Bob CollinsThe watchdog Web site OpenSecrets.org has released a study today showing many of the companies in financial trouble now (and asking politicians for help) were the same companies that bankrolled elements of the political party conventions in St. Paul and Denve last summer.
Embattled insurance giant American International Group (AIG), which received an $85 billion loan from the government just weeks after the GOP convention, gave $750,000 to each gathering. And AIG isn’t the only high-profile company that sought a handout from taxpayers after writing a big check toward the summer’s political gatherings. Others included Citigroup (which spent a total of $600,000 on the conventions), Goldman Sachs (which spent $505,000), Ford Motor Co. ($100,000 to each convention) and Bank of America (which spent $100,000, entirely on the Democratic convention). The federal government took over Freddie Mac just weeks after the mortgage buyer split half a million dollars between the two conventions.
The full report from the Center for Responsive Politics is here.
(h/t: Mike Mulcahy)
