Kerry's donors

The presidential election year hasn't even reached March yet, and Democratic front-runner John Kerry has already set the all-time records for policy flip-flops and fund-raising hypocrisy. In his latest gambit, he has managed to combine the two by accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars raised by the very same tax-dodging "Benedict Arnold CEOs" whom his campaign condemns for "tak[ing] advantage of tax loopholes to set up bank accounts or move jobs abroad simply to avoid taxes." In the political boxing arena, Mr. Kerry can now claim the undisputed titles in two classes: flip-flopping and hypocrisy.

from the Delphi forums, which I frequent:

General Debate and Discussion - Real 'tax cuts' for the Rich - Kerry &Co (35 views)

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From:	Polter, just (POLTER)	Feb-26 10:01 pm
To:	ALL	(1 of 8)

50614.1

Mr. Populist
While John Kerry rails against "Benedict Arnold" corporations, their money is good enough for him, the Washington Post reports:

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 investment firms that helped set up companies in the world's best-known offshore tax havens, federal records show.

Meanwhile, the Boston Herald reports that Kerry "used an appraisal pegging the value of his Beacon Hill townhouse at twice the amount listed on City Hall records in order to get the $6.4 million loan he needed to resuscitate his presidential bid":

The Kerry campaign says the elegant Louisburg Square townhouse that Kerry shares with is millionaire wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry is worth $12.8 million--exactly double the Christmas Eve mortgage the senator got from Mellon Bank.
But Boston's Assessing Department puts the value of the swank, five-story mansion--with six fireplaces, five bedrooms, a private elevator and roofdeck--at $6.6 million as of Jan. 1, 2003. The assessed value actually dropped from 2002's figure of $6.95 million.

Presumably Kerry and his better half pay taxes on the lower assessed value of the house. But give him this: Anyone who lives in a house with only six fireplaces surely understands the hardships of the common man.

Kerry Donors Include 'Benedict Arnolds'
by Jim VandeHei
Washington Post
February 26, 2004
contributions by staff writer Dan Balz
and researcher Lucy Shackelford.
Sen. John F. Kerry... 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 investment firms that helped set up companies in the world's best-known offshore tax havens, federal records show... Kerry has come under attack from President Bush, as well as some Democrats, for criticizing laws he voted for and lambasting special interests after accepting more money from paid lobbyists than any other senator over the past 15 years... On Monday, Kerry was asked why two of his biggest fundraisers were involved with "Benedict Arnold" companies. "If they have done that, it's not to my knowledge and I would oppose it," Kerry told a New York television station. "I think it's wrong to do [it] solely to avoid taxes." ...David Roux, who has raised more than $250,000 for Kerry since 2002, is co-founder of a California company that helped purchase Seagate Technology Inc. four years ago and incorporated it in the Cayman Islands, one of the world's best-known tax havens. Roux described himself in an interview last fall as the "anchor tenant in John Kerry's fundraising mall." ...Stephen J. Luczo, chief executive of Seagate, has contributed $4,000 to Kerry, the maximum allowed under law, and $2,000 to the candidate's legal defense fund. Luczo was on vacation and not available for comment, according to his assistant. Thomas F. Steyer, who said he has raised around $200,000 for Kerry, is a partner at a California investment firm called Hellman & Friedman LLC that helped set up an insurance company in Bermuda, another popular tax haven. The insurance company -- Arch Capital Group Ltd. -- stated in a 2000 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it was sinking roots in Bermuda to reduce its U.S. tax bill.

I'm sure we're all relieved that these swindlers don't consider their companies to be "Benedict Arnolds".

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