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$500,000 to boost political groups

Goal: influence Colorado races

By Burt Hubbard, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 7, 2008 at 7:59 a.m.
Updated May 8, 2008 at 12:03 a.m.

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Another half-million dollars have flowed into stealth political groups that will use the money to try to influence key Colorado races this year.

The donations from the first four months of this year include more than $100,000 each from Colorado's two Democratic Party millionaires.

Campaign reports filed with the Secretary of State's Office show that three 527 committees combined received a little more than $500,000 from January through the end of April.

The groups, named after a section of the IRS code, can accept donations with no limits and can spend an unlimited amount on campaigns as long as they don't coordinate with candidates or political parties.

In past elections, they have spent their money on attack ads.

Two Democratic Party-oriented 527s took in almost $400,000. Fort Collins heiress Pat Stryker and retired software entrepreneur Tim Gill each gave $133,000 to the committees, the reports said.

The two have been major donors to Democratic Party causes over the years, contributing millions of dollars.

One of the Democratic 527s, Accountability for Colorado, already bought about $135,000 in advertising, the reports show.

A memo obtained by the Rocky Mountain News earlier this year outlined how the Democratic groups had plans to spend $12 million against Republican Party U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer, 4th Congressional District incumbent Marilynn Musgrave and the Republican nominee for the presidency.

The Republican Party 527, Colorado Leadership Fund, received $107,000.

Some donors gave to both Republican and Democratic 527s. Tobacco giant Philip Morris gave $14,000 to Colorado Leadership Fund and $20,000 to a third Democratic 527, Main Street Colorado, according to the reports.

hubbardb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5107

Comments

  • May 7, 2008

    8:26 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    LoFat writes:

    So much for campaign finance reform. They found a way around the reform before it became law. Such a joke.

  • May 7, 2008

    9:05 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    rushrulesbaby writes:

    Operation chaos will rule in the end!

  • May 7, 2008

    10:10 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    infidel91 writes:

    Campaign finance "reform" was a bad idea to begin with. It has resulted in a host of regulations and bureaucracy that tends to deter people from political activity, and has abridged everyone's First Amendment rights.

    All this despite the fact that it's never been satisfactorily explained how it is that money supposedly "corrupts" the election process.

    And then, as this story seems to show, it doesn't even work!

  • May 7, 2008

    12:02 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    horsinaround writes:

    At least we all have the "mute" button option. I know I'll be putting it to good use soon!

  • May 7, 2008

    5 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Scooper25 writes:

    I love how conservatives demonize Stryker and Gill for their political donations on one hand, then self-righteously trumpet that political money is a form of speech which should be protected by the 1st amendment on the other. Only when the money flows to conservative causes and candidates, right? C'mon...

  • May 7, 2008

    5:58 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    LoFat writes:

    To co-opt a liberal belief, you are uneducated and have no opinion until I give it to you. The point being is that the liberals passed campaign finance reform and immediately found a way around it. It had nothing to do with political donations other than to silence the opposition.

    And a good day to you, Scoopers 25.

  • May 8, 2008

    2:51 a.m.

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    AlanAardvark writes:

    Re: "The donations from the first four months of this year include more than $100,000 each from Colorado's two Democratic Party millionaires."

    This factual error in the story represents either sloppy reporting or sloppy editing, as there are at least four billionaire or near-billionaire Democrats in Colorado -- Tim Gill, Pat Stryker, Jared Polis and Rutt Bridges -- and surely a good many more "mere" millionaires. So, the story's implication that there are only two is way off base.

    If the Rocky weren't so biased, I might be able to believe this was an honest mistake. As it is, I'm more inclined to think it was the reporter's attempt to soft-pedal the true situation in Colorado: that the Democrats here have become the party of the rich, in stark contrast to the traditional "class warfare" pitch that Democrats like to make.