Where does the Edwards election funds come from?

Senator John Edwards, Vice Presidential candidate, has had no trouble gaining funds to stash in the election war chest. Pretty surprising itself, considering the half-term voting-absent Senator, does not have a pretty history of proper representation of his current constituents. But the money just rolls in....but from where?

You would think this is a fair suggestion...
www.pcactionfund.org...
Magnify the power of ordinary citizens. Under a "Clean" presidential public financing system, large numbers of small grassroots donors, not wealthy givers, trigger sufficient public funds to run a presidential campaign on a financially level playing field. Under such a system candidates have an incentive to secure the support of many ordinary people, not just those who give big checks.


So why do Presidential/VP teams turn down the public matching funds?
Maybe the current public funds matching system is broken. And possibly providing a loophole of sorts.


We all know the wonderfulness and sincere intent of Edwards legal career, and all the 'help' he has offered to regular folks in need. And we can assume that the legal commission paid to him for the services rendered was a high percentage of the awards. ... which leads me to the following...

Where is his money coming from?

Tort-bar 'subsidiary'?
Donors who listed their occupation as attorney accounted for about 55 percent of the receipts. This does not include gifts from their spouses and other relatives, or people who work as legal assistants, paralegals and expert witnesses.

In some law offices, numerous employees were listed as donors, often of the maximum $2,000 that federal regulations permit per candidate. And that practice has backfired.

The U.S. Justice Department last week began probing contributions to Edwards' campaign after a clerk at the North Little Rock, Ark., law firm of Turner & Associates told reporters that her boss had promised to reimburse the money she gave.

Most notably, The Wall Street Journal ran an editorial last week saying the Edwards candidacy "has become a wholly owned financial subsidiary of the national tort bar."


Maybe this is why candidates running for high office are refusing public matching funds...

Complaint against the Edwards campaign, May 30, 2003
(well the link went dead in under 12 hours of postiing,...hmmm,...I will leave it up, but the quote I referenced is below.)
ACU hereby requests the Federal Election Commission to conduct an audit of all contributions to the Edwards for President committee and that no federal matching funds be authorized for or paid to the Edwards for President committee until each contribution submitted for federal matching funds has been specifically audited, the donors interviewed and the funds deemed to be contributions given freely and voluntarily from the donors' own resources and otherwise not in violation of federal campaign finance laws.



Now Kerry on the other hand....or maybe I should say with the same hand...they may be two of a kind...

Kerry fends off attacks over fund raising
"John Kerry has absolutely no credibility at all anymore when it comes to fighting special interests in Washington," the former Vermont governor told reporters aboard his campaign plane Sunday. "This is exactly the kind of behavior that George Bush, on a much grander scale, does."




It is appearing that his fellow attorney's are giving vigorously, almost to the tune of appreciation. What would they appreciate? Well Edwards was an attorney that has helped the application of outrageous settlements, like car rollover lawsuits, and medical malpractice lawsuits, that are causing doctors to not be able to afford the required insurance to practice, and ultimately leaving the profession, or charging fee's that are not affordable to un-insured persons, and forcing insurance rates upward. A viscous cycle no doubt.

Edwards -- who worked two decades as a trial lawyer and now defends his scorned profession as a "noble" endeavor -- was expected to lean on colleagues for early support.

He has deep contacts within the plaintiffs' bar, which President Bush accuses of clogging the courts with costly malpractice cases that drive doctors off the job. And those attacks could make some lawyers eager to back someone willing to take on the Republican administration.

No,...I dont like Edwards, and hope to express that with reason.

He won the Senator position by dumping millions into an election for a job that paid $175,000 a year.

A job he dumped mid term.

A job he dumped mid term, in order to focus on spending many more millions for a new job that pays $202,000 per year.

I cant wait to see how much he will pay for the Presidential title.





[edit on 8-7-2004 by smirkley]

Actually, I had heard on a Radio Show that the number was around 75% of his primary war fund was funded by attorney's and similar related, and found that to be a huge offset of sorces of capital. But I have only been able to find published info of 55%.

Either way, does anyone find that to be a bit buddy-heavy, and an odd source of funds in this perportion?