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Aug 25, 2008 11:05 pm US/Central
Reality Check: Who Pays For Political Conventions?
(WCCO)
It's quite a lot of work to put on a national political convention, and it costs a lot of money, too. So just where does all the funding come from?
Certainly a lot of money comes from wealthy donors, but you may not be aware of all the tax money that's spent on conventions.
If you want a friend and VIP access in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, a $1 million donation will do just fine. And when you come to St. Paul for the Republican National Convention, it'll cost you $5 million. If you want to play, you've got to pay.
It's TRUE.
That's the starting price of admission for the highest of high rollers at the Democratic and Republican conventions. Big Business and Big Labor are making unlimited private donations because of ethics loopholes the size of campaign buses.
IN FACT....
The conventions together are expected to cost more than a quarter billion dollars. Eighty percent of that money raised was by the local host committees, which are considered "charities" by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Elections Commission.
But that's absolutely NOT THE WHOLE STORY.
And it's not the total tab, either. Taxpayers are paying extra for security in both cities.
Here's the big bucks REALITY.
Buried in a bill to fund the Iraq war last year, Congress inserted $100 million -- $50 million for each city, Denver and St. Paul, for what it says is for "policing" the two conventions.
That's Reality Check.
To check the resources for this Reality Check click on the links below:
Inside Fundraising for the 2008 Party Conventions
Dem, GOP Political Conventions Offering Access, Perks To Big Donors
Senate War Bill Features $20B In Pork
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