Progress Report: Poizner took insurance money

Frank Russo at the California Progress Report says that GOP insurance commissioner candidate Steve Poizner, who has pledeged not to take money from insurance companies, has, in fact, taken such donations. Aside from the initial skepticism that a Republican would be the best person to protect us from insurance companies, the biggest problem he has is that a campaign committee he controls has already received hundreds of thousands of insurance company contributions, some direct and some through other committees that they have contributed heavily to. And at least one of the checks he received from Fireman's Insurance Fund is strikingly similar to a later sent to one of the State Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committees and then apparently bundled and given to this committee he controlled. ... On November 2, 2005, two insurance contributions totaling $75,000 is deposited in the Chamber's PAC and the very next day $75,000 is given to Poizner's committee. Records of the CALBUSPAC show that on November 1, 2005, they received $25,000 from Fireman's Fund and on the next day, they received $50,000 from The Dentists Insurance Company.