Campaign spending limit urged

Five GOP candidates backed Mike Fitzpatrick's call for an open primary.

Former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick is challenging Congressman Patrick Murphy - the man whose job he would like to once again have - to limit his campaign spending to $1 million in 2010.

"The cost of running a campaign is out of control," Fitzpatrick said Monday. "Candidates spend much too much time fundraising and not enough time with the people and addressing their issues.

"And given the economy, and with so many good Bucks Countians out of work, it's absolutely the right thing to do. As leaders, it's the responsible thing to do."

Kate Hansen, Murphy's spokeswoman, called Fitzpatrick's plan a "gimmick."

"It's hard to take this proposal seriously, since Congressman Fitzpatrick is a career politician who gave himself $23,667 in pay raises at Bucks County taxpayers' expense."

In 2006, when he lost to Murphy by about 1,500 votes in a contest where 250,000 people voted, Fitzpatrick, a one-term incumbent, outspent Murphy $3 million to $2.4 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign spending. In 2008, Murphy notched 57 percent of the vote against challenger Tom Manion and held a $4 million to $1.1 million spending advantage. Murphy's total money spent ranked 15th highest of all 435 House seats,

according to documents on the Federal Election Commission Web site.

In 2009, before campaign season even began, Murphy has stockpiled an impressive war chest. He raised about $321,000 in the last three months of 2009, finishing the year with just under $850,000 cash on hand, according to the FEC.

Of about 267 individuals who donated to Murphy in the last quarter, about 167 came from outside Pennsylvania.

At least a dozen contributions came from employees of Navistar International Corp., an Illinois-based company that makes military trucks.

Daniel C. Ustian of Naperville, Ill., the company's CEO and chairman of the board, gave the maximum-allowed individual contribution of $2,400.

Another Murphy donor was Doylestown resident Peter R. Bossard, CEO of Power and Energy Inc., who gave $250 in December, following a $250 contribution in June. In 2008 Bossard gave Murphy $1,500.

Last month, Bossard's 13-employee company received

$2.4 million in federal funding to continue developing technology to generate ultra-pure hydrogen for use as an alternative fuel. Since 2006, the Northampton company has received more than $7 million from the government.

Bossard projects his company will employ 200 people by 2015.

Murphy also enjoyed donations from a couple of groups that Democrats have beaten up on - Wall Street banks and oil companies.

Goldman Sachs banker Richard Kauffman of New York gave Murphy $2,400. Exxon Mobil Vice President Jean Baderschneider of McLean, Va., also contributed the max.

At home, Delaware Valley College President Joseph Brosnan gave $1,200, and Eagles President Joe Banner $2,400.

The Republicans seeking the nomination to take on Murphy didn't have to provide financial figures as they entered the race after the Dec. 31 deadline for filing campaign finance reports.

Gloria Carlineo, however, said

she has $100,000 on hand, including about $25,000 of her own money she's put into her campaign.

"We really believe in what we're doing," she said. "This will show we're serious about this. We need to have a good substantial primary where people have a choice."

Toward that end, Carlineo, Ira Hoffman, Tom Lingenfelter, James Jones and Jeff McGeary have joined Fitzpatrick's call for an open primary.

In a letter, the five candidates support "a fair and unbiased primary process."

"The call for an open primary, where no candidate is endorsed prior to a primary, is consistent with the RNC's process for presidential elections. This process will ensure a level playing field where the best candidate can be chosen by listening to the will of the people."

In the meantime, Fitzpatrick is calling out Murphy on campaign spending.

"A million dollars is an awful lot of money," he said.