Jerry Zremski of the Buffalo News has an article today about how Jon Powers has raised a decent amount of money from left-wing fundraising powerhouses, but not so much from the people he wants to represent in Congress… something I’ve been noting for quite a while now.

Jon Powers would be the next congressman from the 26th District if the “netroots” were doing the voting.

The Iraq War veteran and former substitute teacher has raised $322,452 through ActBlue, a Web site that bills itself as “the online clearinghouse for Democratic action,” while winning the praise of bloggers from Buffalo to the Beltway.

“He’s the model of a modern patriot,” wrote Jake McIntyre, a Buffalo native and Washington labor lawyer who blogs under the name “Trapper John” on Daily Kos, one of the most popular progressive blogs.

Meanwhile, liberal bloggers have dismissed one of Powers’ Democratic primary opponents as “Crazy Jack Davis” and largely ignored the other, local attorney Alice Kryzan.

But there’s a downside to Powers’ prolonged courtship of the netroots. It’s the reason he raised nearly twice as much money from New York City as he has from the Buffalo area, a fact that allows his opponents to charge that the 26th District might not be foremost in his mind if Powers makes his way to Washington.

“Jon Powers is campaigning the same way he’ll govern; from outside New York and inside the pockets of the special interests,” said Joy Langley, a spokesman for Davis, the millionaire industrialist who’s paying for his third congressional race with his own money.

The story goes on to detail how Powers courted left-wing activists prior to his congressional run.

An interesting point raised by Zremski is that Alice Kryzan the “other” Democrat candidate in NY-26, “out-raised Powers by more than $30,000 in the Buffalo area.” WROC-TV noted last week that in an otherwise bitter Democratic primary, riddled with scandals and nastiness, Kryzan has remained quite unscathed. She might not be making headlines, but her out-fundraising Jon Powers should concern his campaign. The bloody battle between Davis and Powers could prove to be quite beneficial to Kryzan. 

Perhaps the funniest part of the article came at the end, where it said Powers “vowed not to be swayed by such campaign donations or by the bloggers who’ve become his defenders.”

Yeah, let’s see. Since Jon Powers has had congressional ambitions, he’s been increasingly seeking the support of cash from left-wing activists, and his pursuit of that cash has gone hand-in-hand with an undeniable leftward shift on the issues, including abortion, free trade, even Iraq. So, despite evidence to the contrary, Powers told Zremski, “I’m going to be representing the people of Western New York.” 

Powers seems to be confusing Western New York with the Daily Kos and Huffington Post.

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Alice Kryzan, one of the three Democrats running for Congress in the 26th District, is calling on Jack Davis and Jon Powers to join her in signing the so-called “Voters First Pledge” which “commits a candidate to supporting legislation to create a system of public financing for qualified candidates who agree to strict spending limits and to take only small donations.”

Somehow, I don’t think Jack Davis or Jon Powers will go for it, and I don’t Kryzan believes they will either, considering the criticisms of her opponents written in the release:

Reiterating her commitment to eliminate the stranglehold of special interest money on Congress, Kryzan said:

“We’re not going to have a Congress that works for working families when its members need to raise millions of dollars every year, and the election cycle essentially never ends. It is time for candidates who are serious about changing Washington to begin by changing the way they get to Washington. It’s time to not just talk the talk, but to begin to walk the walk. And that’s why I ask my opponents to join me in signing the Pledge.”

Kryzan is running in the September 9th primary against millionaire Jack Davis, a three-time congressional candidate who’s pledged to spend $3 million of his own money on the race, and Jon Powers, who has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from special interest PACs and lobbyists. Kryzan issued an additional challenge to her opponents, calling on them to join her in limiting the overall spending of their primary campaigns to three quarters of a million dollars.

As the party-endorsed candidate, special interests and out-of-state left-wing activists have been funding Powers campaign, which has also been spending significant amounts of that money. Jack Davis already thinks he’s superior for not accepting any contributions and using only his personal fortune to fund his campaign.

I think Alice is on her own with this one.

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On the campaign trail, Jack Davis touts his credentials as a businessman, but his rhetoric on the economy suggests he knows as much about business and economic as I know about brain surgery:

Congressman hopeful Jack Davis stood outside the former injected rubber plant on Platt Street in Albion on Thursday morning with a political message.

“Free trade is not free,” he began. A placard on his podium read “Save Jobs,” the Democrat’s campaign mot

to. “It’s time to put working people first.”

GM, Ford and Chrysler have announced the closing of more plants, he said. The loss of jobs is devastating to families.

“In our region, too many working men and women have had to explain to their families that they lost their job because it was cheaper to do the work in China or Mexico,” Davis said. “We don’t need more of the same policies that have given us the worst economy since the Great Depression.”

The worst economy since the Great Depression? If Jack Davis thinks the current economy bears any resemblance to the economy during the Great Depression or can justifiably be compared to it, then he’s just crazy, especially if he’s going to blame free trade. The raising of tariffs during the Great Depression significantly reduced international trade, making the depression even worse.

Ending free trade would effectively impose a tax increase on other countries, which would discourage trade between the United States and foreign countries, and causes prices of goods to just go up. 

The solution, he believes, is good-paying jobs that will keep taxes low and communities safe. Lobbyists, corporations and trade associations have too much power in Washington as they push Congress to pass more free trade deals, he said. 

“Special interest money doesn’t impre

ss me,” Davis said. “I am the only candidate to have joined Barack Obama in rejecting lobbyist and PAC money for my campaign, and I am the only candidate pledging to work for a dollar a year. … We cannot keep doing the same thing … and expect different results.”

It’s amusing to see Jack Davis trying to ride on Obama’s coattails, but let’s be honest here, if Jack Davis couldn’t afford to fund his own campaign then Jack Davis would be accepting campaign contributions from voters, lobbyists and PACs alike… just like Barack Obama, who, contrary to his own rhetoric, has enjoyed support from PACs and lobbyists:

Using campaign appearances, e-mails to supporters, and Iowa TV ads, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has repeatedly reminded voters that his presidential campaign does not accept contributions from lobbyists or political action committees, casting his decision as a noble departure from the ways of Washington.

[...]

But behind Obama’s campaign rhetoric about taking on special interests lies a more complicated truth. A [Boston] Globe review of Obama’s campaign finance records shows that he collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and PACs as a state legislator in Illinois, a US senator, and a presidential aspirant.

In Obama’s eight years in the Illinois Senate, from 1996 to 2004, almost two-thirds of the money he raised for his campaigns — $296,000 of $461,000 — came from PACs, corporate contributions, or unions, according to Illinois Board of Elections records. He tapped financial services firms, real estate developers, healthcare providers, oil companies, and many other corporate interests, the records show.

Obama’s US Senate campaign committee, starting with his successful run in 2004, has collected $128,000 from lobbyists and $1.3 million from PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. His $1.3 million from PACs represents 8 percent of what he has raised overall. Clinton’s Senate committee, by comparison, has raised $3 million from PACs, 4 percent of her total amount raised, the group said.

In addition, Obama’s own federal PAC, Hopefund, took in $115,000 from 56 PACs in the 2005-2006 election cycle out of $4.4 million the PAC raised, according to CQ MoneyLine, which collects Federal Election Commission data. Obama then used those PAC contributions — including thousands from defense contractors, law firms, and the securities and insurance industries — to build support for his presidential run by making donations to Democratic Party organizations and candidates around the country.

And, oh yes, even Obama’s presidential campaign has ties to lobbyists that cannot be ignored:

Though Obama has returned thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from registered federal lobbyists since he declared his candidacy in February [2007], his presidential campaign has maintained ties with lobbyists and lobbying firms to help raise some of the $58.9 million he collected through the first six months of 2007. Obama has raised more than $1.4 million from members of law and consultancy firms led by partners who are lobbyists, The Los Angeles Times reported last week. And The Hill, a Washington newspaper, reported earlier this year that Obama’s campaign had reached out to lobbyists’ networks to use their contacts to help build his fund-raising base.

If Jack Davis wasn’t funding his own campaign and refusing lobbyist and PAC money at the same time, then it be more fair of him to criticize his opponents for not doing the same. And while his criticisms of Jon Powers for taking contributions from strip-club owner Rick Snowden are legitimate criticisms, he would have gladly accepted the sleazy money if he had to raise money for his own campaign. 

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From Rochester’s Democrat & Chronicle:

Millionaire Democratic congressional candidate Jack Davis is taking his primary challenger Jon Powers to task today for again accepting campaign donations from western New York strip-club owner Rick Snowden.

Powers accepted $7,000 from Snowden, who held a fundraiser for Powers. And now Davis is pointing out that Powers took another $550 from Snowden this quarter. Some Powers’ opponents have called on him to return the money.

“It is pathetic and sad that Mr. Powers will say anything, do anything, and take money from anyone to further his aspirations for a career in politics,” Davis’ campaign said in a statement.
“Voters want someone who will stand up to the special interests, not sell out to them.”

Jon Powers’ connection to Jack Snowden was first reported on The Buffalo Bean last month.

UPDATE: More from Monroe Rising:

It should have been obvious to Powers that taking money from a man who exploits women for money is wrong the first time.  But for Powers to accept money from this scumbag again is just disgusting.  That’s the Dem’s candidate for you right there.  

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Nothing says “Democrat unity” like Jon Powers and Jack Davis attacking each other’s fundraising.

Alice J. Kryzan, an Amherst attorney, also showed she will prove to be a factor in the Democratic primary race by reporting $247,025 on hand; she loaned her campaign $157,000. Her filings with the Federal Elections Commission showed strong support from lawyers and law firms.

But an immediate squabble broke out between Democrats Jack Davis and Jon Powers, as each used filing day to criticize the other for the source of money and how it is being spent.

Davis, a Clarence industrialist who has vowed to spend $3 million of his own wealth in the campaign after dropping $3.6 million in two previous runs for Congress, reported $337,418 raised. All of that came from personal loans, none through donations.

Powers said he raised about $870,000, but has only $488,810 on hand.

Davis called Powers’ fundraising “disturbing” and made these claims:

• Powers has spent 50 percent of all the funds he’s raised without any advertising, adding that Powers spent 68 percent of all the money he raised this quarter alone.

• Powers’ in-district support accounts for only 7.5 percent of his total treasury, with 92.5 percent coming from donors from out-of-state (49 percent) and from other areas in New York, like New York City and its suburbs (44 percent).

• Powers has raised three times as much money from Washington political action committees ($187,175) than from individuals in the district, with PAC money accounting for 40 percent of the funds collected this quarter alone.

Davis, meanwhile, has pledged to take no money from PACs.

“Jon Powers is campaigning the same way he’ll govern; from outside New York and inside the pockets of the special interests,” Davis campaign spokeswoman Joy Langley said. “He’s an aspiring career politician and is the last safe harbor for the special interests in a sea-change election year.”

But Powers put his own spin on his numbers, pointing to 3,900 donors, with 67 percent giving $50 or less and 80 percent giving $100 or less. His campaign raised $272,000 in the second quarter, in his strongest reporting period to date.

Powers, of course, doesn’t want to  concede that his support is coming from pretty much anywhere but within the district:

“Everyday Western New Yorkers are chipping in $25, $50 or $100 to bring real leadership and real change to Washington,” Powers said. “Our campaign has shown it can compete against millionaires. I am confident the voices of everyday Western New Yorkers will prevail over the dollars and political stunts of our opponents.”

But perhaps even more ridiculous than Powers’ spin on his fundraising is his spending:

Powers has spent $381,178 to date, and most of that money went to consultants and internal operations, with several thousand dollars going to travel in the last quarter alone.

Sure sounds like Powers is spending a lot of money with little to nothing to show for it. Maybe he’s still paying his rent with campaign cash, who knows? 

And, how about those several thousand dollars for travel? Powers shouldn’t be spending that much on travel for campaigning inside the district… Of course, given the amount of money he’s raising from out-of-state, I wouldn’t be too shocked if Powers was spending a lot of time campaigning out-of-state.

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Jon Powers, the self-described fiscal conservative, has received the endorsement of the New York State AFL-CIO.

Democratic congressional hopeful Jon Powers received a major boost to his campaign Friday when the New York State AFL-CIO took the unusual step of offering an “early endorsement” to his candidacy.

“As a result of Jon’s long-standing commitment to the ideals of working people, he has received substantial support within the local labor movement in the 26th Congressional District,” state AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes said.

It is expected the state federation will coordinate an aggressive grass-roots field operation and initiate mailings, phone bank operations, work site fliers and door-to-door visits to union households on behalf of the candidate.

Well, there’s another special interest Jon Powers will be beholden to if he wins.

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