XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.democrats, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: zinn@reno.us   
      
   Sen. Michael Bennet (D., Colo.) claims he doesn't accept contributions   
   from corporate PACs or federal lobbyists. A Washington Free Beacon review   
   of his campaign finance records tells another story.   
      
   "I'm not taking a dime in corporate PAC money," Bennet says in his first   
   reelection campaign ad. "Washington could learn a lot from Colorado.   
   That's why I approve this message." But the Colorado senator accepted more   
   than $60,000 from PACs that accept corporate PAC contributions last   
   quarter alone. Bennet also accepted $3,500 from the Blackstone Group's   
   corporate PAC in 2021. The same quarter he accepted that donation he   
   claimed on Twitter that his campaign was "setting records without taking a   
   cent from corporate PACs."   
      
   On multiple occasions Bennet has also claimed that he has never taken any   
   donations from lobbyists. Yet lobbyists have given him more than one   
   million dollars since he entered the Senate in 2009, according to his   
   campaign finance records.   
      
   Bennet taking money from corporations and lobbyists highlights how   
   Democrats struggle to meet purity pledges demanded by left-wing activists.   
   Such pledges help give the impression to voters that the candidates are   
   free from outside influence. Other Democrats who say they swear off   
   corporate PAC money, including Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.) and Raphael   
   Warnock (Ga.), have exploited corporate donation loopholes.   
      
   At least 16 PACs that accept donations from corporations donated money to   
   Bennet last quarter, according to his campaign finance records. Those PACs   
   include the Real Estate Roundtable PAC and the Securities Industry and   
   Financial Markets Association.   
      
   Similar to Democrats such as Kelly, Bennet also accepted tens of thousands   
   of dollars from PACs funded by trade associations. Some of those PACs   
   include the National Structured Settlements PAC and the American Council   
   of Life Insurers PAC.   
      
   Much of Bennet's other donations come from those connected to financial   
   firms. From 2009 to the second quarter of 2022, Bennet accepted more than   
   $5 million dollars from the securities and investment industry. Employees   
   from the investment management firms Blackstone Group and Oaktree Capital   
   Management have given Bennet over a half million dollars.   
      
   Bennet will face Republican challenger Joe O'Dea in November.   
      
   Published under: 2022 Election, Colorado, Mark Kelly, Michael Bennet   
      
   https://freebeacon.com/democrats/this-dem-senator-is-starting-off-his-   
   reelection-campaign-with-a-lie/   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)