Moynihan Cancels Fund-Raising ‘Birthday Bash’
WASHINGTON — In a bow toward campaign finance reform, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan canceled his 70th “birthday bash,” a gala to kick off his efforts to raise millions of dollars for his next Senate race.
Invitations had gone to 4,000 Moynihan supporters for a $1,000-a-plate dinner and reception March 10 in the Rainbow Room atop New York’s Rockefeller Center.
“However, in view of the current discussions of campaign finance reform, which I favor, I think it would be best to postpone the bash,” Moynihan said in a letter mailed Wednesday. “Let us hope there will be some reform.”
The letter was first reported Thursday in the New York Times.
Moynihan last week became the first Senate Democrat to call for an independent investigation into fund-raising practices of both the Democratic and Republican parties.
He left open the possibility the birthday bash might be rescheduled at a later date.
Moynihan, who turns 70 on March 16, was last elected in 1994. He has said he’ll seek a fourth six-year term in 2000. He spent $6 million on the last campaign and it has been estimated he will need as much as $10 million next time.
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