Long before George W. Bush began campaigning for the White House, his family built a fund-raising network of wealthy supporters to bankroll his political ambitions and propel him to the presidency.
The network -- including oilmen, lobbyists, developers, and agricultural executives -- became accustomed to the Bush family's style of government, with George W. Bush as governor of Texas and brother Jeb Bush as governor of Florida. The political financiers made an investment in the Bush family, an investment that paid off.
.......
Since Mr. Bush took office in 2001, the federal government has awarded more than $3 billion in contracts to the President's elite 2004 Texas fund-raisers, their businesses, and lobbying clients, a Blade investigation shows. In Florida, massive sugar companies and development firms led by Bush Pioneers and Rangers have reaped millions of dollars from government policies, which environmentalists say have sided with sprawl and development over the restoration of the Everglades.
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"If you wanted to have a textbook example of a business interest that has learned how to work the system by giving campaign money, these folks would be near the top of the list,'' said Ms. Watzman, of Public Campaign. "They know how to play the money and politics game to the max."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05353/624618.stm
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