he believed would help him win contracts, including Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and U.S. congressmen Duncan Hunter and Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Parthasarathi Majumder, the former president and chief executive of Science and Applied Technology Inc., made the contributions between 1993 to 1998 and also encouraged his friends and colleagues to do so, according to the U.S. Attorney General's Office. Majumder then reimbursed those donors more than $20,000, according to the plea agreement. U.S. election laws limit individual contributions to $1,000 to a candidate...

<p>Three Roseville City Council members scheduled to vote Wednesday on a major housing proposal accepted more than $43,000 from project developers, investors and nearby landowners, according to an analysis of campaign donations.</p> <p>Records show former Councilman Earl Rush, who resigned unexpectedly last year, took another $17,783 in contributions from people who stand to profit from the proposed development of 8,000 homes west of the city.</p>

Pelosi PAC Hit With $21K Fine By Brody Mullins Roll Call Staff February 9, 2004 A controversial fundraising committee run by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was slapped with a $21,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission for enabling Pelosi to funnel more than $100,000 in illegal contributions to Democratic candidates in late 2002 as she was vying to become Democratic leader.

Some notable Contributions by Fox in the 2004 political campaign: Troy Aikman (Fox Sports) - 8/14/2003, $2,000 - George W. Bush Gail Berman-Masters, Fox Broadcasting President of Entertainment - 3/21/2003, $1,000 - John Kerry Carol J. Blanton, Executive Assistant at Fox Broadcasting - 8/13/2003, $250, George W. Bush Amy Burkholder, Senior Producer, Fox News Channel - 7/22/2003, $250, Howard Dean Peter Chernin, Fox Studios - 3/31/2003, $2,000 - John Kerry Suzanne Feldman, Fox News Channel Sales Executive - $2,000 - 6/26/2003, George W. Bush David A. Grant, Fox Studios President - 3/6/2003, $2,000 - John Kerry Bert A. Solivan, Fox...

WASHINGTON (AP) - At least three times in his Senate career, Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry has recommended individuals for positions at federal home loan banks just before or after receiving political contributions from the nominees, records show. In one case, Kerry wrote to the Federal Housing Finance Board to urge the reappointment of a candidate just one day before a Kerry campaign committee received $1,000 from the nominee, the records show.``One has nothing to do with the other,'' said Marvin Siflinger, who contributed around the time of Kerry's Oct. 1, 1996, recommendation that he be reappointed for another term...

Feb. 9 issue - John Kerry needed cash, and soon. In July 1996 the Massachusetts senator was locked in a tough re-election fight, so he was more than happy to help when he heard that a generous potential contributor wanted to visit his Capitol Hill office. The donor was Johnny Chung, a glad-handing Taiwanese-American entrepreneur. Chung brought along some friends, including a Hong Kong businesswoman named Liu Chaoying. Told that Liu was interested in getting one of her companies listed on the U.S. Stock Exchange, Kerry's aides immediately faxed over a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The next...

<p>The lawyer who sued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over his $4.5 million campaign loans charged Wednesday that Schwarzenegger lied when he told reporters he had always intended to repay the loan out of his own pocket.</p> <p>Lowell Finley, who had access to Schwarzenegger's loan documents through discovery in the case, challenged Schwarzenegger to "come clean" by authorizing his bank to release loan papers so the public could see how he planned to pay off the debt.</p>

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California judge ruled on Monday that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger broke state law by borrowing more than $4.5 million to finance his run for governor in last October's recall election. In a preliminary decision that could force Schwarzenegger to repay the money personally, Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster ruled on Monday that the Republican governor had violated a law restricting candidates from accepting personal loans of more than $100,000 for their campaigns, said Lowell Finley, the lawyer who filed a lawsuit challenging the loan. "The judge ruled that Schwarzenegger's loans he obtained from a bank and...

<p>SACRAMENTO - Sticking to his vow to reject union money, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pledged Tuesday that he would turn aside union donations for his campaign to win support for two measures on the March 2 ballot that state leaders say are critical to rejuvenating California's fiscal health.</p>