Perot Raps Dems' Fund-Raising

CHICAGO (AllPolitics, Oct. 22) -- Reform Party candidate Ross Perot, pushing on despite his meager 6 percent standing in the polls, ripped into Democratic fund-raising practices during a speech in Chicago.

"I will not be attending $100,000 fund-raising dinners in Hollywood or out in California, collecting money in Buddhist temples," Perot told a press association luncheon, referring to a controversial fund-raiser attended by Vice President Al Gore at an Los Angeles-area Buddhist temple.

Perot also repeated his criticism of Clinton for rewarding major campaign donors by allowing them to sleep in the White House's Lincoln Bedroom.

"I think we need to put a sign on the Capitol and a sign on the White House that says, 'Not for sale at any price,'" he said.

Perot is not only having trouble raising his standing in the polls but also in raising campaign contributions, according to papers filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

When Perot won his party's nomination in August, he said he decided not to finance his own campaign as he had done in 1992 because his supporters wanted to contribute to the effort.

His backers wanted to "put some skin in the game," Perot told CNN's "Larry King Live."

The Perot campaign, however, has raised barely $500,000 from outside contributors, according to Perot's latest campaign spending report filed with the FEC.

Perot spent $5.2 million and had $24 million in the bank at the end of September, the papers said. Most of that money was given to Perot by the federal government. His campaign qualified for public financing based on his 19 percent showing in 1992.

Perot Raps Dems' Fund-Raising

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