White House for Sale
Aozotorp
Tracking the influence of private money in President Bush's re-election
campaign.
So far, donors have given Bush: $102,110,000 [source]
Energy Bill Delivers Favors for Bush’s Rangers and Pioneers
NEW Some of President Bush’s biggest backers stand to benefit directly from
provisions in the energy bill that are as broad as the repeal of financial
safeguards over the utility industry and as narrow as the construction of a
shopping mall in upstate New York, according to a new Public Citizen report.
The report examines two items embedded in the Energy Policy Act of 2003 (H.R.
6), a monster package of tax incentives and giveaways to the energy industry
that has already cleared the U.S. House - but was blocked temporarily on Friday
morning by a Senate filibuster..
Read the press release.
Read the report, "Rangers and Pioneers Enjoy Their Share of Energy Bill Booty."
Take action to stop the Energy Policy Act of 2003.
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As Bush’s “Dash for Cash Tour” Tops $100 Million, 24 New Contributors
Added to List of Rangers and Pioneers
The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign’s unprecedented $100 million fundraising
effort over the past six months has relied on super-donors – 309 contributors
who have attained elite status with the Bush organization, including 24 new
bundlers named this week.
WhiteHouseForSale.org has posted the names of the new Rangers and Pioneers,
along their home states, employers and occupations. The Bush campaign now has
106 Rangers, those fundraisers who bundle $200,000 in individual contributions,
and 203 Pioneers, who each have brought in $100,000. The notable new rainmakers
include ex-EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman; U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby;
Thomas Nassif of the Western Growers Association; lobbyists Charles and Judy
Black; William McGuire, CEO of United Health Care Group; and Warren Staley, CEO
of agribusiness giant Cargill Inc.
Read this Announcement.
View the list of 24 new Rangers and Pioneers.
See the number of Rangers and Pioneers by state.
Search the updated Rangers and Pioneers database.
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Even After Opting Out of Public Financing, Dean Should Respect Spending Limits
During Primaries
A presidential candidate like Howard Dean can opt out of the public financing
system and still abide by the $45 million spending limit for the Democratic
primaries. We wish all candidates would stay within the public system – but
Bush’s excessive spending places an extreme handicap on other candidates who
want to participate in a fair fight.
Read the statement of Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook
Read the Press Release by a coalition of campaign finance groups
New York Times and Washington Post support this option
Send a message to Howard Dean on Public Financing
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Seven Presidential Candidates Pledge: The White House Will Not Be for Sale
Public Citizen and other campaign finance reform groups have launched a major
project to overhaul the presidential public financing system to get special
interest money out of presidential elections
Seven major party candidates immediately announced their support for the
Presidential Candidate’s Pledge, which commits each of them to making this
issue a priority for his or her administration.
Read this announcement
Read more about this issue
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Bush Appointees Gut Air Quality Rule and Give Congress False Information about
the Consequences
The Bush administration has gone to great lengths, even so far as giving false
information to Congress, to gut a clean air regulation opposed by electric
utilities – an industry that funneled $4.8 million into Bush’s 2000
campaign.
An investigation by the GAO now has confirmed key findings contained in Public
Citizen’s report, EPA’s Smoke Screen: How Deception of Congress, Campaign
Contributions and Political Connections Gutted a Key Clean Air Rule.
Documents and discussions with former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) officials reveal that Bush appointees made untrue statements to two
Senate committees when asked if a weakened New Source Review (NSR) rule was
expected to jeopardize pollution lawsuits. Contrary to what senators were told,
EPA staffers had concluded that the new rule would undercut enforcement cases
that had the potential to reduce air pollution from U.S. electric utilities by
50 percent annually.
Read about Public Citizen's report, EPA's Smoke Screen.
Read the full report, EPA's Smoke Screen.
Read an executive summary of the report.
Read Public Citizen's press release about the GAO Report.
*UPDATED* Read more about this issue, including background documents.
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Bush Fundraising Machine Relies on Big-Dollar Donors, as New Names Swell the
Ranks of Rangers and Pioneers
The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign’s unprecedented $84 million fundraising
effort over four months shows a dramatic reliance on super-donors – 285
contributors who attained elite status with the Bush organization. Analysis of
newly released Federal Election Commission (FEC) data reveals that the campaign
raised more than 80 percent of its funds via large individual donations mostly
raised at exclusive, big-ticket events across the country.
The 2004 Bush campaign named 217 Rangers and Pioneers in the most recent
three-month reporting period, adding to 68 individuals who were identified in
July. In the 2004 campaign, 178 Rangers or Pioneers are completely new to
Bush’s list of big-money bundlers, while 107 were Pioneers in the 2000
election cycle. For a fully updated, searchable list of Rangers and Pioneers,
click here.
Read the press release.
Read the fact sheet Great Expectations: How Bush Pays Back Big Donors.
See the number of 2004 Rangers and Pioneers by state.
See which 2004 Rangers and Pioneers received appointments from Bush.
View the full FEC report. (NOTE: This is a large file - over 15 MB - and could
take up to an hour to download at dial-up speeds.)
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On the Frontiers of Fundraising
How do you become a Ranger or Pioneer? It takes more than a thick Rolodex, rich
friends, or a list of inconvenient environmental regulations you’d like to
see undone. First, you have to fill out some paperwork. Every Ranger and
Pioneer signs a campaign pledge form – which provides donors with the
all-important tracking number that ensures they get “credit” for their
buckraking.
Copies of these forms were obtained by Texans for Public Justice via a lawsuit
challenging the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. Nancy Watzman and Micah
L. Sifry of Public Campaign annotated the form of one Pioneer – lobbyist
Wayne Berman – in the September issue of Harper’s magazine. To see the form
and read their commentary, click here.
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U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments In the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance
Law
Not since the U.S. Supreme Court ordered former-President Richard M. Nixon to
surrender his secretive Watergate tapes 29 years ago has the Court interrupted
its summer recess to get back to work early on a pressing case. The case is
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission – the challenge by Sen. Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky) and more than 80 other plaintiffs against the nation’s new
campaign finance law. The new law bans soft money in federal elections and
expands the class of campaign advertisements subject to contribution and
disclosure laws.
After receiving briefs throughout the summer, the court heard oral arguments on
Monday, September 8, for four hours – another unprecedented action, given
that oral arguments usually last only one hour. An army of lawyers, activists
and press stood inside and outside the courtroom, while the Court agreed to air
a tape of the proceedings immediately afterward on C-SPAN (you guessed it,
another rarity for the Court).
That is how important this case is for the issue of money in politics.
Click here to read more...
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Bush Rejects Public Financing – Chooses to Chase Big Bucks
Welcome to WhiteHouseForSale.org.
This Web site will track the special-interest contributions to President
Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign and analyze the record of favoritism,
conflicts-of-interest and influence peddling related to those contributions.
This site will focus on Bush’s fundraising because he is seeking to collect
at least $200 million during the primary season – nearly five times the
amount a candidate who remains in the public financing system can raise and
spend. Yet, the president is unopposed!
[Read This Announcement]
Jack
ONLY SIXTEEN
Dr Hook
She was only sixteen, only sixteen
But I loved her so
But she was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
We'd laugh and we'd sing and do funny things
And it made our hearts glow
But she was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
So why did I give my heart so fast
It never will happen again
But I was a mere child of sixteen
I've aged a year since then
She was only sixteen, only sixteen
Ooh, with eyes that would glow
But she was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
So why did I give my heart so fast
It never will happen again
But I was a mere child of sixteen
I've aged a year since then
Now she was only sixteen, only sixteen
Ooh, but I loved that girl so
But she was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
Yes, she was too young to fall in love
And I, I was too young
I was much too young to know