FACTCHECK.ORG: Obama is Lying About McCain’s Money and His Own

 

The amount of special interest money pouring into the Obama campaign is why he has flip-flopped and opted out of the public finance system. Obama is the first presidential candidate to opt out of this system, designed to lessen the influence of special interests, since 1972.

 

Obama said his reason for opting out of the system was this:

Obama: We face opponents who’ve become masters at gaming this broken system. John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.

 

 

Factcheck.org says:

Obama announced he would become the first presidential candidate since 1972 to rely totally on private donations for his general election campaign, opting out of the system of public financing and spending limits that was put in place after the Watergate scandal.

One reason, he said, is that “John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.”

We find that to be a large exaggeration and a lame excuse. In fact, donations from PACs and lobbyists make up less than 1.7 percent of McCain’s total receipts, and they account for only about 1.1 percent of the RNC’s receipts.

To say that either the McCain campaign or the RNC are “fueled” by money from lobbyists and PACs is an overstatement, to say the least. Such funds make up less than 1.7 percent of McCain’s presidential campaign receipts and 1.1 percent of the RNC’s income.

McCain – As of the end of April, the McCain campaign had reported receiving $655,576 from lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That is less than seven-tenths of 1 percent of his total receipts of $96,654,783. His campaign also took in $960,990 from PACs, amounting to just under 1 percent of total receipts. The two sources combined make up less than 1.7 percent of his total.

RNC – The Republican National Committee has raised $143,298,225, of which only $135,000 has been come from lobbyists, according to the CRP. That’s less than one-tenth of 1 percent. It also took in about 1 percent of its receipts from PACs, CRP said. Taken together, that’s about 1.1 percent from PACs and lobbyists.

The Obama campaign already has raised $265 million through the end of April, more than two-and-a-half times as much as McCain has taken in.

Obama makes a point of refusing money from those who are currently registered to lobby at the federal level. The CRP has a broader definition, counting money from anyone working at a lobbying firm, registered or not, state or federal, and their families as well. By CRP’s definition Obama himself has taken in $161,927 from lobbyists.

Also, for what it’s worth, the Democratic National Committee has historically been far more reliant on PAC and lobbyist money than the RNC. In 2004, PACs provided about 10 percent of the DNC’s total fundraising and only about 1 percent of the RNC’s total, according to the CRP.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_lame_claim_about_mccains_money.html

 

 

According to CRP’s definition of special interest money here is the list of the top 20 donors to the Obama campaign.

 

Goldman Sachs	$571,330
University of California	$437,236
UBS AG	$364,806
JPMorgan Chase & Co	$362,207
Citigroup Inc	$358,054
National Amusements Inc	$320,750
Lehman Brothers	$318,647
Google Inc	$309,514
Harvard University	$309,025
Sidley Austin LLP	$294,245
Skadden, Arps et al	$270,013
Time Warner	$262,677
Morgan Stanley	$259,876
Jones Day	$250,725
Exelon Corp	$236,211
University of Chicago	$218,857
Wilmerhale LLP	$218,680
Latham & Watkins	$218,615
Microsoft Corp	$209,242
Stanford University	$195,262

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638

 

 

Obama also claims that he doesn’t take money from energy companies – but once again Factcheck.org says otherwise:

 

Obama says he doesn’t take money from oil companies. We say that’s a little too slick

In a new ad, Obama says, “I don’t take money from oil companies.”

Technically, that’s true, since a law that has been on the books for more than a century prohibits corporations from giving money directly to any federal candidate. But that doesn’t distinguish Obama from his rivals in the race.

We find the statement misleading:

• Obama has accepted more than $213,000 from individuals who work for companies in the oil and gas industry and their spouses.
• Two of Obama’s bundlers are top executives at oil companies and are listed on his Web site as raising between $50,000 and $100,000 for the presidential hopeful.

 

Exxon Mobile               $30,850

Hess                             $5,200

Shell                             $9,900

Conoco Philips             $4,300

Chevron                       $9, 500

BP                                 $6,396

TOTAL – $66,146

 http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_oil_spill.html

 

Chuck Norton