Bush Money Network Rooted in Florida, Texas -- Must read

[donheld]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1219-02.htm


DALLAS - Long before George W. Bush began campaigning for the White House, his family built a fund-raising network of wealthy supporters to bankroll his political ambitions and propel him to the presidency.
The network - including oilmen, lobbyists, developers, and agricultural executives - became accustomed to the Bush family's style of government, with George W. Bush as governor of Texas and brother Jeb Bush as governor of Florida.

The political financiers made an investment in the Bush family, an investment that paid off.

By 2004, President Bush's re-election campaign had assembled 66 elite fund-raisers in Texas and 55 in Florida. Some of the supporters, known as Pioneers and Rangers for raising at least $100,000 or $200,000, respectively, say they collected contributions for Mr. Bush because he was a trusted friend with common political ideas.

Some, though, acknowledge that being a prolific fund-raiser translates into access for those who want to influence government decisions.

"If you support someone, it's going to give you a leg up on getting an audience. There's nothing wrong with that," said Pioneer Charles Beggs Moncrief of Moncrief Oil in Fort Worth.

Since Mr. Bush took office in 2001, the federal government has awarded more than $3 billion in contracts to the President's elite 2004 Texas fund-raisers, their businesses, and lobbying clients, a Blade investigation shows. In Florida, massive sugar companies and development firms led by Bush Pioneers and Rangers have reaped millions of dollars from government policies, which environmentalists say have sided with sprawl and development over the restoration of the Everglades.

[babylonsister]

1. Nothin' like

spreading the wealth.:sarcasm: Seems like a great investment for those Pioneers and Rangers.
Too bad it stinks to high heaven.