|
Obama taps into Minnesota's deep pockets
Senator Barack Obama never has trouble drawing a huge crowd in Minnesota, but at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Minneapolis Wednesday he looking to draw on the state's deep pockets. At least 350 supporters attended a private fundraiser, according Pat Doyle of the Star Tribune, who was the pool reporter allowed into the private event. "I am absolutely convinced we will win Minnesota," the Illinois senator told the donors, all of whom paid at least $1,000 to get into the event. Those looking for a photo op with the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate were asked to give $5,000, and at least 50 paid $28,500 to dine with Senator Obama. If you're wondering why so many candidates hunt for cash in Minnesota, it's a combination of the state's relative affluence and approach to politics. "Minnesota ranks generally fourth or fifth in the nation in per capita personal income," Hamline University's David Schultz told KARE 11, "Combine that with the spirit of volunteerism and political activism, Minnesota's a great place to raise funds." According to Doyle's pool report, the menu at the dinner included a lettuce cup salad and beef medallions, followed by birthday cake for Obama's birthday. The Senator turned 47 on Sunday. The maximum an individual can donate to a presidential candidate is $2,300 during the primaries, and $2,300 during the general election for a total of $4,600 during the cycle. So, you might ask, how does someone contribute $5,000 for a photo, let alone $28,500 for a dinner date? Schultz says the key is that you can also donate up to $28,500 to national parties, $10,000 to state parties intent on influencing a federal election, and $5,000 to political action committees or PACs. "In fact th total amount of money an individual can contribute in 2008 is $108,200!" Schultz said. That would be someone who gives money to multiple candidates, up to a limit of $42,700 and many different parties and PACs, to the maximum of $65,500. The event occurred on the same day that the New York Times reported Obama has made effective use of surrogate fundraisers known as "bundlers," who collect smaller contributions and package them into a larger chunk of cash for the campaign. "Why candidates like bundlers is they go out and do the hard work," Schultz explained, "They go out and raise a lot of the smaller contributions and put them together." The Times report said at least 50 bundlers have collected $50,000 each for the Obama effort. "These bundlers often hope to earn some type of access to the candidate in the future." Schultz told KARE the practice has been legal since the early 1970's, but was first used extensively by President George W. Bush in the year 2008. Of course no Obama visit would be complete without some hecklers, and on Wednesday the job was handled by College Republicans who showed up in front of the hotel with props that included giant tire guages. It was their way to rip on Obama for telling a crowd that the nation would save gain more oil, and do it more quickly, if people would keep their tires inflated and their engines tuned up properly. The federal government, NASCAR and California Arnold Schwarzenegger have all urged motorists to fully inflate their tires since gasoline and diesel prices began to rise dramatically. "We're all for inflating our tires, but for Barack Obama to suggest that will take the place of more drilling, that's just a silly suggestion," Minnesota Republican party chairman Ron Carey told reporters. Carey said Obama has been slow to warm up to calls for expanded off-shore drilling, which McCain embraced as well as accelerated construction of new nuclear power plants. "The Senator has said he'd prefer oil companies drill in the lands they already have under lease," Obama's Minnesota spokesman Nick Kimball told KARE, "But he's willing to work on a compromise with his Republican colleagues in the Senate as part of a comprehensive solution to the energy crisis." Obama's energy plan includes a $1,000 rebate to help families deal with the budget shocks caused by the spike in fuel costs. Most experts, including the US Department of Energy, contend it would take 10 to 12 years for new exploration to yield crude. And that crude would be sold on the global market.
|
 MORE HEADLINES |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
