[TheRealVille]

WASHINGTON – More than a month after becoming his party's presumptive presidential nominee, Republican Mitt Romney has not publicly identified most of the fundraisers helping him collect the millions of dollars he needs to win the White House, even as he promises them special access perks.

Romney is not required by law to disclose the identities of his fundraisers with the exception of those who work as federal lobbyists. Releasing the names of bundlers, however, has been standard in presidential campaigns for more than a decade.
Republican George W. Bush established the pattern in the 2000 election, revealing the names of fundraisers who collected at least $100,000. He repeated the practice in 2004. Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee four years ago, had disclosed his fundraisers by this point in the 2008 campaign, releasing a list of 106 bundlers on April 18 of that year.
MORE: President Obama's bundlers listed on his campaign website
Romney's last serious challenger for the nomination, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, ended his campaign April 10.

President Obama has released his fundraiser list every three months during this campaign. His most recent disclosure, in mid-April, identified more than 530 individuals and couples who have raised at least $106 million. He reports their fundraising in broad ranges only.
Lawyers and law-firm employees account for about one out of every four Obama fundraisers, according to an analysis by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. The list also is sprinkled with famous names, including director Spike Lee and actress Eva Longoria.
These fundraisers, known as "bundlers" for their ability to bundle together contributions from family, friends and business associates, are crucial to campaigns racing to amass cash to pay their aides and fund commercials and get-out-the-vote efforts.
Romney is seeking contributions of up to $75,800 per person to be split among his campaign and joint fundraising accounts with the Republican National Committee and several state parties. His campaign said those joint efforts brought in $40.1 million in April, nearly on par with the amount raised that month by Obama and the Democratic Party.
Campaign-finance watchdogs have pressed for Romney to disclose his bundlers. "Should he be elected, these people will be first in line seeking benefits from the new administration and the public won't even know who these people are and whether they are being rewarded for their role in getting Romney elected," said Taylor Lincoln, a research director at Public Citizen.
Romney campaign officials did not respond to several interview requests this week. Last year, campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul told USA TODAY that Romney discloses "the information about our donors as required by law."

Federal rules enacted after the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal require candidates to report fundraising by federal lobbyists. Altogether, 25 lobbyist-bundlers have collected more than $3 million for Romney's campaign, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Patrick Durkin, who lobbies on behalf of Barclays, an international banking firm, has raised the most — more than $927,000. He did not return telephone calls.
A widely circulated campaign document shows Romney is offering perks to his biggest fundraisers, including access at the party's convention in Tampa, a weekend retreat next month in Park City, Utah, weekly campaign briefings and a "dedicated Romney Victory Heaquarters" staff member.
Bundlers who raise $250,000 will be designated Romney "Stars." Those who collect $500,000 join the "Stripes" category and earn additional benefits, including access to presidential debates.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/st...55202324/1

[nky]

That's because he's still counting it
[Image: http://www.rt.com/files/news/global-elit...aint.n.jpg]

[nky]

[Image: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1s0-mqyuNZ8/Tr...to_say.png]

[Hoot Gibson]

Good for Romney. He should disclose only what information is legally required. What a non-story. Nice find, RV.

[TheRealVille]

Good for Romney. He should disclose only what information is legally required. What a non-story. Nice find, RV.

Seems you always have issue with Obama donators.

[Hoot Gibson]

Seems you always have issue with Obama donators.

I don't have a problem. You know what they say about fools and their money. Romney should only disclose what is legally required to protect his donors from harassment and character assassination at the hands of Obama's hired goons.

[OrangenowBlue]

I don't have a problem. You know what they say about fools and their money. Romney should only disclose what is legally required to protect his donors from harassment and character assassination at the hands of Obama's hired goons.

Maybe Romney needs to have his own "hired goon". I know a good candidate, Karl Rove. The world renown character assassinator himself.

[Hoot Gibson]

Maybe Romney needs to have his own "hired goon". I know a good candidate, Karl Rove. The world renown character assassinator himself.

Rove is a minor leaguer when it comes to wallowing in the mud. Obama actually won his Illinois Senate seat by persuading his popular Republican opponent to withdraw from the race after his goons managed to convince a judge to unseal divorce records over the objections of both his opponent and his opponent's wife. However, by personally targeting Romney supporters, Obama has sunk to an even lower level of mud.

I don't like some of the tactics that Romney used during the primary campaign but distorting your opponents' records, as I believe that Romney did, is much different that using private detectives and the media to intimidate and discourage private citizens from making political contributions to your opponents.

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[COLOR="Blue"]Strassel: Trolling for Dirt on the President's List

Here's what happens when the president of the United States publicly targets a private citizen for the crime of supporting his opponent.

Frank VanderSloot is the CEO of Melaleuca Inc. The 63-year-old has run that wellness-products company for 26 years out of tiny Idaho Falls, Idaho. Last August, Mr. VanderSloot gave $1 million to Restore Our Future, the Super PAC that supports Mitt Romney.

Three weeks ago, an Obama campaign website, "Keeping GOP Honest," took the extraordinary step of publicly naming and assailing eight private citizens backing Mr. Romney. Titled "Behind the curtain: a brief history of Romney's donors," the post accused the eight of being "wealthy individuals with less-than-reputable records." Mr. VanderSloot was one of the eight, smeared particularly as being "litigious, combative and a bitter foe of the gay rights movement."

Link to entire article
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[COLOR="Blue"]National Briefing | Midwest: Illinois: Candidate's Divorce Records Opened

Jack Ryan, a Senate candidate, lost his battle to keep his divorce records sealed. Judge Robert A. Schnider of Superior Court in Los Angeles ruled that at least some of the records, though embarrassing and potentially harmful to Mr. Ryan's son, should be opened. Mr. Ryan, a Republican who was married to the actress Jeri Lynn Ryan, said that neither he nor his former wife would appeal the decision. Mr. Ryan faces Barack Obama, a Democrat, in the race to fill the seat of Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald, a Republican who is retiring.
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This is why I said that Romney should only divulge the legally required information about his supporters. Nothing is off limits to the thugs running the Obama campaign and that is just how our current president likes to run his campaigns. He is a dangerous man who will not hesitate to destroy the lives of private citizens and political opponents alike to cling to power.