New York Sun - Bush Backers Switch to Clinton and Obama
- From: Florida <demeter547opine@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 30 Apr 2007 09:29:53 -0700
http://www.nysun.com/article/53420
Clinton and Obama Raiding Donors Who Backed Bush
By JOSH GERSTEIN
Staff Reporter of the Sun
April 30, 2007
As senators Clinton and Obama crisscross the country seeking the
Democratic presidential nomination and sharply criticizing President
Bush, they have been collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from
donors who funded one or both of Mr. Bush's campaigns for the White
House.
In the first quarter of this year, more than 150 former Bush donors
pitched in for Mrs. Clinton's campaign, while a similar number anted
up for Mr. Obama, according to an analysis of Federal Election
Commission data performed for The New York Sun by the Washington-based
Center for Responsive Politics.
The motives of those who lend financial support to candidates with
divergent views are difficult to assess. For some donors, personal
ties to politicians or their top fund-raisers transcend partisan
politics. Executives at businesses susceptible to government
regulation regularly straddle the field, even supporting multiple
candidates in the same race. Some contributors find that their
politics change over time or that the politicians they formerly
supported failed to follow through on their promises.
On occasion, donors aim to undermine a politician they oppose by
supporting a rival they also oppose but view as less of a threat. In
2004, an independent presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, got a wave
of large donations from die-hard Republicans who seemed to believe
that his presence in the race could siphon support from Mr. Bush's
Democratic opponent, Senator Kerry of Massachusetts.
One donor to Mr. Obama professing sincere disillusionment with Mr.
Bush is an investment banker from Chicago, John Canning of Madison
Dearborn Partners. "It's not an isolated trend. It appears to be a
significant wave," he said. "I know lots of my friends in this
business are disenchanted and are definitely looking for something
different."
In 2004, Mr. Canning was a Bush Pioneer, meaning he pledged to raise
$100,000 for the president's re-election. However, he told the Sun
that his support for Mr. Bush was already fading at that time. "I was
probably unenthusiastic, but not as strongly as I am now," Mr. Canning
said. He said he ended up not voting at all.
[ .... ]
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