donation question

[mannycp]

I have told one of my friends about Ron Paul and have talked about donations. I have told him about how Ron Paul has raised 8 million dollars last quarter compared to romneys and Perry 15 million. I I know I have heard that they get money from corporations donated to them or other groups. He doesn't believe me and showed me how the fine print on the donation websites says no corporations can donate. I need help on this, who exactly donates to romney and Perry. I also told him about the individual ref donation limit he didn't know about. If Perry is getting 15 million a quarter , he assumes that a lot of people are donating , is he right?

[FBappDev]

Are corporations people? That's for you to decide.

[FlatIron]

Corporations can donate to the SuperPacs

[HeyArchie]

The corporations don't donate. The people who work at them do. Right?

[Carole]

Try explaining to him that Perry, for example, had only 20,000 donors giving him his 17 million (I think 17) and that Ron Paul had 100,000 donors giving him his 8 million.

Do the math. :D

Go here and look for yourself:
http://www.fec.gov/disclosure.shtml

And here:

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/index.php

[Okie RP fan]

I have told one of my friends about Ron Paul and have talked about donations. I have told him about how Ron Paul has raised 8 million dollars last quarter compared to romneys and Perry 15 million. I I know I have heard that they get money from corporations donated to them or other groups. He doesn't believe me and showed me how the fine print on the donation websites says no corporations can donate. I need help on this, who exactly donates to romney and Perry. I also told him about the individual ref donation limit he didn't know about. If Perry is getting 15 million a quarter , he assumes that a lot of people are donating , is he right?

The media was hyping Perry because, for one, he is their second golden boy to Romney, and two, it was his first full quarter since he announced, so in all honesty, it wasn't anything special. His donations will start to taper off, Cain's will rise, etc. for this quarter.

Lots of people made charts and posted official FEC information on here this week. You'll have to look around. I know that Ron Paul had something like 100,000 unique donors compared to Perry's 30,000 or so.

As far as donations from banks and corporations, sure, Romney and Perry received massive amounts from them.

[MelissaWV]

Indeed, Rick Perry raised Obama-size fundraising numbers in the 3rd quarter – a reported $17 million – surpassing Mitt Romney by a long shot. From Drudge:

Republican White House hopeful Rick Perry raised over $17 million in 49 days, DRUDGE has learned. $347,000 per day; 20,000 unique donors from all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam. With more than half of donors living outside of Texas… Developing…


A mystery company that pumped $1 million into a political committee backing Mitt Romney has been dissolved just months after it was formed, leaving few clues as to who was behind one of the biggest contributions yet of the 2012 presidential campaign.

(This is actually from a Korean Job Discussion forum, of all things:)

Perry led fundraising for Q3, though half of that was from his home state of Texas and only from 20,000 donors. Next is Romney with $12 million in Q3, though he has personal wealth to draw from. In third is Ron Paul at $8 million for Q3 from more than 100,000 different donors. If the media backs Cain, his poor Q3 fundraising numbers wont matter. If they don't back Cain, Paul's fatter warchest could propel him to be the alternative to Romney.

There are a variety of articles scattered around, but the big idea is that many candidates have PACs and organizations that back them. These are not funded by direct donations. Additionally, depending on who you are, you may have money from your party, or from your own familial income (many candidates make large loans to themselves).

Even Ron's "big donors" are generally grassroots types.


The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign announced today that it has raised more than $8 million in the third quarter from more than 100,000 unique donors – more than five times the number of total donors to the campaign of Texas Governor Rick Perry.

[ronpaulyourmom]

It's technically true that corporations cannont donate to presidential candidates, although they can donate to SuperPAC's. There are many ways around this though, here's an example.

Pretend you work for a large financial firm in Chicago or New York, and a big shot at the firm holds a fundraiser for Perry at his house or at a hotel, or perhaps a local private club. If you're anything other than entry level at that firm, and you're making good money, what are the odds you show up and donate as much as you can afford at that time? It becomes a networking opportunity for you and the expectation is that you'll be a team-player. I know a guy who holds fundraisers at the local level all the time, and all his employees are invited to them. He doesn't give them money directly, he doesn't tell them they have to donate (at least not openly), but there is a silent understanding and an unwritten expectation nonetheless.

This is the mechanism by which corporations donate to politicians, and it happens a lot.