How deeply is ‘pay to play’ ingrained in the culture of the Democratic Party?

Let’s take a look at the upcoming Democrat race for Governor in 2008. Three candidates are already raising war chests and State Treasurer Richard Moore leads the pack.

The News and Observer reports Moore has raised over 42% of his money from out-of-state and a “large part of it” came from companies hired by Moore to help invest the slate’s $65 billion pension fund.

For instance, Moore raised $108,000 from financial companies on Wall Street that do business with his office. He received donations from executives in Boston, Chicago, SeattleTampa, Florida whose companies have a role in managing the pension fund.

Robert Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television and owner of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats, hosted a fundraiser for Moore and raised $23,000 last fall. Six months earlier, Johnson’s company was hired last year to manage $325 million in state pension funds.

A San Francisco developer was hired to manage $260 million in pension funds. Executives in his company raised $18,000 for Moore.

Moore says, in his defense, “It would be incredibly shortsighted of me to make investment decisions based on political favoritism…”

But his political consultant, Jay Reiff, was more blunt. Reiff said Moore is doing nothing other candidates are not doing. “Every serious candidate for state office, including Gov. Easley, Lt. Gov. Perdue and Attorney General Cooper, has received contributions from individuals that do business with the state.”

He added that Dave Horne, one of Governor Easley’s fundraisers and his campaign treasurer was a lobbyist for EDS, a major state contractor. And that one of Attorney General Ray Cooper’s fundraisers is Brad Wilson of Blue Cross & Blue Shield.

It sounds like to Mr. Moore’s political advisor there’s not one thing wrong with ‘pay to play.’ It’s a fact of life. Everyone does it.

He may well be right as far as the other Democratic candidates for Governor go.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the head of the State Senate, has her own collection of lobbyists to give and raise money for her, including Zeb Alley and former John Edwards’ manager Ed Turlington.

So, is it likely any of the Democrat candidates for Governor will put an end to ‘pay to play?”

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