Easy Come, Easy Go....

[kentuck]

Do candidates have any obligation to give an accounting to their contributors when they are receiving donations almost anonymously over the Internet? Do the people that trust the candidates deserve to know what the status of candidates finances are on a regular basis?

Since it is a new technology and a new method of fundraising, shouldn't there be some safeguards to protect those that do contribute over the Net? This is not to say that anything like that has occurred but to prevent something like that from happening in the future? No one is so naive to believe that nothing like that could happen when someone is dealing wih tens of millions of dollars.

The rumors are already out there. There is no proof to back any of the accusations. However, there are FEC requirements that demand candidates file reports quarterly and to give an accounting of how much money has been raised and how much has been spent, and if it is a larger amount, they want the name and address of the individual. Smaller donations do not require that. But this information should be available to the public, right?

[spooky3]

1. I don't know about rights, but if candidates want to continue to

raise money, they have to have the trust of would-be donors that the money will be put to good use and well-managed. So it's in their own best interests to have those safeguards.