Campaign donations from beyond the grave...

**Xiahou** · 11-30-2007, 01:00

Here is a list of top recipients of campaign donations from the dead. First they vote, now they're making political contributions- the difference is that this is somehow perfectly legal... Loophole anyone?

**Papewaio** · 11-30-2007, 01:08

Didn't a dead man beat an attorney general or some such... apparently the dead man was a better dancer and speaker.

**Gregoshi** · 11-30-2007, 03:32

The Democratic National Committee gets almost as much ghost cash as Republican National Committee and the next two organizations combined. I guess the phrase "Better dead than red" has found a new life in today's world.

**Marshal Murat** · 11-30-2007, 04:48

Well, the Democrats have been the minority party, and there's nothing more minor than death....

I'm just afraid that when they come back to life, I can't be scared because they'll all be arrested for debt.

**Papewaio** · 11-30-2007, 05:10

Is this from wills? If so, no problem. Weird though to want to effect the political process after you die... I can understand donating to a single important issue but nothing so broad minded as a political party.

**Big_John** · 11-30-2007, 06:09

Originally Posted by Papewaio

Is this from wills? If so, no problem. Weird though to want to effect the political process after you die... I can understand donating to a single important issue but nothing so broad minded as a political party.

usually, the donations are made from the dead person's estate under the control of the executor(s). they are only legal if the intent of the deceased is known (usually manifested in a will). the donations must abide by the normal rules of campaign donations for the living too, of course.

i'm surprised the numbers are so small. what's the total raised by the presidential candidates so far, like $400 million? i'd have thought a lot more dead people would support their political ideologies from the beyond. selfish.

**Devastatin Dave** · 11-30-2007, 05:58

Originally Posted by Gregoshi

The Democratic National Committee gets almost as much ghost cash as Republican National Committee and the next two organizations combined. I guess the phrase "Better dead than red" has found a new life in today's world.

I live in Illinois and its strange that every election cycle, Abe Lincoln votes democrat!!! LOL

**Odin** · 11-30-2007, 18:29

Originally Posted by Devastatin Dave

I live in Illinois and its strange that every election cycle, Abe Lincoln votes democrat!!! LOL

Come visit us in MA sometime, everyone votes democratic. Often there isnt even a republican challenger at the local/state level offices.

Op the article dosent clarify if the donations are made from estates or not. I'd rather not go digging but I do recall hearing somewhere in political conversation (In MA

) that estates can be set up to make donations well into future after the benefactors death.

**Don Corleone** · 11-30-2007, 18:52

If the dead really were voting and funding campaigns, they'd all vote Republican. After all, its the Republicans that want to repeal the death-tax.

All kidding aside, this is a tax-artifact and has to do with how funds are disbursed out of an estate to continue political gift-giving. Like somebody else said, my biggest surprise was that it wasn't more.