Host committee for Democratic convention refuses tobacco money

July 5, 2000
Web posted at: 3:42 p.m. EDT (1942 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Hoping to draw a sharp distinction with their Republican counterparts, the host committee for the Democratic National Convention said Wednesday it will not accept donations from tobacco companies, which have been under political fire in recent years.

"We have a clean and healthy lifestyle here in the City of Angels," said Noelia Rodriguez, CEO of LA Convention 2000, the host committee. "This sends a good message to the people of our city."

Republicans dismissed the announcement as political theatrics. The host committee for the Republican National Convention has no such ban on contributions from the tobacco industry.

Rodriguez said the policy is not new and has been in effect since the Los Angeles host committee formed last year. The committee, which is raising $35.3 million to pay for the Democratic convention, also refuses money from gun manufacturers and gun lobbyists, Rodriguez said.

Delegates are expected to nominate Vice President Al Gore as their presidential nominee at the Los Angeles convention, set to kick off Aug. 14. The Democratic National Committee also has a policy of not accepting donations from tobacco corporations or their political action committees.

While Democrats have distanced themselves lately from tobacco money, they have not always been so reluctant to accept such donations. The Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group in Washington that studies campaign contributions, found that both political parties have enjoyed the largesse of tobacco companies over the years, raking in millions of dollars in campaign contributions.

In recent years, tobacco companies have contributed far more to Republicans, who control Congress, than to the Democrats, who have proposed new taxes on cigarettes and sought to limit their marketing. The Clinton administration has been especially critical of the tobacco industry.

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee said Democrats have been inconsistent in their treatment of donations from tobacco companies.

"The smoke from the hypocrisy on this issue from the Democrats is so thick it must be stinging their eyes," said Mark Pfeifle, deputy communications director for the Republican National Committee. Pfeifle noted that some aides on the Gore campaign have worked for the tobacco industry in the past, and he pointed out that Gore's own family once grew tobacco on their farm in Tennessee. In earlier campaigns, Gore has also accepted donations from tobacco corporations.