How can this be true? I thought Republicans were supposed to be the party of big money special interests, while Democrats were the party of the common man.

Only one of the top 25 donors to political 527 groups has given to a conservative organization, shedding further light on the huge disparity between Democrats and Republicans in this new fund-raising area.

The top three 527 donors so far in the 2004 election cycle - Hollywood producer Steven Bing, Progressive Corp. chairman Peter Lewis and financier George Soros - have combined to give nearly $24 million to prominent liberal groups. [...]

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks 527 data, liberal organizations have amassed nearly $80 million in donations compared to a mere $8 million for their conservative counterparts.

This has always been the case. For all the money George Bush raised in 2000, most of it came from small donors. Apparently, that is holding true for this election cycle as well.