These are the Democratic U.S. senators who disgracefully voted against a public health care option.
You’ll notice that “Lawyers/Law Firms” are on top of some of the list. Don’t be fooled. These are political contributions that are donated anonymously by corporate and political interest groups. Their lawyers and law firms simply make the donations on their behalf to the politicians and then bill their clients for the amount.
Bill Nelson
Top 20 contributing industries:
| Industry | Total | Indivs | PACs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $2,741,837 | $2,542,747 | $199,090 |
| Retired | $964,767 | $964,767 | $0 |
| Real Estate | $681,145 | $632,845 | $48,300 |
| Securities & Investment | $486,018 | $452,765 | $33,253 |
| Democratic/Liberal | $372,575 | $349,712 | $22,863 |
| Health Professionals | $348,929 | $319,404 | $29,525 |
| Pro-Israel | $324,691 | $234,830 | $89,861 |
| TV/Movies/Music | $294,869 | $197,869 | $97,000 |
| Lobbyists | $291,832 | $278,973 | $12,859 |
| Insurance | $240,930 | $119,930 | $121,000 |
| Misc Finance | $229,790 | $229,790 | $0 |
| Business Services | $207,259 | $201,259 | $6,000 |
| Leadership PACs | $198,850 | $13,650 | $185,200 |
| Defense Electronics | $177,550 | $112,800 | $64,750 |
| Computers/Internet | $176,658 | $128,158 | $48,500 |
| Air Transport | $142,100 | $52,850 | $89,250 |
| Telecom Services & Equipment | $140,148 | $63,300 | $76,848 |
| Education | $132,258 | $130,758 | $1,500 |
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $117,715 | $93,215 | $24,500 |
| Foreign & Defense Policy | $117,427 | $92,427 | $25,000 |
Sector Totals:
Tom Carper
Top 20 contributing industries:
| Industry | Total | Indivs | PACs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance | $358,680 | $58,040 | $300,640 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $323,308 | $228,200 | $95,108 |
| Securities & Investment | $296,192 | $107,414 | $188,778 |
| Commercial Banks | $284,479 | $126,669 | $157,810 |
| Pharmaceuticals/Health Products | $268,520 | $58,200 | $210,320 |
| Real Estate | $221,380 | $108,950 | $112,430 |
| Lobbyists | $174,304 | $172,684 | $1,620 |
| Finance/Credit Companies | $130,180 | $25,060 | $105,120 |
| Chemical & Related Manufacturing | $125,990 | $36,950 | $89,040 |
| Retired | $123,729 | $123,729 | $0 |
| Accountants | $114,863 | $15,400 | $99,463 |
| Health Professionals | $106,066 | $44,236 | $61,830 |
| Railroads | $101,940 | $49,500 | $52,440 |
| Misc Manufacturing & Distributing | $97,400 | $16,800 | $80,600 |
| Electric Utilities | $95,365 | $15,675 | $79,690 |
| Public Sector Unions | $95,310 | $0 | $95,310 |
| Retail Sales | $89,900 | $12,400 | $77,500 |
| Oil & Gas | $78,240 | $3,500 | $74,740 |
| Democratic/Liberal | $77,400 | $71,400 | $6,000 |
| Misc Finance | $74,370 | $26,750 | $47,620 |
Sector Totals:
Blanche Lincoln
Top 20 contributing industries:
| Industry | Total | Indivs | PACs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Professionals | $438,450 | $129,950 | $308,500 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $368,002 | $285,891 | $82,111 |
| Securities & Investment | $261,800 | $128,500 | $133,300 |
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $256,325 | $134,825 | $121,500 |
| Pharmaceuticals/Health Products | $240,304 | $53,100 | $187,204 |
| Hospitals/Nursing Homes | $235,300 | $36,800 | $198,500 |
| Lobbyists | $200,585 | $197,200 | $3,385 |
| Insurance | $191,350 | $30,850 | $160,500 |
| Oil & Gas | $175,850 | $75,250 | $100,600 |
| Retail Sales | $163,700 | $46,200 | $117,500 |
| Electric Utilities | $158,350 | $11,600 | $146,750 |
| Agricultural Services/Products | $123,597 | $12,300 | $111,297 |
| Forestry & Forest Products | $119,950 | $45,950 | $74,000 |
| Retired | $106,735 | $106,735 | $0 |
| Health Services/HMOs | $98,550 | $54,050 | $44,500 |
| Railroads | $98,000 | $9,000 | $89,000 |
| Misc Manufacturing & Distributing | $96,600 | $29,600 | $67,000 |
| Real Estate | $94,150 | $55,650 | $38,500 |
| Misc Finance | $91,600 | $46,100 | $45,500 |
| Commercial Banks | $89,450 | $45,100 | $44,350 |
Sector Totals:
Kent Conrad
Top 20 contributing industries:
| Industry | Total | Indivs | PACs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $586,802 | $468,766 | $118,036 |
| Securities & Investment | $283,825 | $173,725 | $110,100 |
| Health Professionals | $239,533 | $22,033 | $217,500 |
| Insurance | $233,625 | $65,825 | $167,800 |
| Lobbyists | $197,792 | $193,292 | $4,500 |
| Real Estate | $162,400 | $80,900 | $81,500 |
| Pharmaceuticals/Health Products | $157,700 | $54,450 | $103,250 |
| Pro-Israel | $150,410 | $78,810 | $71,600 |
| Hospitals/Nursing Homes | $138,430 | $14,680 | $123,750 |
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $134,975 | $58,275 | $76,700 |
| Health Services/HMOs | $112,015 | $42,900 | $69,115 |
| Commercial Banks | $110,000 | $72,250 | $37,750 |
| Democratic/Liberal | $102,850 | $84,850 | $18,000 |
| Leadership PACs | $88,200 | $0 | $88,200 |
| Agricultural Services/Products | $81,112 | $2,000 | $79,112 |
| Public Sector Unions | $81,000 | $1,000 | $80,000 |
| Misc Finance | $76,790 | $70,790 | $6,000 |
| Casinos/Gambling | $76,478 | $61,400 | $15,078 |
| Electric Utilities | $66,573 | $9,750 | $56,823 |
| Railroads | $65,000 | $1,000 | $64,000 |
Sector Totals:
Max Baucus
Top 20 contributing industries:
| Industry | Total | Indivs | PACs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Securities & Investment | $982,250 | $732,750 | $249,500 |
| Health Professionals | $802,141 | $120,141 | $682,000 |
| Pharmaceuticals/Health Products | $762,813 | $224,964 | $537,849 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $761,104 | $499,912 | $261,192 |
| Insurance | $730,075 | $269,525 | $460,550 |
| Hospitals/Nursing Homes | $478,826 | $159,576 | $319,250 |
| Real Estate | $476,129 | $319,929 | $156,200 |
| Lobbyists | $465,396 | $455,000 | $10,396 |
| Health Services/HMOs | $462,750 | $158,300 | $304,450 |
| Electric Utilities | $412,640 | $26,542 | $386,098 |
| Commercial Banks | $259,480 | $104,180 | $155,300 |
| Misc Finance | $241,850 | $170,350 | $71,500 |
| Retail Sales | $240,550 | $38,050 | $202,500 |
| Beer, Wine & Liquor | $226,171 | $61,071 | $165,100 |
| Misc Manufacturing & Distributing | $202,645 | $99,645 | $103,000 |
| Business Services | $190,838 | $159,838 | $31,000 |
| Computers/Internet | $188,642 | $43,220 | $145,422 |
| Oil & Gas | $174,450 | $52,950 | $121,500 |
| Retired | $163,287 | $163,287 | $0 |
| Democratic/Liberal | $161,600 | $141,600 | $20,000 |
Sector Totals:
Data Source: OpenSecrets.org
