Where Conrad Burns Gets His Money
I started to wonder who was donating to Burns. You can tell a lot about who a candidate will be representing by who gives them money. One important factor in the trail is what class is the money coming from, PAC's or individuals. According to data from Open Secrets, 34% of Burn's money has come from PACs, while Tester has only 12% from these interest groups. About 56% of Burns financing comes from individuals, while the people powered Tester campaign has gotten a whopping 86% from individual donors.
I don't necessarily believe that all PAC donations are bad, not all groups are created equal. I made a list of interesting contributers below from the full list here.
Big Oil and Energy:
Exxon Mobil Corporation PAC
Anadarko Petroleum Corp
Mirant Corporation PAC, Inc
KCS ENERGY INC
Action Cmte For Rural Electrification
American Electric Power Cmte Resp Govt
Shell Employees Political Awareness Cmte
Big Tobacco
Lorillard Tobacco Co Pub Affairs Com PAC
RJ Reynolds Tobacco CO PAC
Big Medicine:
Baxter Healthcare
American Surgical Hospital Assn I
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery PAC
American Assn of Orthodontists
American Society of Plastic Surgeons Inc
Nat'l Assn of Health Underwriters PAC
Big Travel:
Intl Council of Cruise Lines
American Assn of Airport Executive PAC
Continental Airlines Employees Fund PAC
Nat'l Air Transportation Assn PAC
Nat'l Business Aviation Assn Inc PAC
Northwest Airlines PAC
Southwest Airlines Pilots Assn PAC
Idealogues:
Rely On Your Beliefs Fund PAC
While these sources were interesting, I think that most telling part can be found in who did not donate. While looking through the list, I failed to notice a single conservation group or education group. I suppose they know that Burns is no friend of education or the environment. He does like smoking, big medicine and big energy.
5 comments:
Yep, there is an article on that on that at Wikipedia
I remember when the 'scandal' broke. Here is the Washington Post article.
Ahem ... you know that if you stand back far enough, both parties blend into one.
Ahem ... you know that if you stand back far enough, both parties blend into one.
Ahem ... you know that if you stand back far enough, both parties blend into one.
Mark,
I really dont share you cynycism. Yes, there are intersections in their platforms. However, there are fundamental differences in their intents and purposes that make for a quantifiable difference. Sure, there are bad apples on both sides, but their is a difference of spirit from the democratic party that even a jaded old guy like yourself can't deny.
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