Democratic candidates spar over K Street money

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Democratic candidates spar over K Street money
By Jonathan E. Kaplan
August 04, 2007

CHICAGO – Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said during the 90-minute Presidential Leadership Forum on Saturday at the YearlyKos Convention that she would not stop accepting K Street money and defended lobbyists’ participation in the political process.

Former vice presidential nominee and Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) scored the biggest hit of the day when he challenged his competitors to stop accepting contributions from lobbyists. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) does not accept donations from lobbyists, which Edwards acknowledged.

The most heated exchanges – and really the only time during the debate that the candidates addressed and challenged each other – came when each candidate was asked whether they would accept Edwards’ challenge.

“In 35 years of public service, nobody seriously thinks I could be influenced by a lobbyist,” Clinton said, defending her decision to continue to accept contributions.

“Lobbyists represent real interests, nurses, social workers…somehow the idea that a contribution is going to influence my record,” is not rooted in reality, Clinton added.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said he favored a publicly financed campaign system, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) challenged Edwards to stop taking money from managers of hedge funds.

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http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/democratic-candidates-spar-over-k-street-money-2007-08-04.html