Politics

Soft Money Smorgasbord

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 26, 2000 / 9:05 AM EDT / CBS

Texas Gov. George W. Bush brought his Midas touch to Washington Wednesday as the headline speaker at the Republican National Committee's Gala 2000 fundraiser, which pulled in $21.3 million - by far a record for a single night of political money raising.

Bush, who's already raised over $80 million for his own presidential campaign war chest, headlined the RNC dinner that featured a guest list of political high-rollers and major party donors, with musical entertainment by KC and the Sunshine Band.

The governor devoted much of his speech to attacking the present administration's partisanship and his ideas to restore "respect to our national politics."

"The Clinton-Gore administration has been the most relentlessly partisan administration in our nation's history ... Americans have seen a cycle of bitterness: an arms race of anger," Bush said, though he added that "both parties bear some of the blame" for the rancor in Washington.

He then promised to "run a campaign of ideas...[and] treat the other party with respect."

He continued, "I will listen to the best ideas from conservatives and moderates and new Democrats. And as a good man said, from libertarians and vegetarians as well."

Not surprisingly, that "good man," Arizona Sen. John McCain, was in Vietnam Wednesday, far away from the gargantuan gala. One of the issues McCain centered his presidential campaign around was campaign finance reform.

Among the heavy hitters in attendance were representatives from several groups with direct interests in legislation before the government.

Guests included Kenneth Lay, chairman of the Texas-based Enron Corporation, an energy company. Lay's company is Bush's largest lifetime donor. It's given him over $550,000 over his three campaigns.

Also featured were the GOP's all-time soft money donor and the nation's largest tobacco company Philip Morris, Blue Cross/Blue Shield lobbyist Brenda Becker, and National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, a co-chair of the dinner, who raised at least $250,000 for the event.

Democrats criticized the RNC and Bush Wednesday, raising the issue of the relationship between the dinner's organizers and the NRA.

Bush said the NRA's role in the dinner would create no problems down the road.

"I know what I believe. I support reasonable laws to keep the guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. I believe we ought to enforce the law," Bush said Wednesday, in response to a reporter's question.

Gore spokesman Douglas Hattaway disagreed, saying: "George W. Bush is being sponsored by special interests like the NRA, tobacco companies and HMOs that are the biggest obstacles to meaningful reform in this country. Bush talking about campaign reform to this group is like preaching about tolerance at Bob Jones University."

Most of the money raised during events like Wednesay's gala is soft money - the unlimited contributions that Vice President Gore had offered to avoid using if Bush agreed, which he did not.

And so, as in 1996, both sides are raising soft money hand-over-fist.

On April 15, President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore brought in $2.8 million at a dinner co-hosted by Steven Spielberg in Beverly Hills. Monday, Clinton and Gore were joined by their wives at a DNC dinner in New York City which raised $2.2 million.

Tuesday, Gore was in Boston collecting $750,000 for the party at a $5,000 per plate salmon dinner.

On top of that, the Democrats have planned a "tribute" to President Clinton for next month where they're expected to rake in $7 million.

From January through March this year, each party has pulled in about $27 million in soft money. The total from January 1, 1999 through March 31, 2000 for both parties is more than $160 million, according to Common Cause, a non-partisan government watchdog group.

Wednesday's RNC dinner has raised the ire of Reform Party presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, who is running his campaign only on "hard money" - or contributions from individuals, which are subjected to strict limits.

"Tonight, George W. Bush is headlining a soft money pig-out," Buchanan said in a statement Wednesday. "Next month, the Gore campaign will try to outdo Bush with its own soft money bash. Whoever wins the race for special interest cash, America's democracy and the American people end up the losers."