Posted on 11/18/2004 2:41:56 PM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Under friendly fire, Sen. John Kerry likely will donate a substantial portion of his excess presidential campaign cash to help elect Democratic candidates in 2005 and 2006, advisers said Thursday.
Party leaders, including some of Kerry's top campaign aides, said this week they were surprised and angry to learn that he had more than $15 million in accounts from the Democratic primaries. They demanded to know why the money wasn't spent to help Kerry defeat President Bush or to aid congressional candidates.
There were no easy answers to those questions, officials close to Kerry acknowledged Thursday, but they sought to assure Democrats in a series of telephone calls that the four-term Massachusetts senator was sharing his political wealth.
They argued that he donated $40.5 million to Democratic causes in 2004, including $3 million each to the party's House and Senate campaign committees. More than $32 million went to the Democratic National Committee, including $9 million targeted to state parties.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Evil, rich, tax cut recipient! He should give all that money to women, children and minorities!
No easy answers to those questions? Heck, since when has Kerry answered any difficult questions?
"...One member of Kerry's inner circle of campaign aides said Thursday that the failure to spend the money cost the senator victory in a close election.
Another senior campaign aide said the fact that Kerry had $45 million in the primary account in mid-October raises questions about why he didn't opt out of the campaign finance system for the general election -- as he did for the primaries -- to avoid spending caps.
While some officials pointed fingers at campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill, others said Kerry himself knew there was a big surplus in his primary campaign account. They said he wanted to save it in the event of a recount, legal challenges or other unforeseen bills. In the end, they said, Kerry's nest egg will be less than $10 million..."
I decided to spend the money, before I decided to not spend it.
C'mon! Give me a break, I finally almost had some money of my own - I could have ditched the crazed TheRAYza, at least for a while!
I'm so glad that guy is not going to be in charge of our tax dollars.
Can you imagine Daschle? A small chunk of that stash could have helped him win and avoid HUGH embarassment.
How about some of the other Senate races? How many of them could he have swayed the other way? Or... what would another $5M ad run in Ohio have done for him? You can bet they are at one another's throats over this.
Because, little dumbocrats, when you nominate a self-centered elitist who thinks he's entitled to the Presidency, you wind up with a self-center elitist who thinks he's entitled to your money.
Like, DUH?
He got caught with $15 million in his pocket--it's just a nuance.
Excellent... Sounds like Lurch is positioning himself for another as@ kicking in 2008.
LOL.
Only because he got caught! Multi million$ while his "fellow dimocrats' went broke losing their races.
He even had a stash labeled "2008 Legal Fund" for lawsuits when he looses the next time also!
And we thought the Clinton administration was incompetent.....
It was the wrong $15M, at the wrong place, in the wrong time, I guess......
John Kerry is a decorated Vietnam War veteran who returned from the conflict to become one of the most outspoken opponents of the war. He entered politics in 1982, when he was elected lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. Two years later he ran for U.S. Senate on a campaign that refused contributions from political action committees. He was reelected in 1990, 1996 (in a tough race against Republican Gov. William Weld) and 2002.
Cycle:
Total Receipts: $317,788,245
Total Spent: $241,667,063
Cash on Hand: $76,121,181
Debts: $302,056
Date of last report: October 13, 2004
All totals include compliance fund receipts
Boy, you've got that right. This is likely to cost Kerry the few friends he had amongst his peers.
But why are we hearing so much of what Donna Brazile thinks? Why are we supposed to think her feces doesn't stink? What has she ever won? She's an Alpha-Male wannabe.
Why, indeed. Not even the Kerry Campaign would listen to her during the race...
That was supposed to be Kerry's "get out of Dodge" money.
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