Kerry Funds Signal Hope For Party

Friday, April 2, 2004; Page A01

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) will announce today that his presidential campaign has raised more than $43 million in the first three months of this year, smashing Democratic Party records and signaling a party-wide fundraising resurgence for Democrats, according to top party officials.

Kerry, recovering from shoulder surgery in Boston, will report that he followed a trail blazed by former rival Howard Dean to net better than $26 million from the Internet alone, which is emerging as the Democrats' most powerful fundraising mechanism for the presidential election.

It appears Kerry is not draining money from fellow Democrats, as some party officials feared: The Democratic National Committee broke its previous record by raising $27 million, while the House and Senate campaign committees, which both topped $11 million, also set all-time highs last quarter. The figures, which were provided by top party officials, will be released today. Several Democrats credited anti-Bush energy, rather than excitement about Kerry, for the turnaround.

President Bush, who recently hit his reelection campaign's $170 million fundraising goal, maintains a commanding early money advantage. The Bush team has used this money for a massive television advertising campaign in swing states designed to define Kerry as a waffling, tax-raising liberal.

But the unexpected fundraising surge shows Democrats are far more competitive financially against Bush and suggests the pool of Democratic money runs much deeper than officials from both parties originally projected, GOP and Democratic strategists say. The Kerry campaign initially projected it would raise $80 million this year, then Kerry fundraisers said in interviews last month it could top $100 million in 2004 alone.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43283-2004Apr1.html

Dear Fearnobush,

I wanted to write and thank you again for your generous contribution
to my campaign. While I am certain you are asked to give to many
causes, your commitment to my campaign and to the larger political
process is humbling and much appreciated.

Your support remains crucial to my efforts and I trust that I can
count on your continued friendship and counsel.

Once again, thank you for your support.

Warm regards,


John F. Kerry

Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc.

keep those $20's and $50's coming in. F Bush and his $2,000 luncheons.

I gave $100 & another $100 to my local Congress person. I'll give more in the coming months. I encourage everyone who wants to see Chimpy sent back to his fake "ranch" to give what ever they can afford, $5, $10, $25, $100 whatever. If everyone who can see Bush for the evil scum that he is gave just $5 we'd easily match all those $2,000 a pop fat cats who are propping him up. There are more of us then there are of them, we just need to organize and go out vote for Kerry in November.

will send some more later on. Maybe a monthly fund, I don't know how much.

and not a day sooner. His absolute stupidity in letting the godam whitehouse paint him as another Dukakis/Mondale is outrageous.

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...that progressives stand a chance of getting Kerry to desert his worst positions: more troops for the mire in Iraq and tax breaks for our coddled, overweening corporations.

The Democratic Party won't get another penny from me until it moves on these critical matters. If it insists on adopting GOP-lite positions, it can do so on somebody else's dime.

I am with Merlin on one thing: it is time to raise hell. Not to roll over.

Actually he wasn't my second choice either, but the media accepted him and that is where we are today. I send him what I can, not because I believe he is/was the best democratic candidate but because I believe America can not continue on this current course being led by an administration that is lost. Regardless of Kerry's negatives, he is able to think and reason, as oppossed to the current resident of the white house. At least with Kerry Americans can discuss and help work out a positive course for the future. The only thing the bush team proved is that you can't take an idiot and put him in charge of America, regardless of how many people cover for him, the idiot will always make poor decisions that lead to disaster.

the media had declared his campaign for months, and including days before the iowa caucuses . it took a win for him to actually get attention and not be seen as a loser in the primaries. and he was smart to get as much momentum as he could from that.

...in defense of the two "worst" positions:

(1) I don't like the idea of us being in Iraq either, but we're there, we broke it, and if we don't fix it, the consequences will be catastrophic. We cannot allow Iraq to become some kind of failed state where al-Qaida winds up with 1/10 of the world's oil. I know they weren't there when we went in, but if they're not already there now, it wouldn't take long for them to move in should we just up and leave. I don't even want to contemplate how bad that would be.

(2) the whole idea behind the tax breaks for (some) corporations is that we end the tax incentives for corporations to send jobs offshore, and in return, pass some of the resulting savings to the good corporations that hire Americans. It might sound like GOP-lite, but it illustrates what we can do that might (in an ideal universe, anyway) get bipartisan support. You don't see W* proposing anything remotely like this, that's for sure.

He can only counter that with the moeny donated to push the campaign

He's already sitting on millions. Apparently he's trying to build up his coffers. But he's ignoring critical needs right now in the vital formation of first impressions among undecided voters who do not follow the news. They are getting their introduction to Kerry from Bush ads. How bad is that!? It's not like the Kerry people didn't see this coming. But they have yet to effectively counter it. And it has hurt badly in key battleground states.

Kerry will get all the money he needs IF he runs a good, effective campaign. Howard Dean proved that. I have never in my lifetime been in touch with so many people who will actually donate to an anti-Bush political campaign IF THEY BELIEVE IT IS AN EFFECTIVE ONE.

$28 to Kerry, $25 of that is a base donation, I chipped in another $1 for an under-18 DU'er I made a promise to, and $2 more dollars in honor of 2 co-worker crybaby Repugs who pissed me off with their constant sprouting of Limpballs/Shammity talking points and lack of humor about any joke even faintly critical of Chimpy.

Also give $11 each pay to DNC. (the extra $1 is for that under-18 DU'er).

he wasn't my 1st choice either, but he's our only chance against bu$hit!

sale for Kerry. Let me also say that Kerry was not my first or second choice but my wife and I cannot financially survive four more years of Bush. We are willing to do whatever it takes to dump Bush.

Maybe you should pass that on to the DFA people. That sounds like the sort of thing that's right up their alley.