No Dems jumping on board PAC ban

Dozens of Democratic House and Senate candidates offered a resounding “No, thanks” when asked by The Hill if they would pledge not to take donations from lobbyists or political action committees (PACs).

Not one major candidate has yet embraced the call to avoid such money, even though their party’s presidential nominee has led the movement and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has signed on.

{mosads}Many of them have very different opinions from Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on the subject, and almost all agree it would be too onerous to give up such a source of campaign cash.

Obama’s pledge has put Democratic candidates in a tough political spot, choosing between their campaign coffers and their nominee’s principles.

The candidates have shown no desire to proactively discuss the contradiction, and many did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story.

Following Obama’s and the DNC’s announcement of the new policy last week, the Democrats’ House and Senate campaign committees made clear they would not be abiding by it. Neither will the candidates.

The Hill contacted every major Democratic Senate candidate in a competitive race. None are taking the bait, and several did not comment. House candidates contacted responded similarly.

“That’s him; we’ve got our own campaign,” said Tim Phillips, campaign manager for former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D), who is running against Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). “We don’t see the value in unilateral disarmament.

“The problem isn’t lobbyist or PAC money, it’s what you do after you get it.”

Musgrove has polled close to Wicker, who was appointed by the state’s Republican governor to former Sen. Trent Lott’s (R-Miss.) seat. Wicker out-raised him $2.5 million-to-$450,000 in the first quarter, though, making every dollar vital to Musgrove.

Democratic candidate Bruce Lunsford won a tough primary to take on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Lunsford can partially self-fund, but will need all the money he can get against the well-funded McConnell.

“The people of Kentucky know where Bruce Lunsford stands on the issues and they know that he cannot be bought,” said Lunsford spokeswoman Allison Haley. “If someone contributes to the campaign, they will get one thing in return: change in Washington.”

Senate candidates who will continue to take lobbyist and PAC money are: Musgrove, Lunsford, Minnesota candidate Al Franken, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), former Rep. Larry LaRocco (D-Idaho), former Rep. Jim Slattery (D-Kan.), former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, Oregon state Rep. Jeff Merkley, Anchorage, Alaska, Mayor Mark Begich and North Carolina state Sen. Kay Hagan.

Those not responding included: Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine), Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner.

Texas state Rep. Rick Noriega is on active duty in the Army National Guard and could not be reached, a spokeswoman said.

A few candidates declined money from certain types of PACs instead of offering the type of blanket ban Obama and the DNC have instituted.

Shaheen spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said Shaheen doesn’t “take PAC money from oil and gas companies, pharmaceutical companies or tobacco companies,” and emphasized her work on ethics as governor.

Similarly, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) has accepted money from labor PACs, but not business PACs and lobbyists.

“It’s for every member to decide. But for us, this is the right thing to do for New Hampshire,” said campaign manager Pia Carusone.

LaRocco is also being choosy with the PACs he accepts money from and criticizing his opponent, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), for accepting money from oil and pharmaceutical PACs. LaRocco echoed the Musgrove campaign, calling the pledge “unilateral disarmament.”

Obama has done fine without such contributions and the DNC doesn’t raise much money anyway, but congressional committees and candidates rely heavily on these sources.

Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), facing his first tough battle in years against Republican Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, has taken about 70 percent of his money this cycle from PACs.

“The congressman has never had a conflict accepting contributions from federal lobbyists or PACs to his campaign,” spokesman Ed Mitchell said. “There is no connection whatsoever to anyone’s donation to our campaign and his conduct of official business.”

Many of the vulnerable incumbents in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) Frontline program, like Kanjorski, have raised well over half their money this cycle from PACs, and most of the Democrats’ top Senate hopefuls have also taken lots of PAC contributions.

Privately, Democrats acknowledge Obama is doing it because he is able to and can score political points.

“It strikes me this whole lobbyist thing is sheer demagoguery,” said a veteran Democratic operative working on a current Senate campaign. “To tar all lobbyists with the same brush strikes me as passing strange.”

Most of the candidates taking no PAC money pledges are minor candidates running poorly funded campaigns.

The pledge hasn’t become an issue thus far in many primaries, though Georgia Democratic Senate candidates have criticized the two front-running candidates for their PAC money.

Republicans have largely left Democrats to sort the issue out for themselves and haven’t planned an offensive. Explaining the issue would be difficult when nearly all Republicans also accept money from PACs and lobbyists.

But they are happy to point out the inconsistency in Democrats’ message. Obama has characterized the issue by saying lobbyists “will not fund our party, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I’m president of the United States.”

“It would be nothing short of hypocritical if congressional Democrats and their candidates were at odds with Barack Obama and Howard Dean,” National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Ken Spain said.

Democrats counter that, even though they aren’t following Obama’s lead, they passed a wide-ranging ethics bill last year that brought transparency to the process. DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) worked with Obama to get legislation passed that would detail bundling of contributions.