Money, Campaigns and The Effort to Pass H.R. 5034

Maltmoney The saying goes, "You dance with the one that brung ya." Applied to politics, this generally means an elected official supports the causes of those that supported him. These days, "support" means campaign contributions.

But I'm not convinced that the specter of an elected official doing the bidding of his contributors is the most insidious thing about the the ethical moshpit that is the current system of campaign finance, nor do I think campaign contributions equate to support for the contributor's issues.

Most insidious is that an elected official is far more likely, even obligated, to listen to the arguments, claims and urgings of a campaign contributor, while those who haven't given money don't' get the time of day. Elected officials rely on a history of campaign contributions to triage the numerous requests by stakeholders to talk to their elected official and layout their reasons for asking for the official's support or opposition on and issue or even just for the chance to educate them.

This is why congresspeople are always willing to listen when the likes of Goldman Sachs, The National Rifle Association, The National Auto Dealers Association, The American Federation of Teachers, the Teamsters and the National Beer Wholesalers Association come a'knocking.

During the 2008 and 2010 (it's not over yet) election cycles the National Beer Wholesalers Association has given more than $4.7 million to national elected officials and their election committees, and the have done so evenhandedly between the parties.
Moneypile

This, more than anything else, explains why H.R 5034, a bill that is meant to lay the groundwork for politically-connected wholesalers across the country to run the table on state-based protectionist legislation that disregards the interests of every other element of the industry and consumers in particular, was ever able to be introduced into congress. After $4.7 million, elected officials listen to you. And to hear the wholesalers tell it, you'd think state alcohol laws and regulations were about to crumble under the weight of foolish lawsuits. And that's exactly what elected officials have heard. And that's why they are taking the National Beer Wholesalers Associations seriously when they request a change in the law that will make their power at the state level unchallengeable.

Below is the list of Congressional representatives who have drunken the wholesaler's Kool-aid sponsored H.R. 5034. How the wholesalers were ever actually able to serve up this Kool-aid is generally explained by the money figure attached to each of their names. This is the amount of campaign contributions that each received from the National Beer Wholesalers Associations over the past four years.

CO-SPONSORS OF H.R. 5034, PARTY, STATE, FUNDS RECEIVED
FROM NATIONAL BEER WHOLESALERS FROM 2007 TO 2010

Rep Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1]……….$5,000
Rep Barrow, John
[D-GA-12]……….$16,5000
Rep Bishop, Timothy H.  [D-NY-1]……….$17,500
Rep Braley, Bruce [D-AI-1]……….$12,5000
Rep Bright, Bobby [D-AL-2]……….$10,000
Rep Carney, Christopher [D-PA-10]……….$15,000
Rep Chaffetz, Jason  [R-UT-3]……….$5,000
Rep Childers, Travis [D-MS-1]……….$10,000
Rep Coble, Howard [R-NC-6]……….$17,5000

Rep Cuellar, Henry [D-TX-28]……….$7,500
Rep Davis, Lincoln [D-TN-4]……….$12,5000
Rep Delahunt, Bill [D-MA]……….$10,000
Rep Dingall, John [D-MI-15]……….$12,500
Rep Donnelly, Joe  [D-IN-2]……….$12,500
Rep Dreihaus, Steve [D-OH-1]……….$5,000
Rep Filner, Bob [D-CA-51]……….$1,000

Rep Foster, Bill [D-IL-14]……….$7,500
Rep Greene, Gene [D-TX-29]……….$15,000
Rep Hare, Phil [D-IL-17]……….14,000
Rep Hastings, Alcee [D-FL-23]……….$0.00
Rep Hinojosa, Ruben [D-TX-15]……….$10,000
Rep Hodes, Paul [D-NH-2]……….$7,500
Rep Holt, Rush [D-NJ-12]……….$3,500
Rep Jackson, Jesse Jr. [D-IL-2]……….$7,500
Rep Jones, Walter [R-NC-3]……….$7500

Rep Kildee, Dale [D-MI-5]……….$6,000

Rep Kind, Ron [D-WI-3]……….$15,000

Rep Kratovil, Frank, Jr. [D-MD-1]……….$10,5000

Rep LoBiondo, Frank [R-NJ-2]……….$2,500
Rep Lummis, Cynthia [R-WY]……….$10,000

Rep Mack, Connie [R-FL-14]……….$8,500

Rep McHenry, Patrick [R-NC-10]……….17,5000

Rep McMahon, Michael [D-NY-13]……….$10,000
Rep Mica, John [R-FL-7]……….$12,5000
Rep Mitchell, Harry  [D-AZ-5]……….$10,000
Rep Murphy, Patrick [D-PA-8]……….$15,000
Rep Neugebauer, Randy [R-TX-19]
………..$10,000
Rep Nye, Glenn [D-VA-2]……….$5,000
Rep Ortiz, Soloman [D-TX-27]……….$2,500
Rep Pascrell, Bill NJ-8]
……….$10,000
Rep Pastor, Ed [D-AZ-4]………..$6,000
Rep Poe, Ted [R-TX-2]………..$6,500
Rep Putman, Adam  [R-FL-12]……….$10,000
Rep Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]……….$5,000
Rep Reyes, Silvestre [D-TX-16]………$5,000
Rep Rooney, Thomas  [R-FL-16]
……….$7,500
Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-17]
……….$15,000
Rep Schauer, Mark [D-MI-7]
……….$8,000
Rep Scott, David [D-GA-13]
……….$5,000
Rep Shuler, Heath  [D-NC-11]……….$15,000
Rep. Shuster, Bill [PA-9]……….$12,500
Rep. Stearns, Cliff  [R-FL-6]……….$2,500
Rep Sutton, Betty [D-OH-13]………..$7,500
Rep Thompson, Bernie [D-MS-2]
………..$15,000
Rep Thornberry, Mac  [R-TX-13]……….$2,500
Rep Towns, Edolphus [D-NY-10]………..$15,000
Rep. Westmoreland, Lynn [R-GA-3]………..$15,000
Rep Wilson, Charlie [D-OH-6]……….$15,000
Rep. Wilson Joe [SC-2]……….$15,000               

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To Learn More about H.R. 5034…
1. Visit http://www.stophr5034.org
2. Join the "STOPHR5034" Facebook Page


9 Responses

  1. Bobby Cintolo - May 6, 2010

    Finally!!! The numbers of what these wholesalers are giving to Congressional representatives. Thanks

  2. Joshua S Sweeney - May 6, 2010

    Howard Coble, the representative in NC who was featured rebutting my argument against HR 5034 in a recent Greensboro-area article, received the most of any representative. I guess I should have stuffed a few hundred hundreds into his pocket before he was interviewed, eh?
    Luckily, most of the representatives I respect still don’t appear on this list.

  3. Mark's Wine Club - May 6, 2010

    What a MESS! Seriously, 10k is all it takes to get someone to sponsor this type of bill. That’s a serious bargain considering the upside for the wholesalers is literally hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue.

  4. Robbie Rogers - May 6, 2010

    Its very sad to see my local representative (Rep. Patrick McHenry) on this list. I have sent him multiple communications on HR 5034 encouraging him to OPPOSE it, and he never responded. Now I see why. His vote is available to the highest bidder.
    I wrote the local paper about this, hopefully they will investigate and write an article about it.

  5. Mike Dunne - May 6, 2010

    If this list is accurate, the named representatives should be embarrased. They work far too cheaply. On the other hand, if it’s accurate it shows that the old political advice to “follow the money” may be outdated. If so, it could be time to rewrite campaign-contribution standards to also require that representatives report other perks that special interests provide them. Which of these folks are enjoying a new deck on their summer home?

  6. 1WineDude - May 6, 2010

    Interesting that after I wrote my PA Reps, only one (Curt Schroder) got back to me. And while he failed to mention HR 5034 in his response, he’s NOT on the list above. Kind of telling, I suppose.

  7. Boyd Teegarden - May 7, 2010

    It’s interesting that now the Miami paper is reporting that Southern Wine and Spirits, the biggest of the big boy’s, is now asking for a 2 million dollar loan/line of credit to get through these tough times. Maybe the HR 5034 was suppose to cover that lack of funds.

  8. JohnLopresti - May 8, 2010

    Looking at the donation recipients list, I tried to view it from a few perspectives.
    First, do these congresspeople largely represent states in which there is significant beer consumption?
    Next, naturally, one wonders which of the Representatives listed hold seniority on key committees.
    I did a geographical sort on the list, and noticed many states have a preponderance of representation; and that these states are in the South in areas with little or only nascent wine production. One of the strongest representatives allied with the wine industry notably is absent from the list.
    The list seems a strategically designed aggregate adapted for the beer industry. I wonder how many really good websites are on the internet explaining that industry’s newest and best beers to the public. I wonder how many craft breweries market luxury sixpacks in a pricerange similar to some of the best wines. Who is out there buying sixpacks of beer at a pricepoint around $35.; my guess is that would be rare. I would contrast that with the average grocery shopper expectation that 2 750s of wine easily could cost $35. at the checkstand. These are industries with disparate ethos, aims, and sensibilities. The current draft law emphasizes this interesting difference between the beer v wine markets and their respective regulatory environments.

  9. Mark's Wine Club - May 10, 2010

    Boyd,
    I saw that on Southern Wine this morning as well….you did make one small mistake though.
    That loan starts with a B, not with an M.
    2 Billion to restructure current obligations, Yikes!


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