Welcome to the party, Fox News. Major Garrett skimmed the records at OpenSecrets.org to find political contributions from MoveOn.org and its members to Democrats in the 2006 election cycle. Here's what Garrett reported (emphasis added):
MoveOn backs candidates and asks members to send contributions on their behalf. They pass the donations on directly and handle all the paperwork.
"They're speaking for the grassroots," Ritsch said. "This is a form of bundling."A quick tally of MoveOn-directed contributions in the 2006 election cycle, according to records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, offers a sample of the impressive size of its donations:
-- Sen. Robert Byrd, West Virginia = $834,211
-- Sen. Claire McCaskill, Missouri = $382,531
-- Sen. Jon Tester, Montana = $301,788
-- Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio = $287,622
-- Sen. Bob Casey, Pennsylvania = $160,780
Those contributions helped build a Senate Democratic majority as four of the five entered the Senate for the first time. McCaskill and Tester won razor-thin victories over well-funded GOP incumbents Jim Talent and Conrad Burns.
MoveOn-directed contributions also propelled several Democratic challengers to House victories, among them: Nick Lampson, Texas' 22nd District, $156,883; Tim Mahoney, Florida's 16th District, $145,334; Zack Space, Ohio's 18th District, $141,298; Michael Arcuri, New York's 24th District, $129,685; Joe Donnelly, Indiana's 2nd District, $123,035, and Tim Walz, Minnesota's 1st District, $102,657.
Major Garrett's story is an eye-opener, but he didn't dig deep enough. I did that eight days ago and found that Senator Sherrod Brown collected over $338,263 from MoveOn.org ... and that's not even counting all of those donations smaller than $1000. If you feel like adding them all up, feel free.
Have you ever wondered why Slippery Sherrod won't answer questions from constituents or radio hosts about his presumed support for MoveOn.org's slimy attacks? Now you know.
Hat tip: One Oar In The Water
