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Clinton scrambles to reduce campaign debt
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-05 11:23 But none of the Hatch Act rules apply until Clinton is confirmed, so there's an opportunity for people eager to get some face time with the incoming secretary of state. Aides said she will try to avoid doing anything that suggests she is leveraging her new post for fundraising advantage.
Brad Smith, a former Federal Election Commission chairman, said Clinton would be wise to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. "If nothing else, there's the embarrassment element," Smith said. "A secretary of state trying to raise campaign money is kind of ugly." Clinton's new job will help her avoid some pitfalls that loom when political access is linked to campaign donations. For example, foreign citizens, who might be interested in forging a relationship with an incoming secretary of state, are legally barred from contributing to US political campaigns. Still, Krumholz said, there are plenty of US citizens with strong ties to other countries who would welcome the chance to write Clinton a check. "Wealthy people who have family overseas and are tied to issues in the country, human rights issues, for example, have more incentive to give," Krumholz said. Analysts said that fundraising to retire a politician's debt, never easy, is more difficult during the recession. Also, Clinton is trying to pay off debts from the Democratic primaries, where many of her supporters already gave the maximum $2,300 per person. They cannot be solicited again. The large share of her debt owed to Penn, a controversial figure and harsh Obama critic, also complicates matters for Clinton. Many Democrats blamed him for her strategic failings. Clinton also has about $6 million in her Senate re-election account; some of that could be used under strict restrictions to help pay these debts. Under FEC rules, she would need to ask each contributor's permission to move the donation to her debt retirement account, and none could come from people who already contributed the maximum to her presidential bid. |
