Needless to say, this is not the kind of story you want to see if you're Brian Moran, 4 1/2 days out from the election.In his bid for Virginia governor this year, Brian Moran has raised about three times more money from defense industry givers with business before his brother's powerful committee in Congress than the other three candidates combined.For more on this issue, see Aznew's Daily Kos diary, "For Brian Moran, money doesn't talk, it swears."
Moran is the youngest sibling of U.S. Rep. James P. Moran, a member of the Appropriations subcommittee that writes the nation's defense budget. In Virginia, where there are no limits on campaign contributions, defense firms and their executives have given Brian Moran's gubernatorial campaign $402,000 since January 2006. Overall, his campaign has received about $4.8 million.
Many of the companies or executives who gave to the younger Moran also gave to the congressional campaigns of Jim Moran, a Democrat from Virginia. Most of those firms also get seven-figure federal earmarks in the budgets Congress adopts for military-related projects.
The trend is clear in an Associated Press review of federal and state campaign finance reports and congressional earmarks data compiled by the nonprofit congressional spending watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense.
P.S. What was all that nonsense again about being a "fighter not a fundraiser?" LOL
