McCain Broke, Must Win Florida, Turns to Lobbyists to Bail Out His Campaign
by DHinMI
from DailyKos
If John McCain doesn't win Florida, he almost certainly won't be the Republican nominee. And if he does win Florida, his only chance of avoiding a crushing defeat in November will be to embrace the same moneyed interests he's declared are among the biggest problems facing America.
Some months back McCain's campaign applied for federal matching campaign funds. (The money comes from individual taxpayers who voluntarily check off a $3 contribution on their income tax return.) In December seven campaigns were officially notified that they qualified for matching funds. However, because of a funding shortfall, none of the federal matching funds have been released. Apparently the fund reserves the money needed for the general election before it starts to pay out matching funds for the primary, and until monies arrive from this year's tax returns, the fund doesn't have enough money to deliver money for the primary. John Edwards secured a bank loan against the federal funds, so he is officially locked in to abiding by the spending limits in the event he gets the nomination.
McCain qualified for $5.8 million in matching funds. He could do as Edwards has done, and get the money now by securing a bank loan against the eventual payment from the US Treasury. But McCain has been anything but "straight talking" regarding his money; until he receives the money from the Treasury or borrows against it, he's not locked in to the system. Thus, he's currently trying to evade the federal spending limits if he can raise enough money to stay viable, but holding out the option of taking the federal funds if he can't survive through tonight.
Here's McCain's problem. Accepting federal matching funds would limit him to spending no more than $53-$55 million during the primary period. (The exact figure will be adjusted based on the campaign's fundraising expenses and other expenditures.). If McCain wins the nomination and accepts the matching funds, the $53-$55 million limit would constrain his spending all the way until the beginning of September, when the Republicans nominate their candidate at their national convention in Minneapolis.
(Continued here.)
from DailyKos
If John McCain doesn't win Florida, he almost certainly won't be the Republican nominee. And if he does win Florida, his only chance of avoiding a crushing defeat in November will be to embrace the same moneyed interests he's declared are among the biggest problems facing America.
Some months back McCain's campaign applied for federal matching campaign funds. (The money comes from individual taxpayers who voluntarily check off a $3 contribution on their income tax return.) In December seven campaigns were officially notified that they qualified for matching funds. However, because of a funding shortfall, none of the federal matching funds have been released. Apparently the fund reserves the money needed for the general election before it starts to pay out matching funds for the primary, and until monies arrive from this year's tax returns, the fund doesn't have enough money to deliver money for the primary. John Edwards secured a bank loan against the federal funds, so he is officially locked in to abiding by the spending limits in the event he gets the nomination.
McCain qualified for $5.8 million in matching funds. He could do as Edwards has done, and get the money now by securing a bank loan against the eventual payment from the US Treasury. But McCain has been anything but "straight talking" regarding his money; until he receives the money from the Treasury or borrows against it, he's not locked in to the system. Thus, he's currently trying to evade the federal spending limits if he can raise enough money to stay viable, but holding out the option of taking the federal funds if he can't survive through tonight.
Here's McCain's problem. Accepting federal matching funds would limit him to spending no more than $53-$55 million during the primary period. (The exact figure will be adjusted based on the campaign's fundraising expenses and other expenditures.). If McCain wins the nomination and accepts the matching funds, the $53-$55 million limit would constrain his spending all the way until the beginning of September, when the Republicans nominate their candidate at their national convention in Minneapolis.
(Continued here.)
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