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Money Madness

From George W. Bush to Jon Corzine, it was commonplace during the recent election season to hear about political money records being shattered. Now, as the final totals for last year’s federal elections are coming to light, it’s clear that 2000 was the most expensive campaign ever - costing around $3.2 billion.

The 1996 elections, by comparison, cost around $2.4 billion.

Of that $3.2 billion total, more than $1 billion was raised by the political parties; another $1 billion by House and Senate candidates; and $600 million by the presidential candidates. Keep in mind that the $600 million figure refers only to the amount the candidates raised themselves and doesn’t include the political conventions or party spending on behalf of the candidates.

“This is an incredible amount of money and it’s continually increasing,” said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that follows campaign finance issues.

In addition, the Annenberg Public Policy Center announced Thursday a staggering $509 million was spent on so-called TV and radio “issue ads,” commercials run by outside groups, not by the candidates, in favor of a specific position or candidate.

“Issue ads have become a dominant advertising force during political campaigns,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the center’s director.

The Annenberg study showed the Democratic and Republican parties were responsible for $161.9 million, or 31 percent of the issue-ad spending total. The parties paid for those ads - supporting Al Gore and George W. Bush as well as House and Senate candidates - mainly with so-called “soft money” contributions, which are not subject to federal restrictions.

And in getting all of that soft money, as well as regulated contributions, the parties broke all kinds of fund-raising records.

According to Federal Election Commission reports, the Republican National Committee raked in a record $326 million (including $146 million in soft money donations) from Jan. 1, 1999 through Dec. 31, 2000, the first party committee to break the $300 million mark.

The Democratic National Committee wasn’t far behind at $257 million, with about half of that total being soft money.

The parties’ congressional fund-raising arms also did well. On the Senate side, the Democrats outraised the Republicans, $103 million to $93 million; while the House Republicans pulled in $141 million compared to the Democrats’ $97 million – all records for their respective committees.

Despite criticism from watchdog groups and proposed reforms by lawmakers like Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., the parties aren’t embarrassed by their fund-raising prowess.

National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Tom Davis boasted in a statement tat “We exceeded every goal and broke every record.”

“And we won’t let up,” Davis continued. “We’re already gearing up for the challenge that awaits us in 2002.”

The Republicans aren’t the only ones gearing up. It’s fairly obvious the direction the DNC is heading in - the frontrunner for its chairmanship is master fund-raiser Terry McAuliffe.

These days, the Center for Responsive Politics’ Noble pointed out, “fund-raising is constant.”

All this talk about the parties, however, is only part of the story. The 2000 campaign brought to the fore candidates who broke campaign spending records, beginning at the top with President Bush.

For the primaries, Mr. Bush would have been limited to spending around $41 million if he had accepted federal funds. But knowing he could raise more than that, he announced he wasn’t going to take federal money for the primaries, allowing him to raise and spend unlimited amounts. He proceeded to raise and spend a record $106 million before the Republicans’ summer convention.

Overall, including the cost of the national conventions and party money spent on the candidates, $415 million was spent to get Mr. Bush elected; while Al Gore’s final tab was $319 million.

A couple of U.S. Senate races made the record books last year, too. The New York Senate race, featuring Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rick Lazio and (for a while) Rudy Giuliani, wound up being the most expensive Senate race ever, with the three combining to raise over $92 million.

And in neighboring New Jersey, Democrat Jon Corzine spent over $63 million - $60 million of it out of his own pockets – on his successful campaign. Former presidential candidate Ross Perot, in 1992, was the only other person to spend as much as $60 million of his own money on a political race.

So what does the future hold? An even more expensive election in 2004, predicts Noble.

And unless “something else intervenes,” such as the McCain-Feingold bill or other campaign-finance reform legislation, he expects the fund-raising push to continue and continue.

“The system is awash in money,” Noble said. "And it’s ever-increasing.”

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