Kerry breaks Bush fund-raising record

[dArKeR]

WASHINGTON - John Kerry quickly rebuilt his depleted campaign fund after securing the Democratic nomination last month, raising roughly $44 million and beating one of President Bush’s money records.

Kerry collected about $57 million from January through March, topping the previous presidential quarterly record of $50 million set by Bush last summer. Bush raised $52.9 million in the first three months of this year. Kerry has a long way to go to catch up with Bush’s record overall fund raising, however.

Kerry raised about $85 million from January 2003 through last month; Bush has raised more than $185 million since launching his re-election effort last May, campaign finance reports the two filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission show.

Bush and Kerry are setting records with every dollar they collect. That is in part because this is the first time both major-party nominees have skipped public financing for the primary season, freeing them from the program’s $45 million spending limit.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4796260/

[deutsey]

1. Hey, good going, Kerry

:thumbsup:

[AndyP]

2. I think we should do something about this

it scares me that between the two contenders they will spend nearly a half a billion dollars by the end of the campaign. That's more than some country's GDP. I think we should cap how much money they can use, say 80 million, let them raise that much money and let the best man/woman win. Sounds fair to me. I don't think one candidate should have to worry about raising insane amounts of money just to run for president.

[dArKeR]

4. I wish they were given 50 million each and that's all they have to work

with. The same time this law is passed the law banning lobbiest goes into effect too.

[Monte Carlo]

5. There's nothing wrong with that...

... it's just implementing the limits are tricky. Big business likes no spending limits because they've got the money.

[cornfedyank]

17. lawyers don't make laws. they find ways around them. n/t

[GOPBasher]

12. I like your idea.

That's a really good campaign finance reform idea: Cap the amount they can spend. I also think the donation cap should be lowered from $2000 per person to about $500. But your idea would do more good, if we can only get one of them.

[LiberalFighter]

29. I agree... was my thought many many years ago

Something along the line of $3 to $5 dollars per voter based on the last election. That way each candidate would be competing equally. Independent groups working on behalf directly or indirectly would be counted against that campaign's limit. It would be the responsibility of the campaign to tell the independent groups to stay out of it if they want to find themselves short of needed cash.

Each congressional and senate campaign would have different caps based on their district or state. The dollar amount would have to be determined on some forumla based on cost of mailings, tv/radio spots and phone bank calling.

Voter registration should be unlimited as long as it is not used for politicizing.

Organizations can do unlimited election campaigning as long as it is only to their members and their families in the same household.

[AndyP]

3. Dupe

[Larkspur]

6. If Dean hadn't led the way in opting out of FEC matching funds

Kerry would be hog tied. As you recall, Kerry waited for Dean to make that first move. So typical of Kerry the Political Koward.

[Monte Carlo]

7. There's a fine line between brave and foolish.

I don't think Dean knew where that line was. Bravery can get you killed, and if we're killed, we can't fight another day.

[cornfedyank]

18. if shrub spends his on don't change horsesasses in the middle...

...of the war, war, war, i don't know if JK can spend enough to inform the uninformed. voters have to separate the fight against terrorists from the optional war shrub et al have slogged us into.

[Hav]

8. .

Here's a tissue for your tears.

[Larkspur]

9. Save it for the Kerry Kids who are whining about their chump

not being loved by every Democrat.

[Hav]

10. .

No, no. It's for you. You do really need for your whining about "your chump" who wasn't able to win it.

[AgadorSparticus]

25. well said, Hav!

:toast: cheers to you!

[Larkspur]

30. I love to burst your bubble of hubris -- I distained Kerry BEFORE

I joined Dean's campaign and if Dean had not done what he did, I would have written in Bugs Bunny on the Primary Ballot.

Until Dean chastised Kerry, Edwards, Gephardt, and Lieberman, I was not impressed with the Democratic Prez field.

[Hav]

32. .

Judging from the posts you offered since the defeat of your candidate, I would have guessed as well that you are one of those who would write in Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse. It might be a bit immature but hey, it's ok.

So, let me get this right. At first you intended to write in Bugs Bunny but then Dean came and you switched from Bugs Bunny to Howard Dean...Bugs Bunny was your favourite candidate until Dean showed up. I'm not sure but that sounds a little bit embarrassing for Dean as he had something that appealed to a Bugs Bunny voter.
Be honest, it was his teeth that made you a supporter of Dean. Am I right?

You never cease to amuse me. Your bitterness is somehow childish though.



(And for the real Dean supporters, I absolutely nothing against Dean and you will have a very hard time to find smears against Dean from me.)

[sangh0]

15. Still making predictions?

Some people never learn

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=802700#810756

[Hav]

16. .

She's only jealous and desperate because of Kerry's success. After all, she did her best fight against his efforts.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=475908#477636

[Zorra]

11. Wow. This is really impressive.

:toast: :bounce:

[Nicholas_J]

13. Yup

Kerry is doing to Bush what Reagan did to the Soviets, forcing them to spend, spend, spend so much in an arms race that they collapsed.

[ieoeja]

14. That's right

It had nothing to do with the changing of the guard after the death of three old-line premiers in a handful of years.

It had nothing to do with Afghanistan.

It had nothing to do with the revolution in Poland.

It had nothing to do with forty years of Cold War.

It was the Reagan administration, and nothing but the Reagan administration that defeated the communists.

[cornfedyank]

20. even if one acknowledges that , think about how he did it.

all reagan did was finish off their broken economy. they ran out of money. but we did not do that without costs to our economic future. the acknowledged national debt is $7,164,319,141,096. http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ that is not a function of GDP to me. to me that is a big pile of quarters.

shrub et al seem only to be capable of remaking old movies, not coming up with anything remotely new or well thought through. and i think that shrub et al will do the same thing to this economy and it's future that the soviets did to their's 20 years ago.

wage peace---it's cheaper

$2/hour x 40 hours/week x 50 weeks/year x 23,000,000 iraqis = $92 billion/year. hire them all. pay each of them off. bring the troops home.

[sangh0]

21. True, but

I really doubt the Kerry campaign is going to cause the national debt to rise

[cornfedyank]

22. sometimes i drift into deeper water. n/t

[sangh0]

31. lol

Thanks for the chuckle

[Nicholas_J]

24. The Reagan Administration

Just kept raising our military budget, so the Soviets had to keep raising theirs which diverted a large amount of the economy to the military and out of the civil sector. It was estimated that if the Soviets did not have to spend so much on defense, they would have begun to pass the United States economically by the early 21st century, and that if they had been able to adequately develop the Ukraine, that one regions would be richer than the United States. Economic studies ofthis nature are largely responsible for Reagans actions as he wanted no possible encouragement for Socialism as an effective economic system, so the dumb Soviet leaders just kept spending on military expenditures.

[ngGale]

19. LOL LOL LOL The Bushies said it could not be..

done. No way Kerry could raise so much money. LOL Can't help but laugh. Let's all hope we have the last laugh too.

[RummyTheDummy]

23. Great! Awesome! Incredible!

Now how about they spend some of it for Chirsts sake.

[MoonRiver]

26. Goooo Kerry!!!

I just bought a tee shirt. I'll go back and contribute more soon. My husband gave a lot recently. :kick:

[AgadorSparticus]

27. And he's not done nor has he really started! It's looking very nice indeed

It will be interesting to see his numbers after the convention. It should be pretty ugly for the R's. The response to ABB is nothing short of amazing. I am still contributing and plan on another doozy come july.

[MoonRiver]

28. YEAH!

:yourock: Kerry!!