Another Day, Another Dubious Democrat Donor

For as much as we like to kick the New York Times around, let's give them credit for reporting this.

Is it any wonder Democrats have been able to outraise the GOP when there seem to be so many questionable sources of campaign cash?

This time it's not just The Pantsuit, either, though of course it's no shock she's got her grubby paws out with this one. We also get The Magic Negro, Silky Pony and the Plagiarizer in the mix here.

Four Democratic presidential candidates — Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama – are named among a list of leading party members who have accepted donations from the law firm of Milberg Weiss, which last year was indicted on bribery and fraud charges. The firm denies the charges.

Mike McIntire of The Times writes:

“The reluctance of Democrats to shut off the cash spigot, even in the face of scandal, underscores how the pressure to raise money creates marriages of political interests that can be difficult to break up.”

Many of us are still mining those third-quarter reports that were filed with the Federal Election Commission earlier this week, spotting trends and examining expenses of the campaigns.

The Wall Street Journal analyzes one such trend — the growth of bundlers (think Norman Hsu, the disgraced donor whose $800,000 haul the Clinton campaign was forced to return). With a graphic titled “The Bundling Boom,” the Journal’s Brody Mullins finds:

The number of bundlers working for presidential campaigns has nearly doubled since the last election, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from campaigns and watchdog groups. The volume of cash they funnel to individual campaigns, as a percentage of all money raised, has soared as well. Bundled donations account for more than one-quarter of presidential campaign contributions this year, up from 8% in the 2000 race.

The bulk of the entertainment industry’s money is going to Senators Clinton and Obama. The Los Angeles Times reports that together they raised more than $5 million in the first three quarters of the year from Hollywood types, not just from celebrities but executives.

“There are two different types of Hollywood money,” said campaign finance expert Larry Makinson. “The star money is being split between Clinton and Obama. But there is a whole other Hollywood. Their political fingerprint is a lot different.”

Mr. Obama’s reports this time around are incomplete, with details missing on where its campaign travel and expense dollars are going, writes The Times’s Jeff Zeleny.

Ron Paul’s campaign donors have some of the most interesting jobs. His financial disclosure forms show he’s accepted checks from “a circus clown, diet guru, exotic dancer, monetary architect and slacker in chief.”

Heh. Circus clowns for Ron Paul. How appropriate.