InfoImagination: A Government of the People

WASHINGTON, March 8 /U.S. Newswire
Democracy 21 today released a list of the top 103 soft money donors, who in 2000 contributed a staggering $35,522,297 to the effort to elect George W. Bush to the White House. Dubbed "President Bush's Fortune Seeking 100," the list is a Who's Who of corporate America, representing tobacco, oil and gas, real estate, computer, finance, agriculture, banking, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and other interests
(See list below).

"The dangers to our democracy of the corrupt soft money system are clear to anyone who examines this list of huge donors, and considers the extraordinary economic stakes they have in innumerable government decisions that will be made, starting with President Bush's $1.6 trillion tax bill," Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer said. "The potential returns for the soft money donors who made these investments have got to be calculated in the billions of dollars" (See Bush and Tobacco).

More than $120 million in soft money was raised in 2000 by the Bush presidential effort, including the $35 million from the Fortune Seeking 100 who, on average, gave $344,876 each, according to the Democracy 21 analysis. "These are the same kind of huge soft money contributions that are also at the heart of the scandal surrounding President Clinton's pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich," Wertheimer said. "Bush's soft money donors over time will raise national suspicions about influence buying with the Bush Administration in the same way that Clinton's soft money donors have raised national suspicions about his actions," Wertheimer said.

During his presidential campaign then-Governor Bush repeatedly pledged "to restore honor and integrity" to the White House. "President Bush simply cannot meet his campaign pledge to restore the integrity of the presidency as long as the White House remains, in the eyes of the American people, on the auction block to influence-seeking soft money donors," Wertheimer said.

The Fortune Seeking 100 list of top Bush soft money donors was compiled for Democracy 21 by the Center for Responsive Politics, based on Federal Election Commission (FEC) data released on February 1, 2001. The totals listed reflect company contributions and contributions by individuals associated with the company.

California Republican Party ............ $1,325,000
Amway Corp ............................. $733,500
Lehman Brothers ........................ $579,800
RJF International ...................... $575,000
Enron Corp ............................. $572,900
Credit Suisse First Boston ............. $568,100
Duchossois Industries .................. $560,000
MBNA America Bank ...................... $555,905
Packet Engines ......................... $550,000
Philip Morris .......................... $535,148
Westwood One ........................... $530,000
JW Childs Assn ......................... $525,000
National Rifle Association ............. $522,315
EMC Corp ............................... $510,000
Eldred Enterprises ..................... $502,054
Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co ................ $500,000
Scripps Enterprises .................... $500,000
Re/Max Realty .......................... $500,000
Paelades Publishing .................... $500,000

DONATIONS OF $251,000 TO $499,999

Joseph C Canizaro Interests ............ $490,000
AT&T ................................... $479,300
Davis Boat Works ....................... $460,000
Chartwell Partners ..................... $456,500
Sequoia Capital ........................ $420,000
Holmes Farm & Timber ................... $420,000
Reynolds, Dewitt & Co .................. $398,500
Mack-Cali Realty ....................... $375,000
Trident Capital ........................ $363,600
Home Depot ............................. $360,000
FirstEnergy Corp ....................... $352,000
Andlinger & Co ......................... $350,000
Contran Corp ........................... $350,000
Charles Schwab & Co .................... $346,850
Dehaan Partners ........................ $335,000
Pfizer Inc ............................. $330,350
America Online ......................... $325,825
Union Pacific Corp ..................... $321,385
Hanna Capital Management ............... $320,000
Dell Computer .......................... $315,000
Microsoft Corp ......................... $313,126
UST Inc ................................ $307,093
Bristol-Myers Squibb ................... $306,200
Goldman Sachs Group .................... $304,250
JP Realty .............................. $300,100
Smithfield Foods ....................... $300,000
Harbour Group Ltd ...................... $300,000
SBC Communications ..................... $299,365
Burlington Northern Inc ................ $295,000
HD Vest Financial Services ............. $293,360
Joseph E Seagram & Sons ................ $289,350
Ashbury Capital ........................ $283,500
AG Spanos Companies .................... $277,000
Knickerbocker Management ............... $275,000
Kohler Co .............................. $270,000
Kleiner, Perkins et al ................. $270,000
Outback Steakhouse ..................... $265,850
Texas Utilities Co ..................... $265,500
Sunoco Inc ............................. $265,221
Global Crossing ........................ $262,200
McKenzie Co ............................ $260,000
Galpin Motors .......................... $260,000
Verizon Communications ................. $259,250
Verio Inc .............................. $258,000
USX Corp ............................... $257,500
AFLAC Inc .............................. $257,400
John Templeton Foundation .............. $256,000
Dallas Semiconductors .................. $256,000
JVW Investments Ltd .................... $251,000

DONATIONS OF $250,000

Wyly, Charles J ........................ $250,400
Hunter Engineering ..................... $250,200
First Fiscal Fund ...................... $250,200
DC Goodman & Sons ...................... $250,200
Clark Enterprises ...................... $250,000
Anadarko Petroleum ..................... $250,000
Cablevision Systems Corp ............... $250,000
News Corp .............................. $250,000
GAF Corp ............................... $250,000
Scruggs, Millette et al ................ $250,000
Peotone Bancorp ........................ $250,000
Cook, Robert B Dr ...................... $250,000
Green Mtn Energy/Michaels Stores ....... $250,000
Dynegy Inc ............................. $250,000
Zurich Financial Services .............. $250,000
Fisher Group ........................... $250,000
Booth, Otis ............................ $250,000
Smith, Stephen R ....................... $250,000
Thomas Weisel Partners ................. $250,000
El Paso Energy ......................... $250,000
Thompson, Jack ......................... $250,000
United Industries Corp ................. $250,000
Public Storage Inc ..................... $250,000
Auld Ghent Corp ........................ $250,000
CMB Capital ............................ $250,000
JD Edwards & Co ........................ $250,000
Atlas Air Inc .......................... $250,000
IRI International ...................... $250,000
Pitchfork Development .................. $250,000
Aerospace Finance Ltd .................. $250,000
CSC Holdings Inc ....................... $250,000
Home Interiors & Gifts ................. $250,000
Neodyme Technologies ................... $250,000
Worthington Industries ................. $250,000
Freddie Mac ............................ $250,000