Bundling Quid Pro Quo

Campaign finance laws may limit the amount an individual can give to a candidate, but there’s no end to the number of friends and associates you can rally behind your favorite pol and take credit when you deliver the loot.Bundlers — the usually rich and powerful people with equally rich and powerful friends — funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates and all they ask for in return is a thank you — and maybe an ambassadorship. Jason Kosena dissects the process in the Colorado Independent, listing who’s bundling in 2008 and revealing some stats on the rewards reaped by George W. Bush’s bundlers compiled by Texans for Public Justice, a group that looks at money in politics.

Nearly 69 percent of the 548 Bush Pioneers and Rangers — many of whom were lobbyists and corporate CEOs — received political pay-outs from the administration including:

• 146 received political appointments within the administration
• 125 were affiliated with 102 companies that received federal contracts
• 24 received American ambassadorships to foreign countries
• 47 were appointed to Bush’s presidential transition team
• 26 were invited to “sleepovers” at the White House or Camp David

With sometimes fuzzy disclosure requirements, it can be difficult to get a precise read on bundlers’ influence, but the Center for Responsive Politics has compiled the data available. “As of August 18, 534 elites have directed at least $75,750,000 to McCain, and 509 have gathered at least $63,300,000 forObama,” they report. Kosena identified Colorado’s bundlers:

Obama lists 11 Coloradans as major bundlers, including Federico Peña, Denver’s former mayor and a cabinet member under President Clinton. Others include Wanda James, the former campaign manager for Jared Polis in the 2nd Congressional District, and Don Gips, a Clinton administration official who served as Al Gore’s chief domestic policy adviser.

Despite a larger base of bundling activity nationwide, McCain has fewer bundlers in Colorado. His list of eight includes some of the world’s richest and most powerful CEOs including former Microsoft exec Gregory C. Maffei, now the CEO of Liberty Media; Richard “Dick” Notebaert, former CEO of Qwest Communications; Charlie Ergen, EchoStar CEO and now with DISH Network; and former Bush bundler Trujillo.

Other bundlers in the Battle for the West, according to the Center for Responsive Politics data:

In Nevada, John McCain claims 8 bundlers, including casino moguls Sheldon Adelson (Las Vegas Sands Corp.) and Steve Wynn (Wynn Resorts), the 15th and 118th richest Americans with net worths of $15 billion and $3.4 billion, respectively, according to the latest Forbes Magazine rankings. McCain lists no bundlers in New Mexico.

Obama lists one bundler in both New Mexico and Nevada. Paul Bardacke is a Sante Fe-based lawyer; Elaine Wynn, wife of Steve Wynn, switched parties to caucus for Obama at the Wynn Las Vegas in January.

“Although it’s impossible to predict what benefits will come to this year’s bundlers nationwide and in Colorado, it’s not a stretch to expect some form of gratitude from whomever ultimately wins the White House,” Kosena concludes.

Debating the Debate

As of this writing, McCain still won’t commit to showing up to tomorrow’s first presidential debate after announcing yesterday that he was suspending his campaign to focus on the financial crisis. The move could be seen as evidence that “McCain is becoming increasingly desperate in his campaign,” Democratic strategist Keith Boykin told to CNN. Or maybe it’s the “greatest single act of responsibility ever taken by a presidential candidate,” according to former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

The Rocky Mountain News urged the candidates to stage the debate, but switch the topic from foreign policy to the economy. “There will be an election in a few weeks, no matter what condition Wall Street and the economy are in at the time,” read the editorial, and the candidates need to make their cases to the American people. This position echoed a New York Times editorial pushing for the debate, that noted in an aside:

Mr. McCain’s sense of urgency is a bit odd, considering that he’s leading the Senate in votes missed this year — around 64 percent. That’s a worse attendance record than Mr. Obama, who has missed about 46 percent of this year’s votes. It’s even worse than the voting record of Senator Tim Johnson, Democrat of South Dakota. He suffered a brain hemorrhage last December and spent several months recovering.

With 22 percent of likely voters in Colorado saying the debates could change their mind about which candidate to support according to a recent poll of swing state voters, the debate must go on. At last count, 72% of visitors responding to a poll on the Denver Post home page think the debate should not be delayed. The candidates should give the voters what they want.

Swing County Dollars

Through August, Obama outraised McCain in 41 Colorado counties, 18 New Mexico counties, and 9 Nevada counties; McCain led Obama in 21, 13, and 6 counties, respectively, according to data compiled by MSNBC. Statewide totals have Obama ahead in all three states. An interactive map on the site allows users to get county level data. In Washoe County, Nevada, Obama has raised $51,000 more than McCain.

(image source: nymag.com)