Corporations Bankroll Bush LRA: http://www.laborresearch.org/story2.php/353
U.S. corporate executives are the primary force behind the funding of President Bush's $180 million 2004 election campaign war chest. By early April, Bush had raised so much money that he suspended all further fund-raising. He now has the largest campaign fund of any candidate in U.S. history - almost double the amount he raised for the 2000 election.
Bush ran his 2000 campaign with money still linked to his Texas origins, but now relies heavily on the national finance and investment community for his campaign funding. By March of this year, Merrill Lynch and PricewaterhouseCoopers had contributed nearly half a million dollars each to the Bush campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
UBS Americas, MBNA Corp., Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston all gave Bush more than quarter of a million dollars each.
Merrill Lynch's 2004 contribution is double the largest corporate contribution to Bush's 2000 campaign - $241,000 from MBNA. The finance/insurance/real estate sector has become by far the most deeply invested in Bush's re-election, with well over $22 million in campaign contributions and many of the sector's CEOs acting as top Bush fundraisers.
Stan O'Neal, CEO of Merrill Lynch, is one of Bush's biggest contributors and fund-raisers. Merrill Lynch and other finance industry contributors publicly support Bush's proposals for privatizing Social Security with individual investment programs. They have also benefited from his capital gains and dividends tax cuts.
Democratic candidate John Kerry has raised only $80 million, and will not be able to match the television commercial blitz that the Bush campaign has already launched.
Corporate contributions to Kerry are insignificant in comparison to Bush's take. Most of Kerry's major corporate contributors have given equal or greater amounts of money to the Bush campaign to hedge their bets.
Read the rest at: http://www.laborresearch.org/story2.php/353
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