Liberal Values Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought

The New York Times quotes David Wade responding to criticism of John Kerry for not giving more of the money he raised to other candidates:

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, came under fire last week when it was pointed out that he had contributed only $15,000 this year to the party’s senatorial committee. Heyjohn.org, whose creator has remained anonymous, highlights the fact that Mr. Kerry has $14 million in his campaign accounts.

Dismissing the criticism, his spokesman, David Wade, said Mr. Kerry had contributed $2.8 million to campaign committees, state parties and individual candidates in this election cycle. And in appearances across the country and in Internet appeals, Mr. Wade said, the senator has helped raise about $7 million for candidates.

“Cowards can hide behind anonymous Web sites,” Mr. Wade said, “but Democrats out in the country, party leaders and real net-roots activists know how hard John Kerry has fought to win these elections.”

I planned to write a post on this controversy surrounding contributions, including the dishonest spin on it from Kos, but in researching the topic I found that Mark Barrett has done such a fine job covering this story that there is little need for me to start a post from scratch. Mark has the background information, including a lengthy list of what Kerry has done for fellow Democrats here. I’ll reprint the list of what Kerry has done below the fold. There’s more information at JohnKerry.com. Mark’s response to the attacks from Kos is here.

I contributed money to John Kerry in 2004. While I do not object to Kerry sharing some of this at his discretion, the contributions were made because I believed John Kerry was the best of the choices offered to be President. The same reasons I supported and contributed to Kerry in 2004 apply to 2008, when his wisdom and experience will be needed to fix all the problems created by George Bush. Fighting for the nomination against Hillary Clinton, with all her advantages in the race, will take a considerable amount of money. That is what I would like to see the money I contributed specifically to John Kerry be used for.

Following is the list Mark compiled of what Kerry has done so far for other candidates:

$1 million to the DSCC in December of 2004.

$1.65 million raised online for Senate candidates, including:

• Maria Cantwell (WA) $275,000
• Sherrod Brown (OH) $167,000
• Jim Webb (VA) $141,000
• Amy Klobuchar $114,000
• Claire McCaskill (MO) $107,000
• Cong Harold Ford (TN) $98,000
• Ben Cardin (MD) $74,000
• Jon Tester (MT) $74,000
• Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) $61,000

$850K raised through fundraisers for Senate candidates, including:

• Bob Casey $520,000
• Hillary Clinton $150,000
• Maria Cantwell $40,000

$1 million to House candidates, including:

• Tammy Duckworth $200,000+
• Patrick Murphy $125,000+
• Joe Sestak $125,000+
• Nick Lampson $80,000+

Contributions to 78 House candidates: 40 incumbents, 38 challengers.

$300K for eleven candidates for governor.

$125K for state and local races.

$6 million to over 40 committees, including the DNC, DNCC, DSCC, state parties and state legislatures.

$11 million total either raised for or contributed to Democratic candidates.