Jane Fonda Is the Queen of Soft Money

It's so amusing how leftists cried and wailed for campaign finance "reform" but are trying to undermine the McCain-Feingold law now that they finally realize what everyone else knew all along: The Democrats are the party of zillionaire fat cats. And check out who's their queen: Jane Fonda.

Yes, Hanoi Jane "is tops among supporters of interest groups that help political parties get out their messages despite donation and spending limits," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported today.

"The nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity, in what it billed as the first comprehensive look at such organizations, found they had spent an eye-popping $450 million to influence political campaigns over the last three years."

Oh, and two-thirds of the money being lavished by these not-so-special-interest groups goes to the Dems. Fonda is the biggest donor by far.

Yes, we suspected that she hadn't married Ted Turner for his looks.

The long-ago movie star, who has described herself as a born-again Christian, gave more than $13 million to her own tax-exempt committee, a pro-abortion group she calls Pro-Choice Vote. Most of the cash went to Democrat-dominated abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood.

The drop in the stock market has had at least one beneficent effect: What with the plunge in the value of AOL Time Warner (oops, we mean Time Warner), Fonda's fund has been inactive since 2001, said Gloria Totten, a Washington fund-raiser who oversees the account.

The No. 2 donor of soft money, Alida Messinger, trails Fonda by $10 million. She also gives to Democrat-dominated groups and has doled out $2.4 million, mostly to self-described environmentalists.

Fonda's ex, who used to nag other big shots to give away their money, has grown stingy. He handed out only $40,000 last year to tax-exempt committees.

Turner's money, naturally, went to Democrat Senate candidates in Georgia, Missouri and Montana. But money can't buy everything: The voters rejected his picks in Georgia and Missouri.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Campaign Finance Reform
DNC