Buying The Presidency: The Democrats, Part 2

The second part of our story on who’s buying the 2008 Democratic presidentialcandidates.Buying The Presidency: The Democrats, Part 2By Cliff Montgomery – June 30th, 2007With the 2008 presidential candidates having amassed more than $150 million after the initial three months of fundraising, it’s time for you to discover just which big business groups are buying which candidates.We’ll run down the candidates for each party, going from the current front-runner to those unknown even by most of their own.Wednesday and Thursday we revealed who is buying each of the Republican candidates; now, it’s the Democrats’ turn.Today is part 2 in our study of who’s buying each of the Democratic presidential nominees; part 1 was published on Friday.The candidates’ numbers are derived from the most recent Federal Election Commission information released electronically by Monday, April 16, 2007.Bill Richardson – The New Mexico governor knows a few things about about selling his political favors; Gov. Richardson collected $16.5 million between 2002 and 2006.His first quarter numbers impressed some analysts, who were amazed a person could sell himself so well while remaining in the statehouse. But we must recognize a current ugly truth of politics here–Richardson will have to sell himself many times over his first quarter take if he wishes to be considered a competitive presidential candidate.Total Receipts: $6,249,354Top 20 Industries1. Lawyers/Law Firms ………………………. $645,4652. Retired …………………………………………. $552,4753. Real Estate ………………………………….. $341,5004. Democratic/Liberal ……………………….. $244,6355. Securities & Investment ……………….. $225,2006. Civil Servants/Public Officials ………… $213,6137. Misc Business ………………………………. $200,6298. Misc Finance ………………………………… $180,8009. Business Services ………………………… $136,29910. Education …………………………………… $133,85011. Health Professionals …………………… $115,15012. TV/Movies/Music …………………………. $86,70013. Crop Production/Basic Processing . $85,65013. Oil & Gas …………………………………….. $85,65015. Commercial Banks ………………………. $79,16516. General Contractors ……………………. $53,65017. Construction Services ………………….. $41,70018. Livestock ……………………………………… $38,35019. Retail Sales …………………………………. $37,49220. Insurance ……………………………………. $36,275Joseph Biden – By previous political standards, the couple of million that the Delaware senator raised in the first quarter would be deemed quite an achievement in political wheel-dealing. But these days poor Sen. Biden has to compete with the current masters of the political sale, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.Only time will tell if Biden remains competitive in the 2008 sell-out of democracy.Total Receipts: $4,013,089Top 20 Industries1. Lawyers/Law Firms …………………. $879,4792. Real Estate …………………………….. $237,8843. Misc Business …………………………. $227,7514. Securities & Investment ………….. $151,5505. Retired ……………………………………. $130,8516. Misc Finance …………………………… $97,7507. Business Services …………………… $74,2508. Lobbyists …………………………………. $64,7509. Commercial Banks …………………… $52,55010. TV/Movies/Music …………………….. $36,45011. Health Professionals ………………. $35,30012. Education ……………………………….. $32,90013. General Contractors ……………….. $32,05014. Insurance ………………………………… $30,00015. Misc Manufacturing/Distributing . $27,30016. Civil Servants/Public Officials …… $26,70016. Food & Beverage ……………………. $26,70018. Retail Sales …………………………….. $25,05019. Printing & Publishing ……………….. $23,65020. Special Trade Contractors ………. $18,950Dennis Kucinich – Sometimes it’s hard to know how to take the Ohio Representative. He seems a decent man–so decent that as a 2004 presidential candidate, he couldn’t hope to compete in the money race with then-Democratic candidates Howard Dean, Wesley Clark and John Edwards.But then Kucinich also has a strange habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, or of saying the right thing the wrong way. George W. Bush had (and has) exactly the same problem, but Kucinich lacks Bush’s appeal to Big Money–which include Corporate Media owners and editors,  who wouldn’t think of holding Bush accountable for…well, much of anything. They certainly wouldn’t treat his asinine remarks and asides the way they often do those of Kucinich.Aching for dough but with little to sell, the candidate has launched a “One in a Million” campaign, which hopes to convince one million supporters to donate $50 apiece. But we doubt a million Americans even know who Kucinich is.Total Receipts: $344,891Top Industries1. Retired …………………………………… $20,8002. Education ………………………………. $8,2503. TV/Movies/Music …………………….. $7,5504. Lawyers/Law Firms …………………. $6,9505. Non-Profit Institutions …………….. $6,5506. Health Professionals ………………. $6,0507. Real Estate …………………………….. $3,4008. Misc Finance …………………………… $3,3009. Printing & Publishing ……………….. $3,10010. Misc Business ……………………….. $2,55011. Civil Servants/Public Officials …. $1,50012. Business Services …………………. $1,20013. Health Services/HMOs …………… $1,00014. Computers/Internet ………………… $50014. Securities & Investment ………….. $50014. Misc Manufacturing/Distributing . $50014. Other ………………………………………. $50018. Accountants ……………………………. $250Mike Gravel – The former Alaska senator hasn’t been in public office since 1981, so he has entered an entirely new age of political salesmanship–and it shows.  He hasn’t been selling himself with near the fervor of even second-tier Democratic candidates, and his first quarter results prove it.He has accomplished one thing as a 2008 candidate, though–Gravel has created what may well be the strangest political ad in American history. If you have access to a high-speed modem, check it out on YouTube.com or on some other free media site. If you can understand what the three-minute “rock-throwing” ad is about, write in and tell us, because we are completely stumped.But don’t let that ad throw you about Gravel’s abilities as a lawmaker. In fact, the former senator is best remembered for his part in releasing to the public the infamous “Pentagon Papers”, which finally revealed numerous falsehoods surrounding the Vietnam War. The documents were instrumental in changing public opinion on the subject.Total Receipts: $15,534Top Industries1. Retired  $1,3002. Computers/Internet ….. $5002. Health Professionals … $5002. Business Services ……. $5002. Non-Profit Institutions . $500Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!