July/August 2004 Issue

Bush’s Baseball Ambassadors

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DOLING OUT diplomatic posts is a time-honored way for presidents to repay political patrons. But by awarding ambassadorships to 19 Pioneers—supporters who raised at least $100,000 for his 2000 campaign—George W. Bush, a former co-owner of the Texas Rangers, has been in a league of his own. His choices include five big-league execs. Here, the baseball bunch. —Benjamin Leslie

For more on the Bush donor-diplomat team, see Bush’s Foreign Exchange.

Pioneer Posting Service

Personal Donations to GOP in 2000

Baseball Affiliation

Diplomatic Distinctions

George Argyros
Spain. 2001 – present.

$123,000

Former owner of Seattle Mariners.

No Spanish.

Mercer Reynolds III
Switzerland 2001 – 2003. Called back to become Bush 2004 finance chair.

$373,173

Co-owner of Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals.

No German or Italian. Only basic French. A.k.a. “Fundraiser-in-Chief.”

Stephen Brauer
Belgium, 2001 – 2003.

$415,830

Co-owner of St. Louis Cardinals.

No French. No Flemish.

Jeffrey Marcus
Belgium. Four days in 2003.

$275,000

Co-owner of Texas Rangers.

Appointed, but never showed due to divorce proceedings.

Craig Stapleton
Czech Republic. 2001 – 2003. Returned to fundraise for Bush 2004.

$60,500

Former co-owner of Texas Rangers. Married to Bush cousin, Dorothy.

Czech 101. Reportedly walked out and slammed door on Czech prime minister during Iraq war rift.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

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