"Morrison has 3 times more cash in bank than Tester; Burns yet to file"

[swag]

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2006/04/15/montana/a06041506_01.txt

HELENA — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Morrison had $882,150 left in the bank to spend or more than three times his chief Democratic rival Jon Tester’s $261,202 balance on March 31, campaign finance reports filed Friday showed.

The incumbent, Republican Conrad Burns is not releasing his totals until Monday, his spokesman Jason Klindt said. As of Dec. 31, 2005, Burns had raised nearly $5 million and stockpiled $3.3 million in the bank or far more than all of his challengers put together. Burns has said he expects to raise up to $10 million in his bid for a fourth term.

His chief Republican rival, state Sen. Bob Keenan of Bigfork, who jumped in the race last month, said he won’t be filing a report this period. Candidates are not required to file Federal Election Commission reports unless they have raised at least $5,000.

In the House race, Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg had $525,465 in the bank as of March 31, while Democrat Monica Lindeen, a state legislator from Huntley, had $154,366 in the bank on the same day.

The cash balance or cash on hand is considered the most significant number in campaign finance reports. It shows how much money candidates have left to spend in the campaign, in addition to any money they raise later .

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[Kutjara]

1. Put all the money...

...that's accumulated for political campaigns in a big pile. Imagine what we could do with our health, education and welfare systems if we spent the cash on that. Without increasing taxes. Talk about no child left behind.

Amazing how much people who resist tax increases are willing to give away when sufficiently motivated.