Pac

Politics, quite simply, is about money and the power it buys -- a field traditionally dominated by white men.But spurred by the success of the 1992 referendum on Maryland's abortion-rights law, a group of Democratic women has formed a political action committee to raise money for other women seeking to break into the world of elected office.Harriet's List -- a PAC named for Harriet Tubman, the one-time Dorchester County slave, Underground Railroad conductor and feminist social reformer -- was launched last February when 50 women from around the state gathered at a Mount Washington home.

Fannie Mae, the biggest buyer of U.S. mortgages, filed papers to form a political action committee, allowing the company to boost its donations to members of Congress as they consider legislation to increase government oversight over the company. Through its political action committee, Washington-based Fannie Mae will be able to give $5,000 per election - primary or general balloting - to fund the campaign of any member of Congress or presidential candidate. Individuals are limited to $2,000 per election.

HAGERSTOWN -- Maryland farmers are considering forming a political action committee to boost their clout in dealing with state and federal lawmakers.The idea of a PAC was presented yesterday at the opening session of the 14,100-member Maryland Farm Bureau's annual convention."

THE SISTERHOOD'S back in the swing of political things this year.Next Tuesday, Harriet's List, the political action committee for Democratic women who favor abortion rights, is holding its first fund-raiser this election year for six candidates it's endorsing.In 1994, the PAC's first year out, Harriet's List did surprisingly well for a fledgling grass-roots group, and organizers are hoping for a replay this time -- with higher dollar amounts for more candidates.Last time, Harriet's List raised more than $124,000 and supported 21 women for various offices in both the primary and general elections.

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A group of Anne Arundel County voters concerned about environmental issues is forming a political action committee to endorse candidates in next year's county elections.Organizers of the PAC, tentatively named Anne Arundel Voters for Environmental Justice, will help identify, endorse and work for candidates who support environmental issues, said Joan Willey, regional representative of the Sierra Club and one of the organizers."We want to make sure people who run for these seats represent the majority of the people in these districts," Ms. Willey said.

District 30 House of Delegates candidates Joan Beck and TTC Del. Phillip Bissett recently found themselves victims of one of the screwiest election laws on Maryland's books.On Sept. 2, two Annapolis citizens -- apparently supporters of unsuccessful District 30 House candidate Michael T. Brown -- went to the state Board of Elections and formed a political action committee called, "Vision Team '94 -- Bissett, Beck and Brown." Campaign signs touting the three Republicans as a slate soon sprung up -- much to the shock and dismay of Mr. Bissett and Mrs. Beck, who never consented to such a PAC and, in fact, knew nothing about it until it was too late.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- A leftist black group became the latest organization yesterday to opt out of negotiations on a new South Africa free of apartheid.The Pan Africanist Congress, which once hoped to form a formidable team with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress, said it would not attend this week's negotiating session because the results were rigged by the government and the ANC.The decision, reached by 2,000 PAC delegates at a conference in Cape Town yesterday, is not likely to slow the process since the PAC does not have a significant following.

My response to your editorial "Citizens United II" (May 22) is get real. Do you really think that the justices "fail to grasp that spending by a super PAC on behalf of candidates amounts to something little different than giving them money directly," or, "surely the justices are capable of recognizing their mistake"? Citizens United is no mistake; the justices knew exactly what they were doing. Michael Brown, Columbia