progunner1957
member
Sounds like the Frau Hillary is going after the white trash vote...
Hillary Takes Jerry Springer money, Shuns Wal-Mart
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gathered checks from Hollywood friends, John Kerry's wife and even a former Republican congressman, but records filed Friday show she returned cash from an even older ally - Wal-Mart.
Senate records made public Friday detail how Clinton, D-N.Y., raised a whopping $6 million in the last three months of 2005, bringing her campaign cash to $17 million going into her re-election run, in which she has yet to face organized opposition.
Some $1,500 of that money came from Amo Houghton Jr., the former Republican congressman who retired in 2004. Houghton, an heir to the Corning glass company in upstate New York, did not immediately return a call for comment.
The junior senator from New York is also a potential presidential candidate in 2008. She took in plenty of donations from box office stars and political heavyweights, according to paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., gave Clinton $2,100. John Kerry, who lost the 2004 presidential race, is also considered a presidential prospect in 2008.
Clinton returned $5,000 to the political action committee of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a company with long ties to the Clintons dating back to their days in Arkansas, where Wal-Mart is headquartered.
Clinton campaign spokeswoman Ann Lewis said the money was returned "because of serious differences with current company practices."
The senator served on the Wal-Mart board from 1986 to 1992, and was close with the Walton family that created the nation's largest retailer.
But the senator signaled a new stance on the company's business practices in a speech last week, when she told the U.S. Conference of Mayors that the company should provide better worker benefits.
"Cities and states are saying we can't keep holding the bag here," Clinton told the conference, citing a new Maryland law requiring Wal-Mart to spend 8 percent of payroll in health benefits or contribute to insurance plans.
Other donors to Clinton include former Sept. 11 commission member Richard Ben-Veniste, who gave her $1,000 in November. Actress Reese Witherspoon contributed $1,000, and talk show host Jerry Springer donated $4,200.
Actor Danny DeVito gave $1,000, and actress Morgan Fairchild gave $1,500. Edie Falco of "The Sopranos" gave $1,000, and Jessica Seinfeld - comedian Jerry Seinfeld's wife - gave $4,200.
The papers also showed what it costs a candidate to raise $6 million in three months. One company alone was paid more than $461,000 to conduct direct mail appeals for Clinton.