Bush Pioneers revealed

As part of a lawsuit under way in Dallas, the Bush campaign was forced to reveal its full list of fundraising "Pioneers"--a cadre of 538 well-connected people. Each member agreed to raise at least $100,000, but, the records show, many generated three to five times that amount. Bush expects the group to raise a record-setting $200 million. What do the Pioneers get in return? According to the Houston Chronicle, at least 19 Bush Pioneers received ambassadorships. At least 44 are from the energy industry, including Enron's Ken Lay, who raised $112,000 for Bush. Tom Ridge, now the head of Homeland Security, raised at least $251,550. Court records show that Bush and Co. were lying about the scope of the Pioneer program, which until now listed only 212 members. "As we thought all along, the campaign was not being forthright in the size of the Pioneer network and the amount of money it was delivering to the Bush campaign," said Craig McDonald of Texans for Public Justice.