Before handouts, big firms bankrolled conventions

[Bravo Zulu]

Wednesday, December 10, 2008
By Pete Yost, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Financial giants now being bailed out by the government spent millions underwriting the Democratic and Republican conventions last summer, just weeks before coming to Washington begging for multibillion-dollar handouts.

The big donors included AIG, Ford Motor Co., Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Freddie Mac.

In all, major corporations, labor unions and individual millionaires dumped $118 million into the nominating conventions for Barack Obama and John McCain, according to reports from the Campaign Finance Institute and the Center for Responsive Politics, private groups that compiled the numbers from filings required under federal law.

Private financing of the national political conventions is among the last avenues for corporations, unions and wealthy individuals to curry favor through big-bucks political contributions. Congress banned the giving of six- and seven-figure donations to the political parties, offerings known as "soft money, in a 2002 law that revamped campaign financing in response to concerns that large sums of money could give donors undue influence and lead to corruption.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08345/934160-176.stm

[babylonsister]

1. Did they ever 'bankroll' any other conventions, like maybe all of them? nt

[leftstreet]

2. That makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit

Disgusting

:puke:

[FrenchieCat]

3. Interesting how they don't provide much details,

and clump the Union contribution with Large Corporations and Wealthy Individuals.

But in doing the math, it appears still that loser McCain came out on top.

I'd like more information, considering how AP is attempting to generate ire amongs readers
considering what's happened over the last 3 months.