Stevens' Latest Problem: Supporting Wall Street Donors As Alaskans Face Consequences Of Fiscal Meltdown

From a Campaign Money Watch press release

Today Campaign Money Watch, a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog group, criticized Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) for siding with wealthy Wall Street, banking, and insurance industry donors who have given him $595,279 in political donations since 1989 instead of the Alaska voters who are struggling to get by in a troubled economy that is now in the midst of a financial crisis.

A Campaign Money Watch analysis of campaign finance data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics found that Stevens has raised more than half a million dollars from the banking, insurance and financial services industries. He has received $105,350 from employees and PACs from commercial banks, $207,182 from employees and PACs from insurance companies, and $209,197 from employees and PACs from the securities and investments industry.

While taking Wall Street's money, Stevens has also consistently favored its agenda in the Senate, including co-sponsoring a moratorium on all federal regulations and giving more power to energy speculators. Stevens has also supported privatization of Social Security, which would have been a boon for the financial services industry, but would have subjected Americans' retirement security to a volatile stock market. He voted in favor of the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, removing the firewall between insurance companies, banks, and investment firms. Many observers point to that Congressional action in 1999 as the key deregulatory vote that set the stage for the current economic crisis.

"Ted Stevens appears to be keeping one eye on fighting seven corruption charges in federal court and another on keeping his political donors on Wall Street happy," said David Donnelly, director of Campaign Money Watch. "What he's not keeping an eye on are the needs of Alaska voters, who are facing the state's highest unemployment rate since January 2006 and a 25 percent jump in foreclosures over the past year. As a symbol of political corruption in both Alaska and Washington, he ought to support the comprehensive campaign finance reforms needed to loosen the grip big money - and Wall Street - have on Capitol Hill."

Campaign Money Watch recently launched a TV ad campaign in Alaska describing how Washington, D.C., works well for both big money contributors and politicians like Stevens who need that money for re-election campaigns, but not so well for average voters. The ad is the first wave of advertising the group has planned for this Fall, and can be seen at http://www.campaignmoney.org/stevens.

Campaign Money Watch is a project of the nonpartisan Public Campaign Action Fund. The organization works to hold politicians who are against comprehensive campaign finance reform accountable for where they get their political donations.