Lucas,
Five months.
That's how long ago Public Citizen and our allies asked Obama and Romney to
disclose the names of the wealthy donors who tap their elite networks for
checks then deliver the spoils to their candidate in one big bundle.
Obama's campaign disclosed 638 of these "bundlers."
Romney, on the other hand, has revealed practically nothing.
His campaign disclosed only the bare minimum required by law -- 34 bundlers
who are federally registered lobbyists.
We've given Romney plenty of time to disclose on his own.
Now let's give him a shout to show that the public wants to know!
Tell
Mitt Romney it's time to open up about the big-money donors bankrolling his
campaign.
For more about bundlers, read my earlier email (copied below in case you missed
it).
Thanks,
Rick
* * *
Lucas,
As Super PACs and sham groups dominate the airwaves, Washington elites are
deploying quieter (but equally insidious) methods to distort our elections.
One way that CEOs, lobbyists and billionaires quietly curry favor with
their favored presidential candidates is by becoming "bundlers."
Bundlers tap their rich and powerful networks for checks, aggregating
thousands -- in some cases millions -- of dollars, and then deliver the
spoils to their candidate in one big bundle.
In response to a letter from Public Citizen and other groups fighting dark
money, President Barack Obama has disclosed the names of 638 bundlers*
backing his campaign.
However, Mitt Romney's campaign has so far refused all calls to disclose
his cabal of secret bundlers.
Tell
Romney to disclose his bundlers.
The only bundlers Romney has disclosed are the 34* who are federally
registered lobbyists (the bare minimum required by law).
The rest of Romney's network of fundraisers remains in the shadows.
Since 2000, all candidates nominated by the Republican and Democratic
parties -- George W. Bush, John Kerry, John McCain and Barack Obama --
have made their bundlers public.
And Romney even disclosed his bundlers during the 2008 Republican
primaries.
But not this year.
Urge
Romney's campaign to embrace transparency.
Once the president is elected, bundlers are frequently rewarded with White
House posts -- both Bush and Obama have given cushy ambassadorships and
influential positions to their bundlers.
The public should know who is similarly jockeying for plum posts in a
Romney White House.
The voters have a right to know beforehand, so that we can judge who is
trying to buy the White House and the favors that come with it.
Add
your name to the petition calling on Romney to disclose his bundlers.
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Thanks for all you do,
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