It is undeniable that the Obama campaign has raised a prodigious amount of money. The last count is $468 million. Much of that has come from the internet.
The Republican National Committee plans to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission about those fundraising totals. The RNC claims that contributors have exceeded the $2,300 individual limitation on campaign contributions. The RNC also claims that foreign contributors have contributed to the Obama campaign.
However, the RNC has little proof to backup its claims other than referrals to stories from conservative sites such as Newsmax and the American Spectator. Include the lack of proof with the timing of the charges, and it sounds less substance and more political. This development comes just a couple days after the McCain campaign announced it was taking its gloves off in the race for the Presidency. Sarah Palin has already resurrected charges about Obama’s association with Bill Ayers.
Some of the accusations stem from contributors with names such as “Good Will”, employed by “Loving” and with the profession “You.” This contributor supposedly gave $17,375. The Obama campaign said it would return it. Oddly, another contributor also used the “Loving” and “You” for the employer/profession description.
It would seem that if the Obama campaign intended to pad its campaign coffers with illegal contributions, they would come up with a better disguise than these comedic terms. It also seems odd that two contributors who gave several times more than the legal maximum are both employed by “Loving” and of the “You” profession. That sounds a lot more like a poor setup than a campaign’s corrupted attempt to accumulate money.
There is plenty of reason to be concerned about internet fundraising and the campaign finance laws. It takes a diligent effort to sort out overseas contributions, which are illegal, from domestic ones. It also requires some investigation if individuals who alter their names and use multiple credit cards are bypassing the limits. There are also the retail sales of campaign paraphernalia and the affect it has on individual contribution limits. Nevertheless, this policing is the responsibilities of a political campaign.
A good bet is that when this election is done, significant abuses will emerge from all candidates about internet fundraising.
