Last-Minute Contributions Prop Up CUEnthusiasts

WASHINGTON - (10/25/04) -- A $5,000 contribution to Coloradosenate candidate Ken Salazar; $1,000 for Rep. Mark Foley ofFlorida; $500 for Rep. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania. CUNA's politicalaction committee has been feverishly doling out campaigncontributions to candidates from Maine to California over the pasttwo weeks--$140,000 to 90 different candidates, all distinguishableby their avowed support for credit unions. "I feel a little likeGeorge Steinbrenner in that Visa commercial," said CUNA politicaldirector Richard Gose, referring to the television ad showing theNew York Yankees owner with an injured hand from writing too manychecks. "We've been spreading it out quite a bit, now that it'sdown to the wire," Gose told The Credit Union Journal. Among thecandidates receiving the maximum allowable $5,000 contribution forthe general election in the past two weeks are: Reps. John Dingell,D-Mich., Carolyn Kilpatrick, D-Mich., Fred Upton, R-Mich., VernonEhlers, R-Mich., and newcomers Thelma Drake, R-Va., and JeffFortenberry, R-Neb. CUNA has made over $2.6 million in campaigncontributions during the current election cycle, including almost$300,000 to 140 candidates over the past six weeks.