Today's Article
Who's buying the
2008 Republican
presidential
candidates?
2008 Republican
presidential
candidates?
The American Spark
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Buying The Presidency: The Republicans, Part 1
By Cliff Montgomery - June 27th, 2007
The 2008 presidential candidates have already amassed more than $150 million, after just the first three
months of official fundraising. Those who buy our candidates have never started their shopping quite so early
before.
With so much being sold for so high a price, it's time to discover just which big business groups are buying
which candidates.
We'll run down the candidates for each party, going from the current front-runner to those unknown even by
most of their own.
Today and tomorrow we'll expose who's buying each of the Republican presidential nominees; Friday and
Saturday will be the Democrats' turn.
Perhaps the biggest surprise among the G.O.P. field? For all their talk about "rogue lawyers" being mere
Democrats in expensive suits, many of our Republican candidates for president are being bought by quite a
few lawyers these days.
We can only guess those lawyers aren't so bad when they're buying up presidential hopefuls on the
Republican side of the table...
The candidates' numbers are derived from the most recent Federal Election Commission information released
electronically by Monday, April 16, 2007.
Mitt Romney - The former Massachusettes governor ended the first quarter as easily the biggest fundraiser
among the G.O.P. set, as well as a true Republican competitor to Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Total Receipts: $23,434,634
Top 20 Industries
1. Securities & Investment ................................ $1,923,900
2. Retired ............................................................ $1,719,141
3. Real Estate .................................................... $1,602,650
4. Misc Finance ................................................. $1,132,827
5. Lawyers/Law Firms ....................................... $1,092,727
6. Business Services ......................................... $547,925
7. Health Professionals ..................................... $472,275
8. Misc Business ............................................... $436,000
9. Education ....................................................... $307,200
10 . Insurance ..................................................... $302,750
11. Commercial Banks ..................................... $288,361
12. General Contractors ................................... $263,325
13. Computers/Internet ..................................... $254,350
14. Misc Manufacturing & Distributing ............ $214,776
15. Lodging/Tourism ......................................... $190,450
16. Accountants ................................................. $166,225
17. Pharmaceuticals/Health Products ............. $156,660
18. Printing & Publishing .................................. $140,050
19. Automotive ................................................... $139,350
20. Misc Services .............................................. $132,975
Rudolph Giuliani - The former New York City mayor hoped to raise up to $30 million in the first quarter of
2007; he didn’t come close to hitting that mark. Until recently however, Giuliani had been the clear favorite
among rank-and-file Republicans.
Total Receipts: $16,623,410
Top 20 Industries
1. Securities & Investment ................................ $1,837,051
2. Lawyers/Law Firms ....................................... $1,110,225
3. Retired ............................................................ $1,002,950
4. Real Estate .................................................... $894,776
5. Misc Finance ................................................. $755,798
6. Misc Business ............................................... $380,300
7. Business Services ........................................ $299,150
8. Health Professionals .................................... $298,122
9. Oil & Gas ....................................................... $238,150
10. Commercial Banks .................................... $205,151
11. Misc Manufacturing & Distributing ........... $152,550
12. Accountants ................................................ $135,750
13. Education .................................................... $135,675
14. TV/Movies/Music ........................................ $131,850
15. Casinos/Gambling ..................................... $118,200
16. Insurance ..................................................... $116,800
17. Printing & Publishing ................................. $101,950
18. Lobbyists .................................................... $100,950
19. General Contractors .................................. $96,250
20. Misc Services ............................................ $82,300
John McCain - McCain has spent much of his political career as Arizona senator in a brave battle against that
democracy-killer, influence peddling from Big Donors. But when he failed to ignite interest among Republicans
in the first quarter, he quickly began using George W. Bush's gravy train to power by selling himself to the
biggest donors who would buy him...and it's a damn shame.
Total Receipts: $13,087,559
Top 20 Industries
1. Retired .......................................................... $1,167,856
2. Lawyers/Law Firms ..................................... $1,104,325
3. Real Estate ................................................... $784,770
4. Securities & Investment .............................. $758,150
5. Misc Finance ............................................... $382,832
6. Commercial Banks ..................................... $263,850
7. Health Professionals ................................... $254,101
8. Business Services ...................................... $235,650
9. TV/Movies/Music ........................................ $230,450
10. Lobbyists ................................................... $166,550
11. Construction Services .............................. $127,925
12. Telephone Utilities .................................... $123,600
13. Insurance ................................................... $113,950
14. Misc Business ........................................... $108,213
15. Education ................................................... $103,140
16. Civil Servants/Public Officials .................. $94,502
17. Misc Manufacturing & Distributing .......... $86,450
18. Chemical & Related Manufacturing ........ $74,100
19. Accountants ............................................... $72,100
20. General Contractors ................................. $70,550
Sam Brownback - The Kansas senator may not be well-known, but he knows something about managing big-
scale money matters; Brownback's a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. But for all his
connections, Brownback had less than $50,000 to start his campaign. This means he'll have to sell himself
without shame to some of his largest buyers--Big Medicine and Big Oil--throughout his presidential bid.
Total Receipts: $1,871,057
Top 20 Industries
1. Retired ......................................................... $64,549
2. Health Professionals .................................. $28,050
3. Misc Finance ............................................... $16,750
4. Lawyers/Law Firms ..................................... $16,650
5 Securities & Investment ............................... $16,150
6. Real Estate .................................................. $14,550
7. Business Services ...................................... $12,500
8. Misc Business ............................................. $12,450
9. Education ..................................................... $8,500
10. Construction Services .............................. $7,600
11. Pharmaceuticals/Health Products ........... $7,200
12. Oil & Gas .................................................... $7,100
13. Civil Servants/Public Officials .................. $7,050
14. Misc Manufacturing & Distributing .......... $6,450
15. Computers/Internet ................................... $6,000
16. Automotive ................................................ $5,700
17. Clergy & Religious Organizations .......... $5,200
18. TV/Movies/Music ...................................... $4,900
19. Lobbyists ................................................... $4,000
20. Republican/Conservative ......................... $3,861
Tom Tancredo - The Colorado representative is principally known for his tirades against illegal immigrants,
whom he cannot abide as they are in no position to buy his services in any way. The immigrants' inability to buy
his compassion means that Tancredo will have to extend his bid beyond a single issue--a matter that became
fiercely evident after the first quarter.
Total Receipts: $1,256,090
Top Industries
1. Retired ........................................................ $65,610
2. Misc Business ............................................ $24,350
3. Civil Servants/Public Officials ................... $5,365
4. Real Estate ................................................. $5,150
5. Misc Issues ................................................. $5,000
6. General Contractors .................................. $4,300
7. Health Professionals ................................. $4,000
8. Automotive ................................................. $3,300
9. Special Trade Contractors ....................... $3,250
10. Livestock .................................................. $3,100
11. Misc Finance ........................................... $2,600
12. Education ................................................. $2,500
13. Construction Services ............................ $2,250
14. Air Transport ........................................... $2,001
15. TV/Movies/Music .................................... $1,800
16. Other ........................................................ $1,760
17. Lawyers/Law Firms ................................ $1,750
18. Oil & Gas ................................................. $1,500
19. Beer, Wine & Liquor ............................... $1,000
19. Computers/Internet .................................. $1,000
19. Forestry & Forest Products .................... $1,000
19. Printing & Publishing ............................... $1,000
19. Defense Aerospace ................................ $1,000
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of the The American Spark e-
newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
By Cliff Montgomery - June 27th, 2007
The 2008 presidential candidates have already amassed more than $150 million, after just the first three
months of official fundraising. Those who buy our candidates have never started their shopping quite so early
before.
With so much being sold for so high a price, it's time to discover just which big business groups are buying
which candidates.
We'll run down the candidates for each party, going from the current front-runner to those unknown even by
most of their own.
Today and tomorrow we'll expose who's buying each of the Republican presidential nominees; Friday and
Saturday will be the Democrats' turn.
Perhaps the biggest surprise among the G.O.P. field? For all their talk about "rogue lawyers" being mere
Democrats in expensive suits, many of our Republican candidates for president are being bought by quite a
few lawyers these days.
We can only guess those lawyers aren't so bad when they're buying up presidential hopefuls on the
Republican side of the table...
The candidates' numbers are derived from the most recent Federal Election Commission information released
electronically by Monday, April 16, 2007.
Mitt Romney - The former Massachusettes governor ended the first quarter as easily the biggest fundraiser
among the G.O.P. set, as well as a true Republican competitor to Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Total Receipts: $23,434,634
Top 20 Industries
1. Securities & Investment ................................ $1,923,900
2. Retired ............................................................ $1,719,141
3. Real Estate .................................................... $1,602,650
4. Misc Finance ................................................. $1,132,827
5. Lawyers/Law Firms ....................................... $1,092,727
6. Business Services ......................................... $547,925
7. Health Professionals ..................................... $472,275
8. Misc Business ............................................... $436,000
9. Education ....................................................... $307,200
10 . Insurance ..................................................... $302,750
11. Commercial Banks ..................................... $288,361
12. General Contractors ................................... $263,325
13. Computers/Internet ..................................... $254,350
14. Misc Manufacturing & Distributing ............ $214,776
15. Lodging/Tourism ......................................... $190,450
16. Accountants ................................................. $166,225
17. Pharmaceuticals/Health Products ............. $156,660
18. Printing & Publishing .................................. $140,050
19. Automotive ................................................... $139,350
20. Misc Services .............................................. $132,975
Rudolph Giuliani - The former New York City mayor hoped to raise up to $30 million in the first quarter of
2007; he didn’t come close to hitting that mark. Until recently however, Giuliani had been the clear favorite
among rank-and-file Republicans.
Total Receipts: $16,623,410
Top 20 Industries
1. Securities & Investment ................................ $1,837,051
2. Lawyers/Law Firms ....................................... $1,110,225
3. Retired ............................................................ $1,002,950
4. Real Estate .................................................... $894,776
5. Misc Finance ................................................. $755,798
6. Misc Business ............................................... $380,300
7. Business Services ........................................ $299,150
8. Health Professionals .................................... $298,122
9. Oil & Gas ....................................................... $238,150
10. Commercial Banks .................................... $205,151
11. Misc Manufacturing & Distributing ........... $152,550
12. Accountants ................................................ $135,750
13. Education .................................................... $135,675
14. TV/Movies/Music ........................................ $131,850
15. Casinos/Gambling ..................................... $118,200
16. Insurance ..................................................... $116,800
17. Printing & Publishing ................................. $101,950
18. Lobbyists .................................................... $100,950
19. General Contractors .................................. $96,250
20. Misc Services ............................................ $82,300
John McCain - McCain has spent much of his political career as Arizona senator in a brave battle against that
democracy-killer, influence peddling from Big Donors. But when he failed to ignite interest among Republicans
in the first quarter, he quickly began using George W. Bush's gravy train to power by selling himself to the
biggest donors who would buy him...and it's a damn shame.
Total Receipts: $13,087,559
Top 20 Industries
1. Retired .......................................................... $1,167,856
2. Lawyers/Law Firms ..................................... $1,104,325
3. Real Estate ................................................... $784,770
4. Securities & Investment .............................. $758,150
5. Misc Finance ............................................... $382,832
6. Commercial Banks ..................................... $263,850
7. Health Professionals ................................... $254,101
8. Business Services ...................................... $235,650
9. TV/Movies/Music ........................................ $230,450
10. Lobbyists ................................................... $166,550
11. Construction Services .............................. $127,925
12. Telephone Utilities .................................... $123,600
13. Insurance ................................................... $113,950
14. Misc Business ........................................... $108,213
15. Education ................................................... $103,140
16. Civil Servants/Public Officials .................. $94,502
17. Misc Manufacturing & Distributing .......... $86,450
18. Chemical & Related Manufacturing ........ $74,100
19. Accountants ............................................... $72,100
20. General Contractors ................................. $70,550
Sam Brownback - The Kansas senator may not be well-known, but he knows something about managing big-
scale money matters; Brownback's a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. But for all his
connections, Brownback had less than $50,000 to start his campaign. This means he'll have to sell himself
without shame to some of his largest buyers--Big Medicine and Big Oil--throughout his presidential bid.
Total Receipts: $1,871,057
Top 20 Industries
1. Retired ......................................................... $64,549
2. Health Professionals .................................. $28,050
3. Misc Finance ............................................... $16,750
4. Lawyers/Law Firms ..................................... $16,650
5 Securities & Investment ............................... $16,150
6. Real Estate .................................................. $14,550
7. Business Services ...................................... $12,500
8. Misc Business ............................................. $12,450
9. Education ..................................................... $8,500
10. Construction Services .............................. $7,600
11. Pharmaceuticals/Health Products ........... $7,200
12. Oil & Gas .................................................... $7,100
13. Civil Servants/Public Officials .................. $7,050
14. Misc Manufacturing & Distributing .......... $6,450
15. Computers/Internet ................................... $6,000
16. Automotive ................................................ $5,700
17. Clergy & Religious Organizations .......... $5,200
18. TV/Movies/Music ...................................... $4,900
19. Lobbyists ................................................... $4,000
20. Republican/Conservative ......................... $3,861
Tom Tancredo - The Colorado representative is principally known for his tirades against illegal immigrants,
whom he cannot abide as they are in no position to buy his services in any way. The immigrants' inability to buy
his compassion means that Tancredo will have to extend his bid beyond a single issue--a matter that became
fiercely evident after the first quarter.
Total Receipts: $1,256,090
Top Industries
1. Retired ........................................................ $65,610
2. Misc Business ............................................ $24,350
3. Civil Servants/Public Officials ................... $5,365
4. Real Estate ................................................. $5,150
5. Misc Issues ................................................. $5,000
6. General Contractors .................................. $4,300
7. Health Professionals ................................. $4,000
8. Automotive ................................................. $3,300
9. Special Trade Contractors ....................... $3,250
10. Livestock .................................................. $3,100
11. Misc Finance ........................................... $2,600
12. Education ................................................. $2,500
13. Construction Services ............................ $2,250
14. Air Transport ........................................... $2,001
15. TV/Movies/Music .................................... $1,800
16. Other ........................................................ $1,760
17. Lawyers/Law Firms ................................ $1,750
18. Oil & Gas ................................................. $1,500
19. Beer, Wine & Liquor ............................... $1,000
19. Computers/Internet .................................. $1,000
19. Forestry & Forest Products .................... $1,000
19. Printing & Publishing ............................... $1,000
19. Defense Aerospace ................................ $1,000
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of the The American Spark e-
newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!