NY Sun: Foreigners may be contributing to US presidential campaigns
posted at 10:05 am on February 12, 2008 by Bryan
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I thought McCain-Feingold was supposed to clean up campaign finance.
A torrent of secret money is flooding into the leading presidential campaigns, with more than $118 million, or one-quarter of the total raised in this cycle, banked without disclosure of who gave the funds or where the donations originated.
The money is coming from hundreds of thousands of donations of $200 or less, which have been widely praised for democratizing the system for funding White House bids. However, the surge in low-dollar gifts has come at the cost of transparency, since federal law only requires campaigns to itemize donations when a donor gives more than $200.
According to an analysis being released today by a Washington think tank, the Campaign Finance Institute, Senator Obama of Illinois led the pack with such small and secret donations, pulling in about $31 million during 2007. Rep. Ron Paul ran second in small gifts, raking in more than $17 million. At the end of the year, Senator Clinton and John Edwards, who has since dropped out, were essentially tied for third in unitemized, small contributions, with each candidate raising about $11 million.
The rules put the onus on the campaigns themselves to determine how and from where overseas funds can be accepted. Guess which candidate accepted funds from Syria and the “Occupied Territories?” Read the article to find out.
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Heh.
amerpundit on February 12, 2008 at 10:10 AM
Clint got 390 million from the Chinese.
dogsoldier on February 12, 2008 at 10:13 AM
Here’s a relevant question: What about anonymous pre-paid credit cards? Couldn’t those be used to donate to a campaign without a real way to verify the contributor?
CP on February 12, 2008 at 10:16 AM
So Clinton is the on giving the most scrutiny to overseas donations? I guess that’s understandable given past controversy.
frankj on February 12, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Nice that the big O is accepting dough from Iran, Iraq and all of our other friends. I seriously worry about that man and his allegiances.
pistolero on February 12, 2008 at 10:17 AM
I’ve bought people the VISA pre-paid cards and they’ve had to register their name and address with the card’s website before using it online. Not sure about the other cards, though.
amerpundit on February 12, 2008 at 10:17 AM
Hypothetical question: If Bill Clinton does a speaking engagement in China (or anywhere for an audience of Chinese nationals), and they pay him $1 million for his services, can Hillary turn around and “lend” that $1 million to her campaign?
aero on February 12, 2008 at 10:18 AM
what about the American Express gift cards and Visa Gift cards you can buy? I’ve never had to register those.
wonder how much osama has donated to obama?
jp on February 12, 2008 at 10:24 AM
The irony of CFR making it possible for Obama to enjoy the harvest is striking. I’m glad Soros is able to be up front and pay Juan Hernandez’s salary directly.
a capella on February 12, 2008 at 10:29 AM
the man knows his allies, and they know their useful idiot.
jp on February 12, 2008 at 10:31 AM
ya think?
Wade on February 12, 2008 at 10:31 AM
Half of them are probably voting, too.
bloggless on February 12, 2008 at 10:31 AM
All these millions spent for a job that pays $400,000 a year, it must have a great dental plan.
abinitioadinfinitum on February 12, 2008 at 10:33 AM
This one should have had the lead “Shocka”.
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on February 12, 2008 at 10:35 AM
Wade on February 12, 2008 at 10:35 AM
In a word? Yes…
You can use your own money for your campaign… in fact, Hill, just gave herself 5 million from her personal stash, or bill’s stash…
So yes…
Romeo13 on February 12, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Ya Think?
Hey, Hsu, how many more are there like you?
Lawrence on February 12, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Better yet. Since they are married, isn’t it community property? Isn’t it her money too? Can’t she spend her own money just like any other wealthy candidate?
Nosferightu on February 12, 2008 at 11:04 AM
Well, The Hildebeest’s campaign doesn’t have Al Gore trotting around Buddhist temples to fetch contributions this time. And Big Normy Hsu is in the slammer. When you lose your best fund-conduits, you have to be virtuous.
Osama Obama, who is getting a free pass from the media on everything he does — we don’t want to be racist by demanding he provide substantive answers, do we? — should be making people nervous as hell until he comes clean about his beliefs, backers and agenda, not delivering his doses of empty religious ecstasy.
MrScribbler on February 12, 2008 at 11:04 AM
A $199 donation isn’t that big a deal, but makes one wonder if the same person or entity isn’t making hundreds of them at a time using fake addresses.
Hollowpoint on February 12, 2008 at 11:07 AM
[Lawrence on February 12, 2008 at 10:58 AM]
Hsu is a naturalized American, not a foreigner.
Dusty on February 12, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Do you want to support a campaign that hasn’t been tainted by foreign money?
Huckabee.
ITookTheRedPill on February 12, 2008 at 11:21 AM
[ITookTheRedPill on February 12, 2008 at 11:21 AM]
Second look at tainted foreign money!
Dusty on February 12, 2008 at 11:38 AM
I don’t think the article claims that any of the candidates have ACCEPTED such donations, Bryan (altho I’ve no doubt that some of them have), it just claims that some of the candidates’ websites would appear to allow such donations.
Infidoll on February 12, 2008 at 11:46 AM
Paul is pandering for Syrian and “Occupied Palestinian” donations….much like he panders to neo-nazi’s who also hate the Jews/Israel and are hostile to America.
the same kind of crap about 9/11 conspiracies that are on Alex Jones radio show, also airs in those countries and Iran.
jp on February 12, 2008 at 1:13 PM
My man Ron Paul gets his donations from people with libertarian leanings, like my kids, and from little guys who believe his economic theories and ideas.
To suggest that malicious foreigners would help such a long-shot outsider when much more helpful enablers like Hillary & Obammy are available is idiotic.
I don’t ask anyone to endorse Ron Paul without first understanding American history, the Constitution, and the kind of economics that was taught before the Keynesian government economists got power. But I would bet my life that the people who donate money to him are all pro-American believers in the Constitution. They don’t deserve to be mocked. One day, when the debt-based economy crashes, Ron Paul will be seen as a man out ahead of his time — not a guy that outlived the distant past. Prophets are often despised in their time.
Mustafa Hemmroid on February 12, 2008 at 1:50 PM
And what they don’t accept ‘officially’ they will gladly take ‘under the table’.
And keep on taking if elected. But once elected, they are expected to actually do something for that money.
McCain-Feingold made this sort of thing more common.
Gracias, Juan Y Russ
LegendHasIt on February 12, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Bill makes a speech in a foreign country and receives a 1,000,000 fee. Hillary turns around and “loans” her campaign the 1.000.000. She then receives matching funds and life goes on. Thanks Lil Johnny.
volsense on February 12, 2008 at 2:04 PM
Really?
That is the most naive thing I have heard in months.
If you had said ‘the vast preponderance of the people’ I might have agreed, but ALL? No way, José.
LegendHasIt on February 12, 2008 at 2:05 PM
The odds on going from 5th from the bottom in your class at Annapolis to the Commander-in-Chief are in the millions.
volsense on February 12, 2008 at 2:05 PM
Sorry, Jose. I obviously can’t prove that NONE of Ron Paul’s supporters aren’t foreigners trying to support his isolationist views, but I am pretty convinced that no foreigner who has money is dumb enough to put money into a outsider, symbolic cause when there is a much more effective alternative.
I have run into dozens of Ron Paul supporters, some of whom I would not have guessed, and every one’s support was based on economic principles. None of them was fully comfortable with Paul’s foreign policy position, as I am not. The economic system is what concerns them (and me), and it will ultimately have a bigger impact on the future of this country than our foreign policy. In fact, it will dictate our future foreign policy. These people see a different set of future obstacles than others, but they are no less real than terrorism, unfunded future obligations, etc.
Mustafa Hemmroid on February 12, 2008 at 2:16 PM
In theory, Hillary would have access to all 1 million. Her campaign is using the talking point that Hillary is entitled to “half of Bill’s earnings”.
The NY Sun article is interesting. I can’t imagine the campaigns are really doing anything to verify donations under $200. It’s time consuming to track down donors and verify everything. Even then, you can only verify as much as they are willing to tell you as donors.
gabriel sutherland on February 12, 2008 at 4:42 PM
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