A
Anonymous
Guest
Conrad didn't attend the candidates debate yesterday- apparently he doesn't want to answer open forum questions--instead he plans to use all his Big Business and out of state money to buy Montana :???:
Who needs to debate when you can buy your own stage
By Gwen Florio Tribune Capitol Bureau
HELENA — Conrad Burns wasn't at Sunday's health care forum for U.S. Senate candidates. The Republican incumbent didn't have to be.
Candidates use debates as one way to get their message out to a lot of people, but Burns' message is already out there, on the airwaves, in mailings, on yard signs and bumper stickers.
In the first three months of this year, Burns spent about $660,000 on advertising, consulting and fund-raising, according to Federal Election Commission reports. That's about $7,300 a day.
Put another way, every four days, his campaign spent as much as the average Montanan earns in a year, just to make sure voters know what Conrad Burns wants them to know.
"He lit it up, and he's got plenty more coming," said Craig Wilson, pollster and political science professor at Montana State University-Billings.
Burns spentmore than either of his two main Democratic opponents — Senate President Jon Tester of Big Sandy and state Auditor Jon Morrison — raised in donations in the same time period.
Burns can afford to advertise like crazy: Even after dropping all that dough on advertising and fundraising (getting more dough so he can buy more advertising), he still has $3.3 million, compared to Morrison's $882,000 and Tester's $261,000, according to the FEC quarterly reports.
In January alone, the Burns campaign wrote checks for $354,133 to eight firms for ads, "blast" faxes and consulting.
January is when Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud. Abramoff is cooperating with the Justice Department in a congressional influence-peddling probe.
Burns received more in donations from Abramoff and his associates, about $150,000, than any other senator or representative. He has returned or otherwise donated the money. A handful of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, quoted unnamed sources close to the Abramoff investigation as saying Burns is a focus of the probe.
"Given the seriousness of the charges (that were made) early, that forced him to begin to spend more than he otherwise would have spent as an incumbent sitting Republican," Wilson said.
Morrison's fund-raising report wasn't accessible on the FEC website. But Tester — who has raised just a little more since the beginning of his campaign last year than Burns spent in 90 days this year — spent about $44,400 from January through March on similar expenses.
Tester tends to use Internet advertising, which is considerably cheaper than television or radio, but lacks a guaranteed audience. His campaign paid Google a total of $330 this year.
Although the Montana Republican Party recently ran an Internet ad criticizing Democrats' positions on national security, Burns is sticking to more traditional, big-ticket advertising, paying $301,615 for advertising in a single day, Jan. 20.
That's the kind of cash the other opponents in Montana's U.S. Senate race can only dream of. In addition to Tester and Morrison, only one other candidate, Democrat Paul Richards of Boulder, filed a quarterly report, which said he had only $199 on hand. Burns' main primary opponent, Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan of Bigfork, recently entered the race and has said he'll only spend $100,000 on it.
Two spokespersons for Burns' campaign did not return calls seeking comment Sunday afternoon.
Who needs to debate when you can buy your own stage
By Gwen Florio Tribune Capitol Bureau
HELENA — Conrad Burns wasn't at Sunday's health care forum for U.S. Senate candidates. The Republican incumbent didn't have to be.
Candidates use debates as one way to get their message out to a lot of people, but Burns' message is already out there, on the airwaves, in mailings, on yard signs and bumper stickers.
In the first three months of this year, Burns spent about $660,000 on advertising, consulting and fund-raising, according to Federal Election Commission reports. That's about $7,300 a day.
Put another way, every four days, his campaign spent as much as the average Montanan earns in a year, just to make sure voters know what Conrad Burns wants them to know.
"He lit it up, and he's got plenty more coming," said Craig Wilson, pollster and political science professor at Montana State University-Billings.
Burns spentmore than either of his two main Democratic opponents — Senate President Jon Tester of Big Sandy and state Auditor Jon Morrison — raised in donations in the same time period.
Burns can afford to advertise like crazy: Even after dropping all that dough on advertising and fundraising (getting more dough so he can buy more advertising), he still has $3.3 million, compared to Morrison's $882,000 and Tester's $261,000, according to the FEC quarterly reports.
In January alone, the Burns campaign wrote checks for $354,133 to eight firms for ads, "blast" faxes and consulting.
January is when Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud. Abramoff is cooperating with the Justice Department in a congressional influence-peddling probe.
Burns received more in donations from Abramoff and his associates, about $150,000, than any other senator or representative. He has returned or otherwise donated the money. A handful of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, quoted unnamed sources close to the Abramoff investigation as saying Burns is a focus of the probe.
"Given the seriousness of the charges (that were made) early, that forced him to begin to spend more than he otherwise would have spent as an incumbent sitting Republican," Wilson said.
Morrison's fund-raising report wasn't accessible on the FEC website. But Tester — who has raised just a little more since the beginning of his campaign last year than Burns spent in 90 days this year — spent about $44,400 from January through March on similar expenses.
Tester tends to use Internet advertising, which is considerably cheaper than television or radio, but lacks a guaranteed audience. His campaign paid Google a total of $330 this year.
Although the Montana Republican Party recently ran an Internet ad criticizing Democrats' positions on national security, Burns is sticking to more traditional, big-ticket advertising, paying $301,615 for advertising in a single day, Jan. 20.
That's the kind of cash the other opponents in Montana's U.S. Senate race can only dream of. In addition to Tester and Morrison, only one other candidate, Democrat Paul Richards of Boulder, filed a quarterly report, which said he had only $199 on hand. Burns' main primary opponent, Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan of Bigfork, recently entered the race and has said he'll only spend $100,000 on it.
Two spokespersons for Burns' campaign did not return calls seeking comment Sunday afternoon.