He logged onto the Web site for the first time Friday morning and
within minutes, Harold Pachios was hooked.
"Oh, my God," said Pachios, who's been around Democratic politics
all of his adult life. "Look at all these people!"
It's called www.fundrace.org. And for those of us who happen to
be the least bit nosy about which Mainers have given money to which
2004 presidential candidates, not to mention how much, it's a
voyeuristic dream come true.
Peter, Paul and Mary's Noel Stookey of Blue Hill gave John Kerry
$1,000. Stephen and Tabitha King each sent Howard Dean $2,000. Leon
Gorman, chairman of L.L. Bean, gave Kerry $500 while his wife, Lisa
Gorman, earmarked $500 for Joe Lieberman. Shep Lee, owner of Lee
Auto Mall, plunked down $1,000 on Wes Clark, while Bill Dodge, owner
of the Bill Dodge Auto Group, made a $500 down payment on George W.
Bush.
All of this - and much, much more - is a mere mouse click away
for anyone with a burning desire to know who in the neighborhood
feels so strongly about Bush or Kerry or, for that matter, Dennis
Kucinich, that they got out their checkbook and put their money
where their politics are.
"Our goal here was to take something that is already available -
campaign finance records - and present it in a way that the average
person can relate to it," said Jonah Peretti, co-creator of
fundrace.org.
Peretti is the research and development director for Eyebeam, an
Internet-based organization that, as he puts it, "does things that
are thought-provoking and engage people on various social or
political issues. We look for creative new ways to use technology to
have a cultural impact."
Or at least give people something to gossip about.
To build fundrace.org, Eyebeam's "contagious media initiative"
group first downloaded all of the donor reports sent monthly by each
presidential campaign to the Federal Election Commission. They then
"geo-coded" the data by name, address and ZIP code to create a
color-coded national map for those interested in state-by-state
trends and an infinitely more entertaining "Neighbor Search" for
those who want names.
Names like former Gov. John McKernan of Falmouth Foreside, who
gave the $2,000 legal maximum to help re-elect Bush. (Olympia's
nowhere to be found.) And James Gaffney of Camden, regional director
for MBNA America, who also sent $2,000 to Bush. (As did Sandra
Gaffney.) And Larry Mahaney, UMaine sports booster and CEO of Webber
Oil, who gave Bush $2,000.
Names like Libby Mitchell, the former Maine House speaker who now
works for the Muskie School of Public Service. She gave fellow
Democrat Wes Clark $250. And Greg Gallant, director of the Margaret
Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, who gave Clark two donations
totaling $600 (Smith, the matriarch of Maine's Republican Party,
must be rolling in her grave.) And Chris Harte, once the president
of these newspapers, who made like a Republican and gave Clark a
whopping $2,000.
The list goes on and on and, on occasion, reveals the inevitable
reporting glitch. Tom Chappell (two $300 donations to Howard Dean),
is correctly identified as CEO of Tom's of Maine under one entry.
But the other says he's CEO of "Town of Miami."
"There are some errors and misfilings," conceded co-founder
Peretti. "The campaigns enter their own information - it can be a
tedious process."
Which brings us back to Harold Pachios - or, as he's identified
in fundrace.org, "Harold Pactligs."
"Oh no, that's my cousin Pactligs," Pachios insisted from his law
office as he fired up his computer and punched in the Web address.
Then, upon confirming that yes, he gave Wes Clark $1,000, Pachios
said he has no regrets that his guy came up short.
"You know how much money I've given to people who haven't made
it?" Pachios asked (rhetorically, of course).
Besides, for all the cash flow it generated, the Democratic
nomination is water over the dam. The already boiling race between
Bush and Kerry will cost millions - and that money has to come from
somewhere.
"What's the ZIP code for Scarborough?" Pachios asked, mouse
clicker in hand. "I want to check Prout's Neck."
Columnist Bill Nemitz can be contacted at 791-6323 or at:
bnemitz@pressherald.com