ISSUE #2 – How Much, Do you say?

“I gave Tim Kaine $5 million from the DNC. I had it in the bank. It was the right thing to do. […] So, I gave 5 Million Dollars.”
– Terry McAuliffe, February 20, 2009, Mark Plotkin’s Politics Show

THE FACTS

Terry McAuliffe consistently says that he, as Chairman of the DNC, gave $5 million from the DNC to then-Lt. Governor Tim Kaine’s campaign for Governor. According to news reports today, this seems to be another exaggeration:

“On the campaign trail, Terry McAuliffe often mentions the $5 million he gave in 2005 to help elect Gov. Timothy M. Kaine as an illustration of his support for Virginia Democrats.  Yet records show that while McAuliffe pledged the cash as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, half the money was actually given by his successor, Howard Dean.” (Virginian-Pilot, Questions Raised About McAuliffe’s Ties to Virginia, May 7, 2009)

Today’s full story: http://hamptonroads.com/2009/05/questions-raised-about-mcauliffe%E2%80%99s-ties-virginia

Other examples of Terry McAuliffe claiming to have given $5 million to Tim Kaine:

“[McAuliffe] said he called Kaine after he was named DNC chairman in January and reminded him of the $5 million McAuliffe gave Kaine in 2001 when their roles were flipped. McAuliffe said it was the single largest gift ever given to a governor's campaign in a non-presidential year.” – CNN, VA Candidates Thrilled to be the only game in town.

“When I was chairman of the party, I helped Tim a lot running for Governor. I gave the single biggest check in the history of the Democratic party, $5 million, when [Kaine] ran for Governor.” -- Terry McAuliffe, Nov 17, 2008 (Audio Recording)

Complete quote cited at top: “If you remember I gave the biggest gift in the history of our national party. I gave Tim Kaine 5 million dollars from the DNC. I had it in the bank. It was the right thing to do. I wanted to show we could win, win in southern states and that in Virginia with Mark and Tim had a great model. So, I gave 5 Million Dollars. They’re going to do the same thing this time around because this is, you’re right, this is the biggest race in the country.” (The Politics Show with Mark Plotkin, February 20, 2009. Audio recording transcript.)