but.... remember, voting fraud = mickey mouse registering to vote On Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 3:06 PM, Judah McAuley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > For Christs sake people, get a fucking grip. > > I'm all in favor of campaign finance reform, hell I've been screaming > about it for years, but this is sheer partisan idiocy. > > Oh noes! Democracy is being undermined by the little people! Run for the > hills! > > I'll give a crap about prepaid credit cards being used for low dollar > donations when I see John "Finance Reform" McCain reject 527 group > "advocacy" ads. > > How many "untraceable" donations would it take to match a $25,000 > contribution to Freedoms Watch? How about a $10,000 donation to the > DNC? > > Campaign financing is totally screwed and it is largely because of the > argument that "money == speech". I disagree with that point of view. > Regardless, there is lots of work to do but starting with pre-paid > credit cards for small dollar donations? For fucks sake, get a little > sense of perspective here. > > Judah > > On Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 1:35 PM, Michael Dinowitz > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> As Gruss brought up the very important point of foreign campaign >> contributions, I wanted to follow through. The ability to accept numerous >> 'small' contributions could (could, not does) allow for the same problems >> and more. This is becoming more of an issue as more things become digital. I >> can see a billionaire candidate in the future being able to show a 'popular' >> financing of his campaign using a small staff, a huge wallet and some >> digital transactions. And that's not counting foreign and/or illegal >> contributions. Campaign financing reforms are needed NOW...or else. And this >> is an American issue, not a rep/dem one. >> >> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/28/AR2008102803413.html >> >> Contributions Reviewed After Deposits >> >> By Matthew Mosk >> Washington Post Staff Writer >> Wednesday, October 29, 2008; A02 >> >> Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign is allowing donors to use largely >> untraceable prepaid credit cards that could potentially be used to evade >> limits on how much an individual is legally allowed to give or to mask a >> contributor's identity, campaign officials confirmed. >> >> Faced with a huge influx of donations over the Internet, the campaign has >> also chosen not to use basic security measures to prevent potentially >> illegal or anonymous contributions from flowing into its accounts, aides >> acknowledged. Instead, the campaign is scrutinizing its books for improper >> donations after the money has been deposited. >> >> The Obama organization said its extensive review has ensured that the >> campaign has refunded any improper contributions, and noted that Federal >> Election Commission rules do not require front-end screening of donations. >> >> In recent weeks, questionable contributions have created headaches for >> Obama's accounting team as it has tried to explain why campaign finance >> filings have included itemized donations from individuals using fake names, >> such as Es Esh or Doodad Pro. Those revelations prompted conservative >> bloggers to further test Obama's finance vetting by giving money using the >> kind of prepaid cards that can be bought at a drugstore and cannot be traced >> to a donor. >> >> The problem with such cards, campaign finance lawyers said, is that they >> make it impossible to tell whether foreign nationals, donors who have >> exceeded the limits, government contractors or others who are barred from >> giving to a federal campaign are making contributions. >> >> "They have opened the floodgates to all this money coming in," said Sean >> Cairncross, chief counsel to the Republican National Committee. "I think >> they've made the determination that whatever money they have to refund on >> the back end doesn't outweigh the benefit of taking all this money upfront." >> >> The Obama campaign has shattered presidential fundraising records, in part >> by capitalizing on the ease of online giving. Of the $150 million the >> senator from Illinois raised in September, nearly $100 million came in over >> the Internet. >> >> Lawyers for the Obama operation said yesterday that their "extensive >> back-end review" has carefully scrubbed contributions to prevent illegal >> money from entering the operation's war chest. "I'm pretty sure if I took my >> error rate and matched it against any other campaign or comparable >> nonprofit, you'd find we're doing very well," said Robert Bauer, a lawyer >> for the campaign. "I have not seen the McCain compliance staff ascending to >> heaven on a cloud." >> >> The Obama team's disclosures came in response to questions from The >> Washington Post about the case of Mary T. Biskup, a retired insurance >> manager from Manchester, Mo., who turned up on Obama's FEC reports as having >> donated $174,800 to the campaign. Contributors are limited to giving $2,300 >> for the general election. >> >> Biskup, who had scores of Obama contributions attributed to her, said in an >> interview that she never donated to the candidate. "That's an error," she >> said. Moreover, she added, her credit card was never billed for the >> donations, meaning someone appropriated her name and made the contributions >> with another card. >> >> When asked whether the campaign takes steps to verify whether a donor's name >> matches the name on the credit card used to make a payment, Obama's campaign >> replied in an e-mail: "Name-matching is not a standard check conducted or >> made available in the credit card processing industry. We believe Visa and >> MasterCard do not even have the ability to do this. >> >> "Instead, the campaign does a rigorous comprehensive analysis of online >> contributions on the back end of the transaction to determine whether a >> contribution is legitimate." >> >> Juan Proaño, whose technology firm handled online contributions for John >> Edwards's presidential primary campaign, and for John F. Kerry's >> presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee in 2004, said it >> is possible to require donors' names and addresses to match those on their >> credit card accounts. But, he said, some campaigns are reluctant to impose >> that extra layer of security. >> >> "Honestly, you want to have the least amount of hurdles in processing >> contributions quickly," Proaño said. >> >> Sen. John McCain's campaign has also had questionable donations slip >> through. >> >> Dan Pfeiffer, Obama's communication's director, said that "no organization >> can fully insulate itself from these problems. The McCain campaign has >> accepted contributions from fraudulent contributors like 'A for You,' >> 'Adorable Manabat,' 'The Gun Shop,' and 'Jesus II' and hundreds of anonymous >> donors." >> >> But R. Rebecca Donatelli, who handles online contributions for the McCain >> operation and the RNC, said security measures have been standard in the GOP >> nominee's fundraising efforts throughout the campaign. She said she was >> "flabbergasted" to learn that the Obama campaign accepts prepaid cards. >> >> "Yes, a gift card would go through the same process as a regular credit card >> and be subject to our same back-end review," the Obama campaign said in its >> response to questions about the use of such cards. >> >> Campaign finance lawyers said there is a long history of debate within the >> FEC about how to ensure that donors use their own credit cards. >> >> Election lawyer Brett Kappel said the FEC has never grappled with the >> question of cash cards. "The whole system is set up for them to accept the >> payment, then determine whether it is legal or not. And if it's not, send it >> back. That's what the statute requires," he said. >> >> >> > >
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