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Transfer makes soft money hard; Florida GOP benefits
By SARA FRITZ, Times Washington Bureau Chief
published November 5, 2002

WASHINGTON -- The Florida Republican Party received $3.2-million from the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the past two years, even though today's election does not include a Florida Senate race, public records show. The Center for Public Integrity, an independent watchdog group, says the unusual cash transfer was the first step in a process that enabled the Republicans to convert restricted soft money contributions to so-called hard money, which can be used for a wider variety of political purposes than the soft money. The Florida Republican Party took a percentage of the funds for itself, and then returned $2.7-million in hard money to the NRSC within a few days. Later, the NRSC used its new hard money reserves to assist in campaigns of Republicans running for Senate in hotly contested races in states other than Florida.

"It is basically money laundering," said Chuck Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity. "There is a Rube Goldberg element to the current campaign financing system. Money sloshes around the nation from account to account until nobody knows where it came from or where it is going." Lewis noted public reports showing these transfers between the NRSC and the Florida GOP cover only a part of the two-year election cycle. There are no reports available yet on transactions after June 30.

posted by An Old Curmudgeon 10:00 AM