Subject: [big campaign] OPEN SECRETS: Troops Deployed Abroad Give 6:1 to Obama
From: "Aniello Alioto" <[email-masked]>
To: bigcampaign <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:50:05 -0400
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/08/troops-deployed-abroad-give-61.html

 Troops Deployed Abroad Give 6:1 to Obama  Published by Luke Rosiak on
August 14, 2008 9:52 AM |
Permalink<http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/08/troops-deployed-abroad-give-61.html>|
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During World War II, soldiers crouching in foxholes penned letters assuring
their sweethearts that they'd be home soon. Now, between firefights in the
Iraqi desert, some infantrymen have been sending a different kind of mail
stateside: two or three hundred dollars -- or whatever they can spare --
towards a presidential election that could very well determine just how soon
they come home.

According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center
for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack
Obama<http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00009638&cycle=2008>has
received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas
at
the time of their contributions than has Republican John
McCain<http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00006424&cycle=2008>,
and the fiercely anti-war Ron
Paul<http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00005906&cycle=2008>,
though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago,
has received more than four times McCain's haul.

Despite McCain's status as a decorated veteran and a historically Republican
bent among the military, members of the armed services overall -- whether
stationed overseas or at home -- are also favoring Obama with their campaign
contributions in 2008, by a $55,000 margin. Although 59 percent of federal
contributions by military personnel has gone to Republicans this cycle, of
money from the military to the presumed presidential nominees, 57 percent
has gone to Obama.

 Contributions from U.S. Troops Deployed Abroad  Recipient Total Number Obama,
Barack $60,642 134 Paul, Ron $45,512 99 McCain, John $10,665 26 Huckabee,
Mike $7,950 10 Thompson, Fred $6,350 7 Romney, Mitt $5,550 10 Clinton,
Hillary $3,240 6

With the latest campaign finance filings, detailing June fundraising, McCain
has overtaken Paul among all military donors, though Paul still leads with
contributors listing an overseas address. Financial support from military
personnel for anti-war candidates Obama and Paul is a trend that the Center
for Responsive Politics first
observed<http://www.opensecrets.org/capital_eye/inside.php?ID=300>last
September.

Individuals in the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps have all leaned
Republican this cycle, but the only branch in which that ideology has
carried over to the presidential race is the Marine Corps, where McCain
leads Obama by about $4,000. In each of the other branches -- including the
Navy, in which McCain served when he was taken prisoner during the Vietnam
War -- Obama leads by significant margins.

"That's shocking. The academic debate is between some who say that junior
enlisted ranks lean slightly Republican and some who say it's about equal,
but no one would point to six-to-one" in Democrats' favor, said Aaron
Belkin, a professor of political science at the University of California who
studies the military. "That represents a tremendous shift from 2000, when
the military vote almost certainly was decisive in Florida and elsewhere,
and leaned heavily towards the Republicans."

In 2000, Republican George W. Bush outraised Democrat Al Gore among military
personnel almost 2 to 1. In 2004, with the Iraq war underway, John Kerry
closed the gap with President Bush, but Bush still raised $1.50 from the
military for every $1 his Democratic opponent collected.

A former West Point professor, Jason Dempsey, noted that the small set of
contributions from deployed troops at this point in 2008 -- just 323
donations -- should not be extrapolated to form conclusions about military
personnel overall. "If, on a bad day, a guy gets that letter that says [his
tour has been extended] from 12 to 15 months, that could spur a quick
donation and expression of anger," he said. "Donating helps members of the
military express their political views privately."

Seeing political activity of any sort among soldiers is notable, Dempsey
added. "It's hard to describe how apolitical a lot of the enlisted ranks
are. He's worried about other things than following the news."

Obama, who opposed the war in Iraq but was not in the Senate when it was
authorized, has said that as president, he would withdraw most troops from
Iraq within about 16 months. McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate
Armed Services Committee and a staunch proponent of the Iraq war, has
resisted setting a timeline for withdrawal.

CRP's totals based on employer are limited to donors contributing more than
$200, since information is not provided to the Federal Election Commission
for smaller contributions. So these figures are likely to disproportionately
represent the mood of officers, who have more disposable income to spend on
politics than do the lower ranks. But because young people tend to be more
liberal than their elders, the total dollar figures could lean even more in
Obama's favor.

"One possibly mundane explanation (for the tilt in contributions from
deployed soldiers) is that the Obama campaign has just been so much savvier
with web-based donors. It may be a logistical question," Belkin pointed out.

Army Specialist Jay Navas contributed $250 while deployed in Iraq, but it
wasn't over the Internet. "It took some effort to get that check. I had my
mom send me my checkbook and I walked to the post office in Camp Liberty in
Baghdad with an envelope addressed to Barack Obama in Chicago, Illinois," he
said. "He was right on Iraq long when others were jumping into the sea like
lemmings, and that's hard to do. We're soldiers and we respect courage."

Only the Coast Guard prefers Democrats across the board, with 78 percent of
employees' total federal contributions going to members of that party, and
Obama beating McCain $7,795 to $250. Navas anecdotally confirmed that
soldiers are often conservative but that many are making an exception in the
presidential race. "Most of my friends are conservative Republicans and they
say, 'I'm voting for Barack.' McCain does not have a lock on the military
vote, that's for sure," he said. "We'll complete our duty -- I'm deploying
next year -- because it's a commitment I made to the nation, not to a
president. But we all know that Iraq was a big mistake."

The decisions of the U.S. government affect Navas more than most Americans,
he said.

"What happens politically in America affects us immediately," he said. "As
soon as the surge was ordered, my tour was extended, just by a pronouncement
from the president. For very few Americans can the president say something
and your lives are changed."
 Contributions from All Military Personnel  Recipient Total Number Obama,
Barack $335,536 859 McCain, John $280,513 558 Paul, Ron $232,411 537 Clinton,
Hillary $167,050 376 Republican National Cmte $135,902 219 Huckabee, Mike
$66,751 127 Thompson, Fred $46,400 93 Romney, Mitt $43,307 96 Giuliani,
Rudolph W $22,050 47 National Republican Senatorial Cmte $21,885 26 DNC
Services Corp $16,873 53*Based on contributions made during the 2008
election cycle through June 31, 2008.*
  Categories:

   - Politicians &
Elections<http://www.opensecrets.org/news/politicians-elections/>
   ,
   - Presidential
Election<http://www.opensecrets.org/news/politicians-elections/presidential-election-1/>

 Tags:

   - Barack Obama<http://www.opensecrets.org/MT/mt-search.cgi?tag=Barack%20Obama&blog_id=8&IncludeBlogs=8>
   ,
   - John McCain<http://www.opensecrets.org/MT/mt-search.cgi?tag=John%20McCain&blog_id=8&IncludeBlogs=8>
   ,
   - Ron Paul<http://www.opensecrets.org/MT/mt-search.cgi?tag=Ron%20Paul&blog_id=8&IncludeBlogs=8>

-- 
Aniello Alioto
Deputy Director of State Media
Progressive Accountability
202-609-7673 (office)
502-664-2420 (cell)
AnielloA (AIM)
[email-masked]

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