USA
Million Dollar Presidents
2000 - 6‘30“
Report: Peter
Fritz
Camera: Douglas Robinson
Graham Scott
Edit: Else Murtaugh
AKM: Moondog: Stamping Ground
> CD CBS MK 44994
17.40.04
The presidential election is a booming business - from the sale of political souvenirs and trinkets to suit all tastes to the millions of dollars each candidate has raised for his campaign. Republican George W Bush and his Democrat rival Al Gore spent more on their campaign for the primaries than the entire budget of the last presidential election campaign four years ago. No wonder there has to be at least one fundraiser at every rally - an event whose sole purpose is to raise cash for the campaign coffers. Both candidates have their own benefactors. Whereas Bush is favoured by big industry, Gore is a darling of the trade unions, Hollywood film studios and lawyers who want to protect their own professional interests.
17.40.55
Donation collecting was honed to a fine art during Bill Clinton’s term at the White House. For years there was an official price list. A donation of $50,000 bought you an invitation to coffee at the White House. $100,000 would get you a luxurious overnight stay in the famous Lincoln suite. A quarter of a million dollars guaranteed the ultimate token of appreciation - a flight aboard Air Force One.
17.41.30. (Hillary signing autographs, etc)
Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the New York senate saw droves of wealthy donors turning up with their overnight bags at the White House. The White House press officer had to perform some diplomatic gymnastics to lend an air of decorum to the indecorous rumours.
41.50
I/V Joe Lockhart, White House Press Officer
Who do you expect you’d go to if you were running for
office other than your friends? Do you think that you would go to people who
don’t support you and don’t like you?. It is a basic common sense issue that
your friends and people who you have come and stay at your home would also in
some instances support your effort financially.
42.15
I/V - anti-Hillary TV ad
Remember the last time we trusted Hillary Clinton with an
important job in Washington? In 1993 she operated on health care. She proposed
a government-run system, a bureaucratic plan of rationing that destroyed your
choice of doctors!
A 27% tax increase with 2 million jobs lost!
42.36
It is rumoured that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian. It is rumoured that Hillary Clinton supports
homosexual marriage. It is rumoured that
Hillary Clinton will leave her husband upon taking office. It was rumoured that
Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky. Sometimes rumours are
true.Shouldn’t you know the truth?
42.54
American TV stations refused to show these commercials, despite being offered large sums of money.
43.03
Vice-president Al Gore at a benefactors’ gala in Florida. Of all the recipients of donations in the White House, he is said to have been the most enthusiastic - sometimes a little too enthusiastic. It is illegal to accept money in a Buddhist temple - Gore narrowly escaped legal trial for doing so.
43.26
Since then everyone has been keeping a much closer eye on the rules in Washington - politicians are not allowed to accept donations on Capitol Hill, even by telephone. To do so they have to constantly commute to their second office in party headquarters. The lobbyists are never far away - and their clients are happy to help out with donations.
43.48
Austrian Monique Roske is a lobbyist in Washington. She works for large American export firms. She doesn’t personally give donations, but the firms she represents do - through so-called political action committees. We ask whether money buys influence with those in power.
44.06
I/V Monique Roske, Lobbyist
Of course it does. But I have to say that all of our
companies give donations. And they all donate to both parties - to the
Democrats and the Republicans. Politicians have an interest in trade and
foreign trade, so it stands to reason that our companies support them.
44.30
The airlines have been able to strengthen their own interests by giving donations to politicians interested in their cause.
Recent years have seen chaos at the airports, with hundreds of delays and lost baggage causing great discontent among passengers. Politicians wanted to intervene and impose minimum standards on the airlines. But once the airlines significantly increased their political donations, a soft, voluntary agreement emerged instead of the planned legal reform.The chaos in air traffic has not improved at all.
45.05
There have been initiatives to cut the amount of influence that big money has on politicians, but this man does his best to stop them. Senator Mitch McConnell is committed to fighting any intervention in the issue of campaign donations. We ask whether money buys political influence in Washington.
45.22
I/V Senator Mitch McConnell
No. What money does is give people an opportunity to
support candidates of their choice - who
believe in what they believe and it keeps the press from having all the power
over the elections.
45.32
A lobby does exist in Washington against the multimillion dollar lobbying business. The organisation Common Cause discloses intrigues between politicians and donors and has been responsible for some major revelations. Common Cause are not against lobbying per se.
45.50
I/V Matt Keller
Common Cause
What we’re trying to do is say that OK - you can lobby
all you like, but just don’t have that huge advantage of being able to give
500,000 dollars to the chairman of the senate banking committee or 2.5 million
dollars to the Republican national committee - lobbying based on the power of
ideas and not on the power of how much you have to give - and that’s what we’re
trying to change.
46.09
The people from Common Cause have not made much progress with their appeal to tighten the laws. In fact the more questionable cases are on the rise.
46.17
Democrat senator John Breaux was crowned carnival prince just recently. The jewel in his crown however was a party donation of over $200, 000, a reward from his good old friends in big business.
end 46.35