Many candidates benefit from bank money, but is it becoming toxic to camaigns?
By VICTORIA JONES
Talk Radio News Service
WASHINGTON – The financial sector is the biggest source of campaign money in Washington. Both presidential candidates have received donations from the big banks, although Prewsident Obama’s haul is down from 2008. Mitt Romney has pulled in twice the number of contributions that have gone to Obama as of May.
Romney is known to oppose new financial regulations and said he’d repeal all of Dodd Frank.
Will the money from the banks under investigation become toxic? Six of the banks under investigation – JPMorgan, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, UBS, Bank of America and Barclays – rank among Romney’s top 20 donors. The Romney campaign also relies on many executives and directors from these banks as top fundraisers, rounding up checks for others.
Obama has raised less than half what he raised in 2008 in a similar time period from the banks. None of the banks under investigation rank as top donors to Obama, although JPMorgan, Citigroup and UBS all ranked among Obama’s top donors in 2008.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will go before the Senate Banking Committee this month – and its members do very well from the big banks, too, particularly Sens Bob Corker (R-TN) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and John Tester (D-MT). And congressional incumbents have taken in nearly $100 million from the banks. Top two recipients are Sens Scott Brown (R-MA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
Short URL: http://reportergary.com/?p=26074
Posted by Gary
on Jul 13 2012. Filed under Breaking News, Politics, US.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.