George Epstein

Senator John Edwards paid the north country a visit last week. Democratic Party regulars lean toward this guy because he comes across as the moderate southern candidate – like Carter and Clinton – most likely to beat a Republican incumbent. He also got off to a great start in the fundraising game, a talent that will be essential to give the Bush money machine a run. Edwards is a trial lawyer – he made his millions suing people and businesses who have money on behalf of “little guys” who don’t and taking his 30-40% contingency.

You may view Edwards as a modern day Robin Hood or condemn him as someone who increases the cost of everything from fast food to medical care with his lawsuits. In either case, he is the enemy of the big business folks who support President Bush and a hero to his fellow trial lawyers. Specifically, it is his job in the Senate and as a future President to stop efforts to cap jury awards. The pay-off comes to Edwards in the form of campaign donations. In the most recent quarter, 1904 of the 4212 contributions he received came from attorneys and these payments averaged about $1000 each. Perhaps his popularity will broaden, but for now, Edwards is the ultimate special interest candidate.

Joe Lieberman has a wider range of support, but his campaign finance report had a surprising twist. He is paying his kids, Matthew and Rebecca, $15,000 and $9,000 per month respectively. While this is a great summer job for the Lieberman rugrats, who in their right mind would send money to a candidate so his kids could make six-figure annual salaries? There is also the interesting question of why the girl makes only 60% of what the boy makes. While this tracks all too closely to what often happens in America, folks concerned about gender discrimination (including most everyone who votes in a Democratic primary) can’t be happy about this.

Howard Dean continues to do surprisingly well in all areas. We have heard a litany of healthcare ideas from the Democratic candidates, but Dean has a unique bonus going for him. No, it’s not that he and his wife are doctors, although that has to help. It is that his is the only campaign finance report that shows he is paying medical benefits to his staff. Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Vermont was paid about $50,000 for comprehensive health insurance covering Dean employees. He put his money where his mouth is.

Dean also pulled off a PR coup a couple of weeks ago when International Man of Mystery (and VP) Dick Cheney had a meal with 150 supporters and raised $300k. Dean put a picture of himself eating a turkey sandwich on his web site and asked his folks to top the VP’s numbers. Sure enough, $500k was beamed to the Dean campaign as a result of this stunt. In his first seven weeks of fundraising, our Fundraiser-in-Chief himself convinced a group of just 68 people interested in good government to come up with $100,000 or more each to get the Bush campaign off and running. Hmmmm – turkey sandwich or 68 titans of industry – guess Dean at least leads in the Man of the People category.

In my last couple of columns I extolled the virtues of honesty in government. This money stuff does not encourage that trait, but I stumbled across one politician who summed up what all the others are thinking. Georgia’s Republican insurance commissioner (an elected official) got in front of a whole bunch of insurance industry executives and said what all other officeholders would like to say, “I’m the incumbent. You are all going to give me money because you’re afraid not to.”

David Letterman came up with the following line recently, "The country right now is at war, our economy is bad, 455 billion dollar deficit, and the Democrats are saying, 'How are we going to beat this guy?'" It got a laugh, but the answer is simple – money, money, money. No Democrat seems likely to garner half of the $200 million Bush will amass. The New Hampshire Democrats are struggling to find a candidate to run against Craig Benson for the same reason. Benson’s personal $400 million fortune makes the $2 million that is the most any Democrat can raise look like chump change. Never before has money in politics made as a big a difference as it does today and never before have the dollar amounts been this enormous.

George Epstein, chairman of The Echo Group, lives in Madison and can be reached at gepstein@Echoman.com.