The fundraising for presidential libraries continues to be a blind spot when it comes to disclosure and an open and transparent government. Unlike contributions to an electoral campaign, gifts to the libraries are unlimited and undisclosed, and they can take money from corporations and foreign governments. This is worth repeating: Presidential libraries have no restrictions on the size of financial contributions they can receive, and they are not required to report who their contributors are. Plus, they can receive gifts from corporations and foreign governments! It is illegal for political campaigns to receive contributions from corporations and foreign governments. And another egregious aspect of presidential library fundraising that all of this unlimited, undisclosed fundraising involving corporations and foreign governments is going on while the nation’s chief executive is still in office…The most powerful man or woman in the world. As Sheila Krumholz, director of the Center for Responsive Politics and friend, said in testimony to Congress in February 2007, "The potential (for corruption with the libraries) may be far greater than in the campaign finance system."

On Thursday of last week, President Bush held a press conference where he discussed his planned $200-million-plus library in Dallas on the campus of Southern Methodist University. He was asked about whether he would accept donations from foreign sources and would he disclose the source of all funds. Bush said he would probably accept foreign donations and would consider keeping the donors’ names confidential if they do not want to be identified, according to The New York Times. As Think Progress reports, George H. W. Bush (#41) accepted large donations from foreign governmental figures, including a donation that is believed to be in excess of $1 million from the United Arab Emirates.

In her congressional testimony, Sheila voiced concern that since the Bush presidency was far from over donors will contribute to the library in order to gain access and favors. A presidential pardon for a six-figure contributor to (former President Bill) Clinton’s library and political campaigns left the indelible impression with many that a presidential pardon was purchased, Krumholz said.

The Center for Responsive Politics and others have called on Congress to pass legislation requiring the public disclosure of contributions to presidential library projects in order to prevent the obvious invitation for corruption. The Center has endorsed a proposal to require the online disclosure of contributions exceeding $200 a quarter, which is very much like the way electoral campaigns have to report their activity. Other disclosure proposals exist, such as the Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1254), which requires the disclosure of contributors to the libraries.

Come on folks, this is a no brainer.

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The official voting of the 2008 presidential race begins tonight at the Iowa Caucuses. And next Tuesday, New Hampshire voters will cast votes in the first primary of the election. Before casting a ballot I want to encourage everyone in all states to visit OpenSecrets.org, the website of our colleagues at the Center for Responsive Politics, the "follow the money" folks. CRP’s easily accessed Race for the White House database profiles the fund raising and spending of each candidate’s campaign. Unfortunately, because of filing rules, CRP only has data through September 30. Fund raising and spending reports for October through December are not due to the Federal Election Commission until the end of this month. Nevertheless, the data CRP has shows the important early period where the various candidates’ strengths and weaknesses is gauged largely by the amount of money raised.

CRP breaks down the data to reveal each candidate’s contributors by state, metropolitan area and zip code; contribution size; gender and industry the donor is associated with. You can even look up individual donors by candidate, industry or ZIP code. "Before you vote, count the candidates’ cash," CRP Executive Director Sheila Krumholz advises Iowa and New Hampshire residents, as well as those in later-voting states. "Just as it’s important to know the candidates, it’s important to know who got them this far and might hold sway with them in the White House," Sheila adds.

Even though we won’t know the details for another three-and-a-half weeks, many of the candidates are telling how much their respective campaigns raised in the final quarter. CRP reports that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both saying they’ve raised more than $100 million in 2007, which means they both collected $20 million over the past three months, with John Edwards raising between $4 and $5 million over the same quarter. It’s believed that Republican Ron Paul has led the way for the GOP raising the most in the past quarter, mainly over the Internet. Mitt Romney is expected to report collecting between $6 million and $10 million over the past three months, and Mike Huckabee is expected to report raising $5 million, according to CRP.

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