Kerry Campaign Defends Leftover $14 Million
The spokesman for Mr. Kerry, David Wade, strongly defended the decision in a statement on Friday.
"We reserved resources to go toe-to-toe with Karl Rove's army in a scorched-earth World War III recount battle in as many as five states," Mr. Wade said. "We weren't going to be outspent or outhustled in the event of a recount."
Kerry aides also point out that the senator set a record for a presidential challenger by raising $249.5 million and that the campaign gave tens of millions of dollars to the Democratic Party at all levels.
Almost $24 million was transferred to the Democratic National Committee through late November, and its counterparts in the House and Senate received $3 million each, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks campaign finance. Additional money went to Democratic organizations and state parties around the country.
Campaign finance laws allow the presidential candidate to give money to other members of his party or to the party itself or to use in another federal race. Aides say Mr. Kerry will help Senate Democrats.
"Since the election, we've aided the critical gubernatorial recount in Washington State and contributed to the runoff elections in Louisiana," Mr. Wade said, referring to runoffs for the House taking place on Saturday.
The $14 million, which was in the account Mr. Kerry used in the Democratic primaries, would have augmented the roughly $7 million in a special account earmarked for legal and accounting expenses, which could have been used for a recount. Mr. Bush had about $15.6 million in a similar account.
Mr. Kerry spent all but about $1 million of the $75 million of public money in his general election account, and had almost $2 million in debt.
Full text
"We reserved resources to go toe-to-toe with Karl Rove's army in a scorched-earth World War III recount battle in as many as five states," Mr. Wade said. "We weren't going to be outspent or outhustled in the event of a recount."
Kerry aides also point out that the senator set a record for a presidential challenger by raising $249.5 million and that the campaign gave tens of millions of dollars to the Democratic Party at all levels.
Almost $24 million was transferred to the Democratic National Committee through late November, and its counterparts in the House and Senate received $3 million each, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks campaign finance. Additional money went to Democratic organizations and state parties around the country.
Campaign finance laws allow the presidential candidate to give money to other members of his party or to the party itself or to use in another federal race. Aides say Mr. Kerry will help Senate Democrats.
"Since the election, we've aided the critical gubernatorial recount in Washington State and contributed to the runoff elections in Louisiana," Mr. Wade said, referring to runoffs for the House taking place on Saturday.
The $14 million, which was in the account Mr. Kerry used in the Democratic primaries, would have augmented the roughly $7 million in a special account earmarked for legal and accounting expenses, which could have been used for a recount. Mr. Bush had about $15.6 million in a similar account.
Mr. Kerry spent all but about $1 million of the $75 million of public money in his general election account, and had almost $2 million in debt.
Full text
posted by i11ustrator at 5:46 AM
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More Defense of Kerry at the Daily Kos
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/12/3/205515/095
*excerpt
So, lets start with something that not many people know about John Kerry, the senator. Republicans attacked him over his record, and now some democrats are attacking him over it.
Well, John Kerry has sponsored 57 bills while he was in the Senate over the last 20 years, but his legacy as a Senator will never be about legislation.
His career has been about restoring the public's trust in the government. He has done that by making them obey the law, and its officials to tell the truth. For example:
He took down Oliver North by busting open the
Iran-Contra Scandal. He exposed the connection between the U.S-supported Nicaraguan contras drug trafficking. He was the one who led the committee that took North down. The White House demanded that that the committee be allowed to see only edited portions of the North diaries. Kerry refused and subpoenaed for all diaries.
Kerry broke the Bank Of Credit and Commerce International mega-larcenies. Read the story, but in short: this bank was an international criminal bank with murderous clients and terrorists who got secret government support from the last bush administration. John Kerry took it down.
And he also, along with John McCain, restored relations with Vietnam. So, please, spare me the John Kerry has no record argument. The reason why he is so upset with the Bush administration is because the Bush administration's secrecy and distortions that it presents publicly is opposite everything John Kerry has fought for.
Kerry has been fighting his whole life to have the government on the side of the people, and to restore respect and dignity that the government has seemed to lose in the eye of the public.
And whether he mentioned or highlighted these things during the campaign is irrelevant.
He may not of been the most charismatic man in the world, but he sure came a long way. What you saw in the primaries was a grim man. What you saw a week before the election was a man truly inspired and touched by the millions of people putting their hopes and dreams into him.
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