The man at the heart of the lawsuit filed in Texas this week accusing Sen. Norm Coleman of fraudulently receiving $75,000 has kept a low political profile over the years. Deep Marine Technology founder Paul McKim has given at least $900 — primarily to Republican political candidate and causes since 2000, according to a database maintained by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Among the recipients: former Florida Rep. Katherine Harris ($200) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson ($250). The only donation to a non-GOP cause was $250 for the Sierra Club’s political action committee.

Other figures in the lawsuit are more prominent political patrons. Nasser Kazeminy, the Minnesota businessman at the center of the controversy, is a longtime friend and supporter of Coleman. Kazeminy has made nearly $800,000 in political contributions since 1990, primarily to Republican candidates. This includes just over $70,000 given to Coleman’s campaigns and political action committees, along with $36,265 provided to the Republican Party of Minnesota. Kazeminy has also supported the Senator by less orthodox means: He provided his private plane to the Coleman family for trips to the Bahamas and Paris, and is alleged to have footed the bill for the Senator’s suit purchases at Neiman Marcus. Now the lawsuit accuses the businessman of funneling $75,000 through Deep Marine Technology to Coleman via a job his wife, Laurie Coleman, holds with a Minnesota insurance firm.

The other primary player in the legal dispute is Otto Candies, Jr, an oil man from Des Allemands, Louisiana. According to the lawsuit, Candies bilked Deep Marine Technology out of millions of dollars with dodgy business practices. (Although McKim founded the Houston-based business — which provides underwater services to oil and gas companies — Candies and Kazeminy now hold controlling interests in the firm.) In the last two decades, Candies has given roughly $20,000 to an assortment of Republican and Democratic candidates, primarily in Louisiana. Among the recipients: Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu and former Republican Rep. Billy Tauzin. Candies has not given any money to Coleman.

Sir Charles

The Minnesota delegation gets (mildly) excited for the arrival of Sen. Robert Casey, Jr. at the podium.

Buckley was known as one of the leading thinkers of the conservative movement. Though born in New York City, Buckley first attended school in Paris, and later attended high school in England. Buckley returned to America in 1943 and joined the United States navy in 1944.

With the conclusion of the war, Buckley enrolled in Yale University, where he joined the Skull and Bones society. Buckley was active in conservative politics on campus, and served as chair of the student-run newspaper.

Buckley served for a brief time in the CIA in the early 1950s, before becoming a writer. He wrote for The American Mercury before founding The National Review in 1955.

The magazine was a strongly conservative. It initially supported continuing segregation in the South and was a key supporter of the presidential campaign of Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., in 1964. Over time, the magazine changed its stance on integration, but it remains a significant conservative voice to this day.

In 1965, Buckley ran for mayor of New York City, losing to John Lindsay. In 1973, Buckley served as a delegate to the United Nations.

Buckley edited The National Review until 1990 but continued to pen columns for the magazine. He also served as the host on PBS’ “Firing Line,” where he put an erudite spin on conservatism.

Buckley remained active in the conservative movement until his death. He was critical of the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq, calling the action “anything but conservative.”

Buckley was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Patricia Buckley, and is survived by his son, author Christopher Buckley.