Kerry finished presidential campaign with money left for new bid (AP)

[truthpusher]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2005/01/31/national2112EST0810.DTL

Kerry finished presidential campaign with money left for new bid
SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer

Monday, January 31, 2005
(01-31) 18:12 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

John Kerry's unsuccessful presidential campaign left him with millions of dollars in seed money for a 2008 Senate or presidential bid.

The Democrat transferred $4 million in leftover money from his 2004 presidential-primary campaign to his Senate campaign fund, campaign finance reports he filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission show.

Kerry's primary campaign had nearly $10 million left after the transfer. Kerry can use that money and the millions moved to his Senate campaign to seek re-election to his Massachusetts seat in 2008 or to run for president again.

story:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2005/01/31/national2112EST0810.DTL

[Journeyman]

1. I used to run cross country in high school. . .

three mile races, up and down hills, across fields . . . ran everywhere it seemed . . . and the only good races I ran were done full out, the whole way, where breathless and exhausted I crossed the finish line and collapsed to the ground, totally spent. Never saved anything for "the next race" because there was only one, the race I was running at that moment.

Just the lonely thoughts of an old long distance runner . . .

[roguevalley]

3. nice post, journeyman. I agree.

[shawcomm]

7. Exactly. You play to win.

not hold back and play it safe.

[AP]

9. If he lost by 20%, I might disagree.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

49. This long distance runner agrees

Kerry gave it his best shot.

[fshrink]

2. Yeah!

Let's do this again!

[paineinthearse]

4. Joe Corsi had better re-consider moving to Mass to run against Kerry.....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=158&topic_id=2676&mesg_id=2676

Corsi being of "swift boat vets for truth" fame.

[shawcomm]

8. Isn't he an actual freeper too?

That should play well in Mass. :evilgrin:

[davhill]

25. Self delete

[Califooyah Operative]

5. so he's good with money,

i thought he handled it well on meet the press. He obviously knows he should have done more in Ohio.

[shawcomm]

6. and I was getting email after email

begging me for more money, saying that they were going to spend to the last dime to win it, that they throwing out all the stops.

[The Zanti Regent]

42. Never again, Mr. Skull and Bones!

Lie to me once, shame on you

Lie to me twice, shame on me.

And that goes DOUBLE for MY DEAD SON, MY ONLY CHILD KILLED IN IRAQ!

[orthogonal]

10. I went to Ohio

I went to Ohio, volunteered for a month of 18 hour days at the State Kerry HQ, and didn't even get travel money, much less a salary. (The Kerry campaign did find a nice couple who let me stay at their place for free).

I didn't ask for any money, and I'm not complaining.

A lot of other people volunteered too, or got paid paltry salaries, in order to be a part of the campaign.

I just hope John Kerry (who as I understand, has ever been anywhere near poor) makes good use of his "surplus".

[Journeyman]

12. Above everything else in my life, I wanted change this election. . .

for my children, for peace of mind, for the nation I love . . . and to get it I donated time, talent, and a lot of money. I couldn't make it to a battleground state, much as I wanted to aid the effort, but I am certainly appreciative of all those who were able to devote themselves to that part of the fight.

For what it's worth, orthogonal, thanks for all you did. Here's in hopes of a different outcome in 2008. . .
:toast:

[orthogonal]

15. Please remit funds to...

orthogonal
P.O. Box Still Po'd at Bush
123 What are we fighting for Lane
I wish I was in a, Blue State

Heh.

My real reason for being in Ohio was that I didn't want to look in the mirror January 20th and wonder if I could have done something, but was too lazy.

So I got my "pay": when Chimpy was re-inaugurated, I was at peace with myself (even if I feared for my country).

And thank you for your contribution -- as you note, it was about love of country, not personal reward.

My only issue with Kerry is the "what if" -- could the 15 million he didn't spend have made a difference?

In the part of the campaign I was working on, well, we could have done a lot more with just a few thousand dollars more -- and even with the limited resources we had, I know that there were at least several thousand Kerry votes in Ohio that my work got for us. Had we had a little more, a little earlier, well, who knows?

[seriousstan]

18. I AM IN OHIO...stood in the cold..never saw Kerry.

I guess he is saving the money for the fight after the weather turns nice.

[orthogonal]

20. What we could have used the money for

<i>I AM IN OHIO...stood in the cold..never saw Kerry.</i>

Yeah, I never saw him either. I had "good section" tickets to the Springsteen rally, but I needed to figure out why the database server was running slow. So I stayed at headquarters that day, and banged on the server.

For an extra $3000, we could have bought a real server, instead of -- literally -- cobbling together an anemic server out of two computers which were the personal property of campaign staffers. For an extra $10000, we could have had a real database -- instead we had a slow free "evaluation copy" of a sub-standard database.

For an extra $5000, we could have processed data that covered the whole state rather than just the most populous counties -- but the data we bought from a well-connected DNC insider, for several hundred thousand, which did cover the whole state, wasn't updated after Ohio redistricted and was thus useless on election day.

Instead, the campaign actually paid for phone banking that directed our Democratic voters to the wrong polling places -- and you recall that Blackwell ruled that provisional ballots at incorrect polling places wouldn't be counted.

Again, we cobbled together the correct polling places, but only for the most populous 10 counties -- the other 78, we didn't have the resources to process. Again, for another five grand, we could have hired people to secure that data for us -- and I'd have still compiled it for free -- I just didn't have the data for the other 78.

And the database the campaign paid the DNC insider several hundred thousand for, while state of the art for 1970, was so rudimentary that before I got there, the paid state staffers who were responsible for targeting Get Out The Vote were using Microsoft Access and home-brew Excel macros to make up for its deficiencies.

Time that could have been spent on getting out the vote was instead spent writing Excel macros.

Again, I didn't want millions or even hundreds of thousands -- for $2000 or $3000 or $10000 we could have made a whole lot more of a difference.

I could understand that if the campaign had been out of money -- but when I learned that Kerry had kept back 15 million, I had to wonder why rather than going to that rally, I was coaxing along a jury-rigged machine at the stare headquarters the swing state of Ohio.

[JNelson6563]

27. Very interesting

This must have been frustrating. Thank you for all your efforts.

Julie

[OzarkDem]

39. Who was the Dem

who ripped of the campaign with the ancient database? An old leftover from the Celeste days hanging on and bleeding the parties candidates dry?

Just another reason why we need a major overhaul of the party in this state.

[Kolesar]

40. My Ohio County did not get "real" voter lists until September

There was tremendous grassroots activity going back to the Dean meetups in early 2003 and they still flubbed it. I guess it is our responsibility now.

[orthogonal]

51. It wasn't the fault of the grassroots

My Ohio County did not get "real" voter lists until September

Not really the grassroots' fault: Ohio redistricted precinct boundaries in May (or June?) and some counties were still adjusting the polling places up to days before the election.

What was needed was a mechanism, a process, to keep going back to the county Boards of election, getting the latest voter lsist, and merging those lists (and each county picked its own format for its lists -- many had similar formats but some were just bizarre) with a list held by the Kerry campaign.

Our DNC list vendor failed to update after the redistricting, so at the last minute (ok, the last week prior to the election) we were getting the updated lists.

Now it would have been great to have had someone at the grassroots in, say, Delaware County, who could have gone to the BOE and gotten this for us, but by a week before the election, all the grassroots people already had important jobs to do.

So I can't blame the grassroots.

But in the future, yeah, it would be great to have someone at the grassroots already in placer to do this.

Of course, you then run into the other problem: local and state dems hate to share lists with the national party, because then the national party (DNC) asks the people on the lists for money (or less frequently, time), taking those resources away from the locals.

But really, the DNC and the national campaign didn't set up the infrastructure as quickly or as well as they should have.

The Bush/Cheney team did, and that's a large part of why we were beaten.

And we were beaten: yes there were irregularities at the polling places, but I saw our numbers, and once I saw the results at 11 pm election night, I knew we were beaten, bcause I knew (pretty closely) the total registration in Ohio.

[Kolesar]

55. I blame the Kerry campaign and the party

Not the "grassroots". I was referring to the grassroots and the Dean meetups to show that there was interest but no organization from above.

[flordehinojos]

11. kerry ought to just give it up!

[burrowowl]

13. Long live the

World Social Forum!

It is time to do the revolution Thomas Jefferson avocated every years!

[aikido15]

24. I hear you!!!!!

It is so refreshing to hear someone say that. What is wrong with people? Isn't that the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results? The Dems are dead, time to move on!

[nashville_brook]

14. everytime i see a story like this i am reminded of the SNL with GORE

where kerry was porterayed (in the hot tub) as believing the presidency "belonged" to him. and it infuriates me that he probably gave up too soon b/c of this sense of entitlement.

and i just want everyone within hearing range to know that as far as i'm concerned, it's too late.

gad -- i'm sorry, i don't mean to flame -- i don't mean to do that -- i'm just tired of feeling so abused by the system.

[Sandpiper]

16. Why go down with a bullet left in your gun?

That's what I'm wondering.

[high density]

17. *yawn*

I seem to remember that we tried that guy named John Kerry in 2004 and got fucked. No thanks.

[aikido15]

22. I second the *yawn*

B-O-R-I-N-G :boring:

[amber dog democrat]

45. Concur on the YAWN

need coffee.

[truthpusher]

41. If Kerry was running against dean for DNC what would you think?

[Liberty Belle]

19. Someone ask Kerry to send Kevin Shelley a donation, please.

If Shelley can't raise legal funds for his defense and Schwarzenegger appoints a rethug as Secretary of State, Kerry can kiss California goodbye--and any shot at the presidency.

[leftchick]

21. excellent idea!

and kerry should have spent his cash ON election day with observers, not lawyers who don't know squat about election fraud, in Ohio, NM and Florida. It was predictded well ahead of election day they were going to steal it and they did.

[Borgnine]

23. Damnit Kerry.

I donated money to your campaign because I believed you were sincere in your remarks about defeating Bush at all costs. Now I see you for the weasily politician I once suspected.

Just stay in the Senate. Most of us don't want to see your name on a primary ballot again.

[Larkspur]

52. Then demand your money back from Kerry

He has no right to keep it.

[davhill]

26. I Feel Betrayed

I was unemployed. I donated money I could barely afford to the Kerry campaign with the idea he was going to use it to defeat Bush in 2004. If I'd known he was going to just save it for a rainy day I would not have made such a sacrifice.

[aikido15]

28. A lot of us feel that way...

Just don't make the same mistake twice. I will never support a politician again, unless it is a third party hopeful, someone that actually cares about the people over profit. It's all about the money for these guys. It makes me sick.:puke:

[booksenkatz]

32. Same here -- unemployed and could NOT afford the $ that I sent to him

It was not supposed to be "seed money" for next time. If he didn't use it for 2004, I want it back so that I can buy groceries! I'm absolutely sick about it. My dad down in Texas sent lots of money, and it was the first time in his life he'd ever supported a political campaign. It was fun seeing him so excited about it. Let's face it, he risked his life with the Kerry signs and bumper stickers in Johnson County, Texas! But he's so burned now, he said he'll never do it again. I think the only string that's got me clinging to the Dem party (I've been a yellow dog since '86) is Barbara Boxer; she's one of the very few who gives me any hope for the future of this party.

Didn't mean to go off on a tangent, but I've been feeling pretty low here, myself.

:hug:

[aikido15]

43. Sorry,

I felt so much better when I vowed to not support the two party government any longer, esp. after this last election and the poor perfomance record by the dems in Congress, Rice, tax cuts for the rich, patriot act, etc. What a relief to be rid of them ALL.

http://www.solidarity-us.org/

Hope you feel better soon...:hug:

[booksenkatz]

44. There are 2 choices aikido15, as far as I can tell:

We either kick the spineless enablers out of the Dem party, or we go to a 3rd party. Why keep voting Dem for almost 20 years if all I get is a) Repubs like Bush or b) right-wing enabling Dems who enable Repubs like Bush? Where is the change? Where is the progress? What is the difference?

I'm still holding on to a splinter of hope that we can revise the party, but for the first time in my life, I'm also looking at 3rd parties i.e. Solidarity, Socialist and Green. Maybe this is all for another thread, but man, I am feeling lost and hopeless in my party. I NEED to see more Dems follow Boxer's lead. I don't like being a black-and-white thinker, but right now, I want fighters or nothing.

[ima_sinnic]

29. you had money left over, John?? well, I could use that $100 back

--I can barely cover my bills but I thought it'd be worth sacrificing a couple week's worth of food and gas to kick Bush's butt. I didn't like you then, though, and I like you even LESS now. All through the campaign we kept hearing how you were going to trounce Bush with all your "insider" info about BCCI and BFEE malfeasance--but you chose to keep those revelations to yourself. Good, John, let the weasels keep on keepin on, you might have messed up your hair or something actually saying the truth about them.

We've been there, done that once with you John so take your 2008 aspirations and SHOVE THEM.

[sandnsea]

30. The PRIMARY campaign

There was money in that campaign. The article clearly states the GENERAL ELECTION campaign was $3.5 million IN DEBT with $800,000 in the bank. He couldn't spend the PRIMARY campaign money after the end of July. This is another bullshit story designed to stir up the left.

[aikido15]

31. Good observation!

I don't care enough about the Dems to catch that shit anymore, thanks for reaffirming my commitment to not support them.

[lojasmo]

33. I gave generously in the primaries...

I'm glad I never gave a cent to Kerry.

[Lexingtonian]

34. Grow up, folks

Kerry raised $15m after the Republican Convention- when he was necessarily on federal money and couldn't use the stuff raised for the primary either- for recounts and legal challenges and such.

Since the vote margins in Ohio, Florida, and Nevada settled the Electoral College votes for Bush and the popular vote settled the larger claim, it all made recounts and legal challenges silly- yes, that's Reality speaking, I don't need to hear more from the Denialists. Sending the purposefully given money back unasked (or, for that matter, when asked) is a kind of mutual rejection gesture. The right thing to do is to put leftover money toward uses and purposes compatible with the donors' intents and desires and purposes.

[underpants]

47. Exactly-it is money he couldn't spend

that is the bottom line. The press is just trying to stir the shit.

[ima_sinnic]

53. what ARE you talking about?

"Since the vote margins . . . settled the Electoral College votes . . . and the popular vote settled the larger claim, it all made recounts and legal challenges silly"--and don't bother calling me a "Demialist" :wtf: but:

Investigation of an obviously corrupted election, no matter the outcome or what has been determined by Electoral College votes is an absolute necessity if we want to continue to pose as a "democracy." It isn't about "changing the outcome," it's about fixing the problem so it doesn't happen again. As a donor, my "intent and desire and purpose" was to ensure a fair and free election, among other well-known but apparently inconsequential Democratic goals.

[sniffa]

54. thank you

but, even DUers wiLL eat whatever is fed to them.

[Cooley Hurd]

35. I would hope he'd roll the $$$ into the '06 midterms...

...and not sit on it until '08. We might not make it to '08 ("we" meaning the US, that is...).

As far as another Kerry Presidential run in '08, I doubt he'll have the support (certainly not from me). :thumbsdown:

[biftonnorton]

36. But Only Enough For A Bid On Some Fondue Stuff On ebay

[katinmn]

37. Candidates in the future may never get that same outpouring of

support from working, retired and unemployed stiffs ever again.

So many people, myself included, gave well beyond what they could comfortably afford to do.

Knowing there's a surplus of several million kind of hurts.

[OzarkDem]

38. Give some back to states

Here in Ohio, our party is always broke. We need to be investing in new technology, county party web sites, advertising, outreach to build our grassroots.

A smart party leader would already have some of those funds moving back to the states to start building grassroots and helping candidates in 2006, but as usual, our party leaders are more reactive than proactive. If we don't see some substantial flow of cash and effort moving back to the state parties in the next month or so, we might as well forget about 2006.

[Massachusetts]

46. Dear John,

Please give it up. You're more effective as a U.S. Senator.

[Walt Starr]

48. I was ABB this year

Since he'll be playing with money (some of which came from me) that he thought he didn't need to spend in 2004, I'll be ABK in 2008.

[Q]

50. This is almost delusional thinking...

...and a sure way for Dems to lose again in 2008.