Thread: Tancredo OK with loss of business contribution

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/l ... 79,00.html

By Deborah Frazier, Rocky Mountain News
January 13, 2006

Businesses cut donations to Rep. Tom Tancredo last year after his hard-line stance on immigration garnered widespread attention, but the Colorado Republican doesn’t care, a spokesman said today.

Federal campaign records show that Tancredo received about $385,000 in contributions in 2005 and only $9,926 came from businesses and PACs, about 2.6 percent of the total.

In 2004, before he became widely known as a national champion for immigration enforcement, Tancredo raised nearly $983,000, including $92,256 from PACs and businesses.

"Illegal immigration is Congressman Tancredo’s signature issue," said Will Adams, Tancredo’s spokesman. "Of, course big business doesn’t like him.

"He’s trying to stop businesses from hiring cheap, illegal labor that they can exploit.
They have an ideal situation now. They can hire illegal aliens and the government, for all intents and purposes, will never come after them for doing it."

Most of last year’s donations to Tancredo’s campaign fund came from individuals. Tancredo, a possible presidential candidate who has stumped on immigration in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, hasn’t announced his intention to run for Congress again, said Adams.

"He still raises a tremendous amount of money from moms and pops who send in $20 checks," Adams said.

Campaign finance records show that half of Tancredo’s donors live in other states, including California where immigration is a major state issue.

Last year, Colorado’s other five representatives received between 35 percent to 71 percent of their campaign contributions from PACs and businesses. Sen. Ken Salazar received about 11 percent of his donations from those two sources in 2005 and Sen. Wayne Allard’s campaign donations included about 37 percent.

Adams said Tancredo was proud that the campaign finance records show that he isn’t indebted to special interests that support political campaigns.

"It’s to his credit, isn’t it, that people these days are outraged that Congress members are being bought by businesses," said Adams. "The goal of almost all campaign finance reform is to create politicians like Congressman Tancredo who get checks in small sums."

GOOD GOING, Tancredo!! Don't be beholden to any of those SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS who want to BUY your votes. They see that YOU aren't going to sell your soul for their money and it rankles!