Kerry no stranger to lobbyists' donations
Senator among top recipients in Congress from special interests
By Dana Wilkie and Joe Cantlupe
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON – In his quest for the White House, Sen. John Kerry says he is committed to sweeping out the "special interests" he contends are trying to manipulate federal laws and policies.
But the Massachusetts lawmaker and Democratic presidential front-runner is among Congress' top recipients of money from some of those special interests – drug companies, HMOs, lawyers, investment firms, real estate interests and contractors, among others.
Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan said the senator is only running against "the big companies that the Republicans have brought inside the White House to write legislation that directly benefits their companies."
On Wednesday, Kerry gave a speech in St. Louis in which he accused the Bush administration of perpetuating a "creed of greed" that undermines the interests of many Americans.
"I've got news for the HMOs and the big drug companies and the big oil companies and influence peddlers. We're coming and you're going," Kerry said. "And don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
It is a regular refrain popular with Kerry supporters, who have started to shout out the last line in unison.
But Kerry has taken plenty of money from large, wealthy and influential groups.
This election cycle, Kerry took $531,251 from the health care industry, putting him among the top four recipients of such money – just behind President Bush and Democratic presidential contenders Howard Dean of Vermont and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
Nearly $34,000 of that money came from HMOs or other health services companies, and an additional $55,650 came from pharmaceutical companies and firms that make other health products. He also has received funds from doctors and other health professionals.
Kerry also accepted $26,700 this election cycle from the oil and gas industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks how campaign money affects elections and public policy. That makes him one of the Senate's top 20 recipients of such money.
"I don't think anyone who has been in the Senate as long as Kerry has can really consider himself a maverick, or someone who is above the fray," said Keith Ashdown, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan group that examines political relationships with lobbyists.
But some campaign finance reform advocates applaud Kerry, who has been in Congress 19 years, for refusing to accept contributions from political action committees, which can pool the resources of its members to give large campaign gifts.
Theoretically, a "special interest" can be anything from a big Wall Street firm to an animal-rights group that wants anything from Congress, campaign finance experts said.
"I think most people understand that special interests are the organizations and the corporations – the wealthy individuals – who have the money to really bankroll political campaigns and then get access and influence in Washington," said Celia Wexler, research director for Common Cause, a government watchdog group. "We're not all treated to that special access."
"Part of what Kerry and other Democrats are saying is that they would represent other interests, presumably broader interests like working men and women, and environmentalists," said Thomas Mann, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
Kerry is among Congress' top three recipients of campaign donations from lawyers and lobbyists – having taken $3.3 million this election cycle. The only two people taking more money from this group were Bush and Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, the North Carolina senator and former trial lawyer.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Kerry is in a key position to influence laws that affect the airline and automotive industries.
This election cycle, the senator was among the top 10 recipients of money from such transportation interests – $87,925.
The construction industry, whose contractors and engineers make billions of dollars from federally funded transportation projects, gave the senator more than $306,000 this cycle, putting Kerry among the top three recipients of this sort of money.
He took $160,220 from general contractors, the companies that typically work in public transportation projects. Only Bush took more – $1.4 million.
Kerry was second to the president in the amount – $2.6 million – he took from the finance, insurance and real estate industries.
He was among the top three recipients – behind Bush and Dean – in the $883,950 he took from the communications and electronics industry.
Kerry was criticized for intervening in 1999 in a Coast Guard rule-making process that affected a foreign cable manufacturer – then taking $7,250 in campaign contributions from the lobbying firm that represented the cable company, according to The Hill newspaper.
Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040130-9999_1n30kerry.html
Senator among top recipients in Congress from special interests
By Dana Wilkie and Joe Cantlupe
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON – In his quest for the White House, Sen. John Kerry says he is committed to sweeping out the "special interests" he contends are trying to manipulate federal laws and policies.
But the Massachusetts lawmaker and Democratic presidential front-runner is among Congress' top recipients of money from some of those special interests – drug companies, HMOs, lawyers, investment firms, real estate interests and contractors, among others.
Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan said the senator is only running against "the big companies that the Republicans have brought inside the White House to write legislation that directly benefits their companies."
On Wednesday, Kerry gave a speech in St. Louis in which he accused the Bush administration of perpetuating a "creed of greed" that undermines the interests of many Americans.
"I've got news for the HMOs and the big drug companies and the big oil companies and influence peddlers. We're coming and you're going," Kerry said. "And don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
It is a regular refrain popular with Kerry supporters, who have started to shout out the last line in unison.
But Kerry has taken plenty of money from large, wealthy and influential groups.
This election cycle, Kerry took $531,251 from the health care industry, putting him among the top four recipients of such money – just behind President Bush and Democratic presidential contenders Howard Dean of Vermont and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
Nearly $34,000 of that money came from HMOs or other health services companies, and an additional $55,650 came from pharmaceutical companies and firms that make other health products. He also has received funds from doctors and other health professionals.
Kerry also accepted $26,700 this election cycle from the oil and gas industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks how campaign money affects elections and public policy. That makes him one of the Senate's top 20 recipients of such money.
"I don't think anyone who has been in the Senate as long as Kerry has can really consider himself a maverick, or someone who is above the fray," said Keith Ashdown, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan group that examines political relationships with lobbyists.
But some campaign finance reform advocates applaud Kerry, who has been in Congress 19 years, for refusing to accept contributions from political action committees, which can pool the resources of its members to give large campaign gifts.
Theoretically, a "special interest" can be anything from a big Wall Street firm to an animal-rights group that wants anything from Congress, campaign finance experts said.
"I think most people understand that special interests are the organizations and the corporations – the wealthy individuals – who have the money to really bankroll political campaigns and then get access and influence in Washington," said Celia Wexler, research director for Common Cause, a government watchdog group. "We're not all treated to that special access."
"Part of what Kerry and other Democrats are saying is that they would represent other interests, presumably broader interests like working men and women, and environmentalists," said Thomas Mann, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
Kerry is among Congress' top three recipients of campaign donations from lawyers and lobbyists – having taken $3.3 million this election cycle. The only two people taking more money from this group were Bush and Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, the North Carolina senator and former trial lawyer.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Kerry is in a key position to influence laws that affect the airline and automotive industries.
This election cycle, the senator was among the top 10 recipients of money from such transportation interests – $87,925.
The construction industry, whose contractors and engineers make billions of dollars from federally funded transportation projects, gave the senator more than $306,000 this cycle, putting Kerry among the top three recipients of this sort of money.
He took $160,220 from general contractors, the companies that typically work in public transportation projects. Only Bush took more – $1.4 million.
Kerry was second to the president in the amount – $2.6 million – he took from the finance, insurance and real estate industries.
He was among the top three recipients – behind Bush and Dean – in the $883,950 he took from the communications and electronics industry.
Kerry was criticized for intervening in 1999 in a Coast Guard rule-making process that affected a foreign cable manufacturer – then taking $7,250 in campaign contributions from the lobbying firm that represented the cable company, according to The Hill newspaper.
Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040130-9999_1n30kerry.html
