WASHINGTON – The Obama campaign is challenging John Edwards’ populist message that he is campaigning free from the influence of the powerful forces that control Washington.
Two Edwards-affiliated groups, Alliance for a New America and One America, between them got a total of $750,000 from Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, a 97-year-old socialite who is the widow of Paul Mellon and daughter-in-law of industrialist Andrew Mellon, The Washington Post reported.
Barack Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, said these donations showed Edwards exploited a loophole in the campaign-finance system and accepted public funds while still spending all he needed in Iowa.
December 31, 2007
Edwards hit on campaign spending
Comments Off
Edwards would ban 527s, but happy to take their money
Edwards had raised $30 million by the end of September, significantly trailing rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. At that point, the campaign decided to seek public funds.
Under the presidential financing system, candidates get matching funds for every donor’s contribution of up $250. If they accept the money, they must abide by spending limits in each primary and caucus state as well as an overall cap on primary spending. Those restrictions have prompted most of the leading candidates to decide to forgo the public money.
Edwards has so far spent more than $5 million on advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire. He’s also getting help from independent, mostly labor-financed groups that have drawn criticism from watchdog groups and from Obama. The groups, called “527″ organizations for the section of the IRS code that authorizes them, have been running ads supporting Edwards’ policies in Iowa during the closing days of the campaign there.
Edwards, who made his fortune as a trial lawyer with his wealth somewhere between $12.8 million and $60 million, has refused donations from political action committees and lobbyists and has cast himself as the candidate less connected to Washington special interests. But Obama and other critics say the 527 groups are simply special interests helping him in another guise. Though labor groups have supplied much of the financing, one of the donors is a 97-year-old heiress to the Mellon family fortune.
Edwards has offered a finely honed response, saying he opposes the 527 organizations, but is proud of having the support of unions.
“They’re not running any negative, no attack ads. This is just positive advertising,” he said of the groups Sunday on CBS. “But that aside, I think these 527s need to be banned. I didn’t want them running advertising, and I’ve continued to say that every time I’ve been asked. But I can’t stop these people. I don’t have control over them.”
Comments Off
December 30, 2007
Edwards’s populist message in doubt
John Edwards’s populist message has, without a doubt, helped distinguish him from the other Democratic candidates in Iowa.
But a central tenet of that message — that he is campaigning free from the influence of the powerful forces that control Washington — is being challenged in light of the most recent federal election filings by one of the outside groups advocating on his behalf, and has sparked a round of dueling memos by the managers of the Barack Obama and the Edwards campaigns.
As The Washington Post reported Friday, the independent expenditure group Alliance for a New America recently received nearly $500,000 from Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, a 97-year-old socialite who is the widow of Paul Mellon and daughter-in-law of industrialist Andrew Mellon. It is at least the second check that Mellon has written to an Edwards-affiliated entity. The first, for $250,000, came in 2006, to the One America independent group, which helped support Edwards’s political efforts between his presidential bids.
“These latest revelations make it clear why Edwards was able to announce that he could accept public funds while still spending all he needed to spend in Iowa,” wrote Obama campaign manager David Plouffe in memo released Saturday morning. “His campaign simply exploited the biggest loophole in the campaign finance system in order to get public matching funds while arranging through allies to benefit from a 527. That’s how they avoided the spending limits that are a condition of the public matching funds.”
Comments Off
Edwards has new “Gilded Age”
The Gilded Age was a dark period in American politics, John Edwards recalls. Back before Teddy Roosevelt fought for reforms, he told a Nov. 26 town meeting in Bow, a few families wielded disproportionate power.
“The Rockefellers and the Mellons and the Carnegies, all these people, owned most of America or a big chunk of America and they used their money and power to dominate what was happening in the government and to dominate what was happening in the economy,” he said.
Edwards has often invoked Roosevelt on the stump as a hero and railed against the influence of money in politics. But at the same time, it appears that the pro-Edwards movement has had a huge infusion of cash from the old Mellon fortune.
Turns out, the labor-linked, pro-Edwards 527 that’s been running ads in Iowa and spreading pamphlets in New Hampshire has deep-pocketed friends outside of unions.
The single largest donor to the Alliance for a New America, according to new FEC reports, is a mysterious LLC registered to New York City’s high-end Essex House hotel. (We called the room listed as the source of the $495,000 check and got an automated voicemail: “The person in this room is not available to take your call. . .”)
According to reporting elsewhere, the group, Oak Spring Farms LLC, is linked to New York lawyer and Edwards backer Alexander Forger, who holds power of attorney over 97-year-old Rachel Lambert Mellon, the daughter-in-law of industrialist and banker Andrew Mellon.
Mellon and her deceased husband, Paul, had a farm called Oak Spring; property records in Virginia refer to it as Oak Spring Farms LLC.
In 2006, when the New York Sun reported on a $250,000 contribution from Oak Spring Farms LLC to Edwards’s One America Committee, Forger declined to say where the money came from.
“I’m simply acting on behalf of somebody else,” he said then.
Edwards has made a campaign issue out of kicking special interests out of politics and often cites his pledge not to take any money from lobbyists. He’s said he would outlaw 527s if he’s elected.
The Alliance for a New America 527 is advised by Nick Baldick, who managed Edwards’s 2004 campaign.
Comments Off
December 29, 2007
Edwards drops Mellon reference from remarks
Democrat John Edwards insisted Saturday he has not taken any money from special interests as the Obama campaign complained about big spending by outside groups friendly to Edwards.”His campaign simply exploited the biggest loophole in the campaign finance system in order to get public matching funds while arranging through allies to benefit from a 527. That’s how they avoided the spending limits that are a condition of the public matching funds,” Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said in a statement.
Plouffe said the outside spending allows Edwards to stay within the limits required by public financing “while still spending all he needed to spend in Iowa.”
His memo was prompted by disclosure of a $495,000 donation from philanthropist Rachel Mellon to a 527 group called the Alliance for a New America that is running ads in Iowa in support of Edwards’ campaign. The nonprofit 527 groups can legally carry out some political activity but have come under scrutiny by the Federal Election Commission for their advertising during past presidential campaigns.
An FEC report showed the donation came from Oak Spring Farms LLC, the corporate entity that holds Mellon’s fortune. Mellon is the 97-year-old widow of Paul Mellon, the son of industrialist Andrew Mellon.
She also contributed the maximum $4,600 allowed to Edwards’ campaign earlier this year. The lawyer who serves as director of the investment fund, Oak Springs Farm LLC, also has contributed the maximum $4,600 allowed to Edwards’ campaign.
(more…)
Comments Off
Just a thought piece – Edwards “only just learned about it”
Obama objected last week to the Alliance for a New America, which is run by Edwards’ former campaign manager and partially funded by local unions affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. The locals have endorsed Edwards.After Obama objected to the group last week, which now is running television ads in the state, Edwards said he had only just learned about it and called for a halt to its activities.
The argument gained new fuel Thursday, however, when a memo from October surfaced that summarized a conference call among the union locals that outlined several steps they planned to take.
Among them was general agreement that a 527 political group would likely be set up. A 527 is a political committee that can raise larger sums of money than typical political committees. The memo also said there were plans “to discuss with the Edwards campaign what specific sort of support they’d like to see from us.”
Coordination between 527 political groups and campaigns is heavily restricted, although some discussions are legal.
On Friday, The New York Times, which first broke the story about the memo, reported that campaign finance watchdogs were raising questions about the legality of the activity.
An official representing the union locals said Friday it has followed the law and it is inaccurate and “reckless” to link the memo to the Alliance’s activities.
“This was just a thought piece sent out by a leader inside of SEIU. It was an internal memo. It specifically said it had to be vetted with our legal team,” said Dave Regan, the president of SEIU District 1199, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, and includes members from Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. “Everything that we’ve done absolutely complies with all legal requirements.”
An Edwards spokesman also said there was no wrongdoing.
(more…)
Comments Off
Those “Union-Backed” 527s
Our politics will never change until we get control of these 527s which are established to circumvent campaign finance laws. What is wrong with the Mellon’s putting in money? What is wrong is that I am only allowed to put in $2300 and she puts in $750,000 – that’s what.
And for a place which likes to throw around the word naive any chance it gets, it’s somewhat surprising to see the ridiculously naive comments posted here. Oak Spring Farm LLC is not an easy thing to find. It doesn’t have an office and is controlled by one man who is very secretive. The idea that they sent $250,000 to Edwards PAC back in 2006 and then somehow end up aligned with the SEIU Union without some connection back to Edwards is pretty damn naive.
Comments Off
December 28, 2007
More on Mellon Money
WASHINGTON: An investment fund for philanthropist Rachel Mellon contributed $495,000 to a labor-backed group that is running ads in Iowa in support of Democrat John Edwards’ presidential campaign.
A Federal Election Commission filing by the Alliance for a New America reported the donation from Oak Spring Farms LLC, the corporate entity that holds Mellon’s fortune. Mellon is the 97-year-old widow of philanthropist Paul Mellon, the son of industrialist Andrew Mellon.
Rachel Mellon contributed the maximum $4,600 allowed to Edwards’ campaign earlier this year.
Alexander Forger, a lawyer listed in New York city property records as holding power of attorney for Mellon, lists himself in FEC records as director of Oak Springs Farm LLC. He also has contributed the maximum $4,600 allowed to Edwards’ campaign.
Oak Spring Farm LLC contributed $250,000 last year to a nonprofit political group that Edwards set up called One America.
Forger did not immediately respond to e-mail and telephone messages.
Both One America and the Alliance for a New America are “527″ corporations, nonprofit groups that can carry out some political activity but have come under scrutiny by the FEC for their advertising during past presidential campaigns. They derive their name, “527,” from the section of the IRS code that authorizes them.
The Alliance for a New America is a newly created organization headed by former Edwards adviser Nick Baldick. It has received most of its support from labor groups, many of them locals belonging to the Service Employees International Union. The alliance is spending about $600,000 on radio ads and about $750,000 on television ads in Iowa supporting Edwards.
Edwards is also getting support from another 527 group, Working for Working Americans, that is financed by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and is running television ads supporting Edwards in Iowa.
Such groups are not allowed to coordinate their efforts with a political campaign. Edwards aides have said there has been no such coordination, and Edwards himself has called on the 527 to stop its activities. But in an interview on Radio Iowa Thursday, Edwards also said he was proud of the support from the SEIU, carpenters and steel workers unions that are backing him.
“There are some things that when a union supports you can work with them on and some things that you can’t, and we have been absolutely in complete compliance with the law, both the letter and the spirit of the law,” he said.
Dave Regan, president of SEIU District 1199, one of the groups financing the Alliance for a New America, said:
“We are pleased to help support this organization and have allies who believe that issues like universal health care, the well-being of the middle-class and a strong economy warrant a positive discussion.”
Comments Off
Pro-Edwards 527 PAC running on Big Pharma money
527 Group Supportive of Edwards Backed by Mellon MoneyCaucusgoers in Iowa and New Hampshire have already seen signs of the heavy hand of independent groups trying to influence the outcome of the 2008 presidential contest.
For the most part, the activity has been financed by labor unions, which have long been a potent force in Democratic electoral politics. But newly public documents filed with the Federal Election Commission this week show there has also been a hefty infusion of private money behind the efforts of Alliance for a New America, a group that is promoting the candidacy of Democrat John Edwards.
The filing shows that on Dec. 19, the Alliance group received $495,000 from Oak Spring Farms LLC, a corporate entity operating from a posh hotel on Central Park South in New York City. Land records and other documents trace the Oak Spring corporation to Manhattan trust attorney Alexander Forger. Forger holds a power of attorney for Rachel Lambert Mellon, who is 97 years old. Other records and published reports show Oak Spring Farms is controlled by Rachel Mellon.
Mellon, known in social circles as “Bunny,” is the widow of Paul Mellon and daughter-in-law of industrialist Andrew Mellon. Paul Mellon also had a home in Virginia known as Oak Spring Farms.
The same Oak Springs group made a $250,000 contribution to the Edwards-affiliated One America 527 group in 2006. That contribution prompted a report in the New York Sun which raised questions about the way contributions could arrive anonymously.
Edwards has made campaign-finance purity a major component of his campaign, disavowing contributions from special interests and political action committees, and becoming the only major candidate to accept public matching money.
A message left at Forger’s office has not been returned. He told The Sun in 2006, regarding the One America contribution: “I’m simply acting on behalf of somebody else.”
Mellon’s involvement in the decision to donate to the Alliance group is unknown. But published reports and federal election records show Forger has been a major supporter of Edwards’ candidacy. Crain’s Business Journal reported in February that Forger and “a group of prominent New York lawyers” hosted a fund-raiser for Edwards at Essex House — the Central Park South address where his office is located.
Forger has also personally donated $4,600 to Edwards’ campaign, according to FEC records.
The group Alliance for a New America reported in the same FEC filing that it made a $798,797 purchase for television advertising.
“We are pleased to help support this organization and have allies who believe that issues like universal health care, the well-being of the middle-class and a strong economy warrant a positive discussion,” said Dave Regan, President of SEIU District 1199, a union whose affliliates have been the major sponsor of the group, in response to an e-mail asking about Oak Spring Farms.
Comments Off
December 27, 2007
Edwards renews call to get money out of politics while raking it in
NASHUA – Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Wednesday that independent groups financing mail and ads on his behalf, known as Section 527 committees, should be outlawed and will be if he’s elected in 2008.
“I think the 527s should be outlawed, and what we ultimately need to do is not just stop the 527, but have public financing of all campaigns,” Edwards told reporters after going door-to-door with Nashua supporters Bill Barry and Helen Honorow.
“It’s a centerpiece of my campaign to get this money out of politics.”
On Friday, Democratic rival Barack Obama chastised Edwards because a former top campaign aide, Nick Boldick, is a paid adviser to the Alliance for a Better America, a 527 affiliated with the SEIU union that’s now bankrolling $1.3 million in TV and radio ads endorsing Edwards in Iowa.
“The fact is that this is somebody who worked for John Edwards for who knows how many years,” Obama said.
“He’s a good friend and colleague of Edwards who’s now running a 527 that’s running ads on behalf of John Edwards. You’re telling me that he has no influence on him; that’s just not true.”
The Telegraph reported last Tuesday on its “NH Prime Cuts” blog that the Alliance paid for a statewide mailing to Democratic and independent households in New Hampshire.
Edwards campaign spokeswoman Kate Beddingfield said the candidate and campaign has had no contact with Boldick or anyone associated with the 527s.
“He’s done everything he could do under the law,” Beddingfield said. “It would be illegal for him to have contact with Nick or anyone else.”
A San Francisco-based 527, Vote Hope, formed last spring to promote Obama.
Obama criticized the group in August and urged they simply support his campaign. Records to date show the group has spent about $40,000, none of it on paid advertising or mailings.
Both Obama and Edwards have made their refusal to accept donations from Washington lobbyists a major theme.
Several media outlets reported over the weekend that when Edwards ran for president in 2004, Jonathan Prince, a senior adviser, left the campaign shortly before the Iowa vote to start a 527 that paid for mailings to caucus voters.
Prince is currently deputy campaign manager for Edwards.
Edwards is accepting federal matching money and can spend no more than $59 million to win the nomination.
Comments Off
