"On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wi., fired a shot across the bow of his own party by calling for an end to the practice of collecting corporate special-interest money at the myriad fund-raising events accompanying the four-day session that begins today.

'Tonight, I call on the Democratic Party and the Democratic National Convention to unilaterally prohibit soft money and fund raisers of that kind at national conventions,' Feingold told a cheering crowd of 500 citizen activists gathered at Los Angeles' historic Patriotic Hall. Feingold acknowledged that it is unlikely Democratic leaders, who have scheduled hundreds of fund-raising parties for this week, will answer the call. But, he added, 'They should.'

Arguing that voters are turned off by conventions that are nothing more than 'corporate trade shows for the delegates,' Feingold called the roll of special-interest influence over the convention, the party and American politics.

Where Democratic national conventions once featured epic addresses from Franklin Roosevelt, Hubert Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy, Feingold said that party gatherings are now increasingly empty exercises where political passion is displaced the pursuit of major donors. To illustrate his point, the senator described a series of fund-raising events where Democrats will pocket checks from Prudential, American Express, Occidental Petroleum, Bell South, US West, and United Parcel Service.

'The real story of the Democratic convention is really influence buying and peddling,' the maverick senator declared, in a speech that opened a Shadow Convention organized by Common Cause, United For a Fair Economy, Call to Renewal and other groups seeking to broaden the national debate on issues ranging from income inequality to criminal justice policies to campaign finance reform.

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'As I came into L.A. yesterday, I had a real feeling of disappointment with what has happened to our convention, to our politics, to our democracy,' Feingold said. 'It seems to me this convention here is all about money -- corporate money.'

The senator was preaching to the converted Sunday night. He was introduced by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, who now heads Common Cause, as 'an American hero.' And the crowd of more than 500 interrupted Feingold with applause dozens of times during a 20-minute address.

But even as the senator was speaking, conservative 'Blue Dog' Democrats were gathering on a pier in Santa Monica under banners that announced the evening's festivities were sponsored by the Philip Morris Co., Pepsi and the National Rifle Association. On the beach below, youthful protesters against corporate power chanted 'Shame! Shame! Shame!' (John Nichols, The Online Beat, The Nation, August 14, 2000).

"The party, held at the Santa Monica Pier, boasted a list of sponsors straight out of the Republican National Convention. Among the dozen or so organizations underwriting the event: the National Rifle Association, a $1.7 million soft money, PAC and individual contributor this election cycle (8 percent to Democrats); Philip Morris ($2.1 million; 18 percent to Democrats); US Tobacco ($1.2 million; 10 percent to Democrats); Raytheon ($674,000; 40 percent to Democrats); and Southern Co ($994,000; 22 percent Democrats).

Each of the Blue Dog's sponsors reportedly chipped in $50,000 to the event, in which everything from the drinks to the carpet covering the wooden boardwalk was decorated in blue. Even the complementary corndogs were dyed in a perfect shade of indigo" (Holly Baily, Beyond the Velvet Rope, Center for Responsive Politics Convention Alert, August 14, 2000).

The party "was so crowded it was briefly shut down by the fire marshall. The throng outside the party, held at a vest pocket-sized amusement park, swelled as protesters, many of them Green Party activists in flourescent green-and-yellow T-shirts, noisily shouted epithets directed at the corporations and politically muscular interests that subsidized the Blue Dog event' (Jeff E. Schapiro, Media General News Service, The Daily Progress, August 5, 2000).

"To shame Democrats attending [the Blue Dog event], Global Exchange built a stage on the beach right below, stuck taunting 'For Sale' signs in the sand, and spent hours heckling the guests with speeches and songs. About 2,000 protesters came" (Rene Sanchez and William Booth, The Washington Post, August 20, 2000).

"Feingold said he understood why activists had taken to the streets of Los Angeles.

'The protesters know that the real action (at the convention) is at the corporate breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and they know they are not a part of it,' the senator explained. The protests, along with events such as the Shadow Convention are evidence of a growing disenchantment with big-money politics, argued Feingold.

'The Democratic party should see this as a genuine reform movement with real appeal, especially to young people,' Feingold said. 'It's time to catch the wave. The Democratic party's future could depend on whether they get this right'" (John Nichols, The Online Beat, The Nation, August 14, 2000).