This article about Kerry and his Special interests bothers me

[GreenPartyVoter]

I am _very_ against special interests paying money into campaigns and then pulling strings on the elected official later on. (Hence the reason I am all for Publicly funded campaigns.)

Can Kerry get past his special interests past? Did he do it because he needed the funds to get elected and was just playing the game by the rules someone else made?

Published on Friday, January 30, 2004 by the San Diego Union-Tribune
Senator Among Top Recipients in Congress from Special Interests
by Dana Wilkie and Joe Cantlupe

WASHINGTON – In his quest for the White House, Sen. John Kerry says he is committed to sweeping out the "special interests" he contends are trying to manipulate federal laws and policies.

But the Massachusetts lawmaker and Democratic presidential front-runner is among Congress' top recipients of money from some of those special interests – drug companies, HMOs, lawyers, investment firms, real estate interests and contractors, among others

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0130-02.htm

[Jack_Dawson]

1. Face it: Kerry is Politics as Usual

Not much "change" is going to happen on JK's watch.

[BayCityProgressive]

2. All of our politicians are corrupt

I support Kerry but I bet once he is elected we won't change much of anything. Both parties are beholden to the same corporations.

[creativelcro]

3. You're damn right!

[BayCityProgressive]

4. if Kerry is going to talk the talk

he needs to walk the walk. He is shooting himself in the foot with this special interests bashing because Bush is just going to turn around and say "you take the same money I do".

[sallyseven]

7. He never took PAC money

I don't think you know him at all.

[girl gone mad]

11. Why do you support him then?

At least we have some kind of a chance with Clark or Dean.

[rucky]

12. *ahem*

<-----

[blm]

5. No corporate pac money or special interest money was donated to Kerry.

This article LUMPS together all those individuals by their professions who have donated to Kerry.

This is a misleading tactic and could be done to any candidate.

[Mr. McD]

6. Yes, business as usual

:puke:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. OK folks but perspective is everything, and that is what makes this

humorous.

During the 2000 election cycle, Big Pharma was George Bush's biggest contributor. They contributed millions to Republicans and hedged their bets with Democrats. Crafting a CFR bill that actually has teeth has proven to be a tough sell.

When big pharma is giving MILLIONS to Repubs and throws several thousand at Dems, I have a very hard time getting all worked up about it.

The is how the left kills itself every time.

[nickinSTL]

9. Kerry/PAC & special interest money

"This article LUMPS together all those individuals by their professions who have donated to Kerry"

Ok, so they're saying that if someone who works for an insurance company donates money to Kerry, it's special interest money from an insurance company? Talk about misleading.

By that reckoning, if I donated money to Kerry, he'd be taking maney from a Catholic University. Would that count as him getting money from the Catholic Church as a special interest? Because I tell you, I may work for a Catholic institution, but I disagree with a LARGE amount of what the Catholic Church stands for.

[sandnsea]

10. After Bush and Dean

Read the article.

"This election cycle, Kerry took $531,251 from the health care industry, putting him among the top four recipients of such money – just behind President Bush and Democratic presidential contenders Howard Dean of Vermont and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut."

"He was among the top three recipients – behind Bush and Dean – in the $883,950 he took from the communications and electronics industry."

"The only two people taking more money from this group were Bush and Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, the North Carolina senator and former trial lawyer."

[Jerseycoa]

15. Nice hit, sandnsea nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. Thanks folks

:)

[bbmykel]

14. I don't think there is much evidence of Kerry being in the thrall ...

...of lobbysists. There are probably a few instances where it may appear so, but anyone who has a public record is going to be open to those accusations. Just look at how many of the Kerry folks here tried the same type of smears on Howard Dean's record in Vermont. There wasn't any real evidence against Dean and there doesn't appear to be any against Kerry. Until our elections are publicly financed, politicians will take money. The fact of taking the money isn't what we need to watch but whether public policy follows.

[tinanator]

16. next to Bill Hicks

this is probably the funniest stuff Ive ever heard! Whatever you all think, dont assume for a minute that the Pharmaceuticals are trying to bring you each and every choice you have to vote for. Because there is one alternative.

[sandnsea]

17. never mind

[tryanhas]

18. please! pleASE!! PLEASE!!! CAN YOU ALL GET IT ONCE???

SKULL AND BONES OWNS THE SPECIAL INTERESTS!

John Kerry is a member of Skull and Bones!

Of course he is immersed in the special interests and just blowing hot air on the campaign trail.

SKULL AND BONES OWNS THE SPECIAL INTERESTS!

Sigh, maybe you all will get it one day.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0130-02.htm

[Duder]

19. Maybe they're relatives...

'When researching who the hell Mintz et.al was, when I saw them number one on the top ten list of John Kerry’s contributors, I was struck by its client list dominated by pharmaceutical and bio-genetics firm.

What I missed was the most obvious connection. It was pointed out to me by Newsday columnist Marie Cocco. When I alerted Ms. Cocco to the apparent hypocrisy that the leading defender of senior citizens against abuse by drug companies, John Kerry, was receiving almost a quarter of a million dollars from the industry’s law firm, Ms. Cocco clued me to the fact that Mintz et. al. was Kerry’s brother Cam’s law firm.

I returned to the web site of Mintz et.al. and sure enough there was the bio for Cameron Kerry one of the the 450 litigators working for Mintz. Cam Kerry’s main area of specialty was his work for the cable industry but it was duly noted that, “ In addition to his communications practice, Cam has become a national authority on the representation of property owners and insurers in toxic tort litigation involving liability for injuries from lead-based paint and mold. In addition to defending numerous cases throughout the country, he has lectured and written for publications and legal and business seminars in this area.”

It sounds to me that Cam Kerry is another example of what it takes these days to be a successful “liberal” Democrat. You may think it is just the cost of doing business to donate huge sums to the presidential campaign of one of your employees’ brother. But somehow I think there is more to this than just that.

You can rest easy though, Cam Kerry is not a member of Skull and Bones, he went to Harvard.'

http://www.rightiswrong.com/zlatkinletter.php