In depth detail from the first quarter fundraising results have shown that many old Bush financiers have become donors for the other side. The data has shown that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have split about 300 donors between them that have given to the Bush/Cheney ticket in 2000 and even 2004. The contributions are not small change either. Some of these donors were Bush Pioneers that helped raise $100,000 each for George Bush in the past.
From The New York Sun:
One donor to Mr. Obama professing sincere disillusionment with Mr. Bush is an investment banker from Chicago, John Canning of Madison Dearborn Partners. "It's not an isolated trend. It appears to be a significant wave," he said. "I know lots of my friends in this business are disenchanted and are definitely looking for something different."In 2004, Mr. Canning was a Bush Pioneer, meaning he pledged to raise $100,000 for the president's re-election. However, he told the Sun that his support for Mr. Bush was already fading at that time. "I was probably unenthusiastic, but not as strongly as I am now," Mr. Canning said. He said he ended up not voting at all. "It wasn't like I thought Kerry was a good deal."
Mr. Canning, whose defection to Mr. Obama was reported by Bloomberg News, said he was a big fan of Mr. Bush in 2000. However, he said he later fell out with the president and other Republicans over a dispute involving a brain-injured Florida woman, Terry Schiavo, as well as subjects like global warming, stem cell research and diplomatic relations with Iran and Syria. "A lot of these issues didn't exist when Bush first ran," the banker said. "How do you support a guy when he shows the door to everything you believe in?"
It's great to see money that has gone to Republicans in the past switch sides. What is interesting to see is how and why. Of course it is hard to ascertain the motives of hundreds of donors but listening to Mr. Canning strikes me as odd. He lists all these issues that he cares about, yet someone would have to completely blind not to see the coming destructiveness of the Bush Administration.
Another interesting thing about this story is what it's missing. There are three front-runners in this race and only two are mentioned. The media loves to fawn over Obama and Clinton, but there is absolutely no mention of John Edwards here. Are there former Bush supporters that have contributed to the Edwards campaign?
My guess is that it is highly unlikely, especially with his pledge to not take money from political action committees. His $14 million dollar total is very impressive despite the no PAC pledge. So the question is, do these conservatives fear the change that Edwards wants to take place in this country? Or maybe they are just caught up with Hillary and Obama like the mainstream media is at the moment? I'm still up in the air on their motives.
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