;)
Thursday
Jan252007
Hillary Clinton - No to Public Funds
Thursday, January 25, 2007 at 2:58AM 
Hillary Clinton has decided to just say no to accepting public funds for both the primary and general election campaigns. She is the first candidate to refuse public money since the program began in 1976.
In both the 2000 and 2004 primaries George Bush refused the public funds. However in the general elections he took the money both times. Al Gore, in 2000, took public money for both the primary and general elections. John Kerry, in 2004, only took public funds for the general election.
Hillary Clinton seems to be confident enough that she can raise more money than she would receive through the public funds program and would not have to abide by the spending limits that would be imposed on her if she accepted the money. In making this decision she is passing up a chance on receiving at least $150 million. The 2008 Presidential Election promises to be the most expensive political race in US history.
Strategists from both parties had estimated last year that the 2008 race could cost each nominee $500 million — far more than the Presidential Election Campaign Fund could afford. It is financed through the $3 checkoff on federal income tax returns.
Where will the money come from? Well, to begin with, Hillary already has $14 million left over from her successful reelection bid to the US Senate and she expects to raise another $100 million this year alone in donations. She and her husband ex-President Bill Clinton have proven themselves very capable in attracting people with money to donate to their campaigns. They are well connected to the Democratic money machine and have lots of supporters in Hollywood and among Venture Capitalists.
Hassan Nemazee is a very powerful Democratic fund-raiser.
As one of the premiere money people in a pivotal check-writing town, Mr. Nemazee’s apartment has been the site of visit after visit by prospective 2008 candidates hoping for a taste of his homemade Chinese food and considerable financial influence. Practically since the day the 2004 race ended, he has obliged, arranging small audiences of key donors on a regular basis.
That’s all over now.
Just three days after Hillary Clinton officially entered the race by announcing the formation of a presidential exploratory committee, Mr. Nemazee winnowed his dinner list down to her alone.
“You basically don’t want to deal with this stuff anymore, because you are taking too much time out of your day,” Mr. Nemazee told The Observer. “I mean, you’ve seen all these people. Just sit down in the last 24 hours and make your decision—and just go with it.”
Alan J. Patricof, a prominent venture capitalist and Mrs. Clinton’s Senate campaign chair, has been one of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s most reliable and prodigious fund-raisers. By Monday afternoon, he said he had already reached out to 25 donors in New York.
“Every person said they would support her financially to the maximum extent. I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said Mr. Patricof. “There have got to be at least 20, 30, 40 people like me who are making calls. There are a lot of people making the calls.”
According to Columnist Joe Connelly............."Hillary Inc." or "Hillaryland" is a relentless, grind-it-out operation, playing the political game in the style of football's Chicago Bears.
It looks like Hillary can succeed at raising the money she needs on her own. She is the front-runner and everybody wants to be associated with her campaign......and there is just so much money to go around.
"It is hard for other candidates," added Mr. Nemazee, who was mentioned around the time of Mrs. Clinton's announcement as one of a number of unattached bundlers being courted by Mr. Obama's campaign. "There is just so much oxygen available. There are only so many people out there who know how to do this and are willing to do this."
