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Sunday, August 19, 2007
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Yahoo!: "Giuliani stressed his desire to have private forces shape the country's economy in education as well as in health care and Social Security. He said he supported President Bush's unsuccessful proposal to allow people to invest some of their Social Security taxes in private accounts. 'I would have preferred, over my lifetime, if I could have invested some of that Social Security money myself,' said Giuliani, 63. 'I think I would have done much better than the government did. I believe young people today, a lot of them feel that way.
Thanks to Talking Points Memo for the link.
"2008 pres"
12:27:04 PM 
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Here's a look at fund raising for the 2008 Democratic National Convention from The Denver Post. From the article:
One year before the Democratic National Convention, which will cost more than $100 million, the local committee responsible for raising a big chunk of that money is aggressively trading access and perks for large donations in what has become standard practice. Their counterparts in Minneapolis- St. Paul, where the Republicans will hold their 2008 national convention, are offering much the same - but at higher levels. Their top category starts at $5 million. But the host committees for both cities are struggling early to get those donations, and a review of recent conventions shows they're not the first. In the current climate of increased scrutiny over political contributions and campaign-finance reform, some of the corporations who normally donate the millions needed to bring off the national conventions are weary and wary. Money-in-politics watchdog groups voice strong criticisms of what they see as an enormous loophole that conventions open in campaign-finance restrictions. News reports of large money gifts often detail those concerns.
After spending about 20 personal days fundraising in six cities outside Colorado, Mayor John Hickenlooper said he is finding the money hard to come by. The companies he approaches, he said, "want to be perceived as good corporate citizens by decisionmakers. They are seen as quite the opposite. They're seen as trying to buy influence. "The more it gets reported like that," the mayor said, "the harder it is to get sponsors."[...]
Hickenlooper said the host committee wants to make a component of this convention more like an industry trade group convention, in which donors are given access to congressional lawmakers and the various candidates in forums that allow for exchange of ideas and debate, and not just the expected private meetings at plush parties. The host committee's pitch to potential donors bills this component as a "Conversation Series" that is open to federal, state and local officials and to the media. Former Gov. Dick Lamm, a critic of the money-for-access system, finds some solace in the mayor's plight. "I think the companies do realize this is a two-edged sword that will come back to haunt them," he said. "The mere fact that they're cautious is at least an advancement."
"2008 pres"
8:18:42 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 1:18:59 PM.
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