Romney winning the mega-donor war
Mitt Romney surged past President Barack Obama in May fundraising on the shoulders of big donors — an advantage the Republican nominee seems likely to sustain through November.
Romney and his super PAC allies and party team raised about $86 million in May, compared with roughly $65 million raised by Obama and his allies, according to campaign finance reports filed Wednesday.
Continue ReadingAnd Romney’s not stopping there; his team is gearing up for an elaborate display of donor schmoozing this weekend, inviting 100 supporters who have raised $100,000 or more to spend the weekend at a tony Utah ski resort with the former Massachusetts governor, his top campaign staff and GOP dignitaries such as Karl Rove and a host of prospective running mates, including Tim Pawlenty, Rob Portman, Paul Ryan and Bobby Jindal.
Obama’s trying to keep up. While the president likes to cast his campaign as small-donor-powered, Wednesday’s reports show that his allies are mounting their own big-money push, landing a trio of new million-dollar donors to a supportive super PAC and raising bigger checks into a campaign committee they quietly restructured to allow larger donations.
Taken together, the reports, filed with the Federal Election Commission, paint a picture of a Romney fundraising network built for the new big-money age that appears well positioned to challenge an Obama operation that in some ways is still struggling to adapt.
“It’s easier to raise money in big chunks if there are people who are willing to give it that way, then it is to mobilize thousands of people to give $20 each,” said Bob Biersack, a leading campaign finance tracker who recently joined the Center for Responsive Politics after decades at the FEC.
The mega donors’ impact has expanded this year, he said “because they’re able to give to the candidates, as well as the parties and the joint committees, and then give as much as they want to outside groups that they know are focused exclusively on helping that candidate.”
Big donors had fueled gangbusters fundraising for a collection of GOP super PACs, including the one backing Romney, Restore Our Future, which pulled in $5 million, and Rove’s American Crossroads, which pulled in $4.6 million, according to Wednesday filings. Repeat donors to the super PACs included Pennsylvania medical executive Rocco Ortenzio, Idaho vitamin executive Frank VanderSloot and a company controlled by Dallas developer — and Romney fundraiser — Harlan Crow. The three gave a combined $1.6 million last month.
But Wednesday’s reports don’t fully reflect their efforts to woo new donors who previously wrote big checks to Romney’s GOP opponents, such as casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who pledged $10 million this month, and also has signaled he intends to give big to American Crossroads’s nonprofit sister group.
Democrats have been wringing their hands for months about their inability to find an answer to Restore Our Future and a constellation of GOP-allied outside groups already spending heavily on ads attacking Obama.
They got some good news Wednesday, when the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action, which had been struggling to woo big donors, reported pulling in $4 million in May — its best month yet by far. That came largely thanks to three new donors who gave $1 million each in May — developer Franklin Haney, Houston lawyer Steve Mostyn and philanthropist Barbara Stiefel — all of which had the group feeling good, and touting the impact of its ads attacking Romney over his tenure at the helm of the private equity firm Bain Capital.
But Priorities’ $18.6-million total haul for the cycle pales in comparison with the $61.5 million raised by Restore Our Future.
Yet Wednesday’s reports also illustrated how the mega-donors’ significance increasingly reaches beyond the super PACs into the so-called hard money world of campaign committees.
Readers' Comments (87)
Which of the 1% representatives will be the "underdog," in the campaign finance game?.....Wow, what an important issue to cover.
The narrative of the elite is more navel gazing that means NOTHING to the rest of us....Nothing has changed from 2008 with this continuing partisan silliness.....I wonder where the change is Obama claimed he was capable of bringing?
The left is wringing their hands over the Mitt's fundraising success. They decry the influence of big money. It wasn't all that long ago that they were smugly touting Obamas billion dollar war chest. Tsk Tsk such situational and selective outrage. Bad news lefty's it going to get worse. Obama is headed for a major defeat.
Some perspective......We are talking about which candidate of the 1% raised over 60 MILLION dollars......Romnney "won," by raising 15 million more than Obama.....WOW, that's an important factor to consider in choosing which should be the chief executive!
The rest of us, the 99.5%, want honest solutions to our problems and Obama's 1 billion dollars in campaign raising or Romney's millions are not cogent to that process......But alas, nothing has changed in DC under Obama and the elite and we again see another "game," of money and influence.
VERO POSSUMUS!
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This is such a lie that it is impossible to read the entire article with an open mind.
President Obama has $40,000 dinners after $40,000 dinners with Hollywood mega stars collecting as many millions of dollars as the calories he takes in his plate. And the president and VP have the guts to tell us that we "just don't get it" or that we are "out of touch" while swallowing an extremely over priced cup of rice.all
If these are "small donors", then Politico and the President are insulting the middle and lower class.
Both campaigns will be awash with money. Wall Street and big business certainly wants to buy this election and will do everything they can to make sure they get another Republican puppet in the White House to do their bidding. And what is their bidding? They want to have Republicans continue to attack our government, our representative democracy, as a stepping stone to their goal of plutocratic rule. Republicans are to continue to sabotage, shrink and destroy parts of our government until it is small enough to "drown in a bathtub," as Grover Norquist put it.
After the politically corrupted Supreme Court paved the way for the undemocratic buying of elections, the power-hungry wealthy are going to go all out to buy this election (and do it largely anonymously, so the angered voters can't retaliate). When Republicans win, democracy loses, well-functioning government vanishes and the richest special interests rule. The national treasury will be pipelined to the richest, as Romney's and Ryan's economic plans plainly show. Republicans have long been puppets of the rich, corporate mouthpieces, and Wall Street lackeys. They not only take their marching orders from those that bought them, they take from them and memorize their talking points too.
One can't overestimate the perverse greed of the wealthy. One would think corporate CEO's would be satisfied with their country-hurting tax breaks and billion-dollar welfare checks, but no. They want your parents' and grandparents' Medicare and Social Security monies too (and that's not all). The modest checks and benefits don't seem like a lot of money, but when multiplied by millions, it adds up. They mainly want a proud democratic people so economically crippled and powerless that the people can't battle back or even seek justice in the new corporate-owned courts.
Mitt Romney not only has the American casino moguls in his corner he also has the Chinese casino moguls giving him millions and millions and millions to spend on his campaign. Great stimulus folks -- keep on keepin on spending all that cash!!! But the news now is that Karl Rove and his secretive Crossroads GPS is taking even more millions upon millions from the Mexican drug cartels. Ain't democracy great!
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Mitt Romney's moral compass points to Las Vegas
The person with the most money and influence will win, not the person that is best for the country, not the person that can set the country back on a course of prosperity, not the person that can return our country to its roots abiding by the constitution, not the person that can restore confidence in our country.....Obama was elected on the platform of change, promising that there would be transparency in government, our participation in foreign wars would be brought to a stop, and there would be jobs and employment for the people.......none of this occurred during his administration.......Romney is promising basically the same thing, if he is elected can he produce where Obama could'nt?........with our two party system we only have these choices.......we can only go on the fact that Obama has not produced, so going with the lesser of two evils, I believe we must now go with Romney.......not the choice of the many, but the best choice we have now.........
We must elect a new president because Obama is destroying our country. Obama signed an executive order granting amnesty to his illegal aliens, criminals. And Obama claimed executive privilege to hide what Holder and the White House are doing. Holder and Obama are corrupt individuals who must be impeached. Congress must act now. Otherwise, this country will end up like Venezuela where Hugo Chavez does what he wants; just like Obama is doing here. Obama is a socialist/dictator. In the United States we do not accept dictators. Obama must go. Let's vote Obama out this 11 2012 before it is too late.
When democracies descend to being merely a public auction and the "winner" is the highest bidder, the next phase is a strongman, or more precisely, a takeover by the military.....................
The pit boss gives money he gets from Mr. Big
No to Barry Soetoro of Kenya.. and a big no to the legend in his own mind... The one they call Mitt because they thought a name-change would '''loosen-'em'up'''... WYSIWYG.. Olde School analysis..But when the dust settles ' they'll ' remind RobMe of how he was treated by the Plebs. "we will give 'em more inflation" for their 'disrespect'. They're Plebs.. not one of us.. "Heh Ann, did RobMe call the U.S.A.Olympics on your behalf"? I suppose they did not. So funny.. and 'they' think Camelot is within 'reach'.. Imagine how many Harper's you can have with family members in photo 'chompin'at-the-bits on telling us how great they are.. Sure beats Cable TV.. I mean that's stupid as they both share the bed of future.
(Breaking News) Oops, another False Flag Operation... Do not Google the word false flag [bernay's]
Do not research Truth.. Yourself..... Marketing101.. Perrault/McCarthy
Eat of the fruit we give you.. close your eyes.. imagine a morsel...
Insert Clown Act Herein....... Use BBC footage about 3 years old for affect/effect
"We'll tell them what they believe" said the duffie focus group guru...You want results? Tell me. What results do You want? Tell me.
LOL...They have to do this crap daily and I get to go sailing for 3 months... So very funny! (Insider Viewpoint) Other side (i.e.)
About that time a Pleb yelled-out " they made their bed, let them lie in it ". His name was Joey daDuke one of the greatest plebs ever in the history of the Plebian Race. Then he got older.. things changed.. He viewed films frantically in the same room where Anny viewed her horse racin' prowess.. Both rocked in chairs feverishly.. lookin' like some Old Timers denying that which they were. Seems over the years the "body politic" became what John F. Kennedy said.. Do You know of it? The same one where he talked about " secret socities". Now do you remember?
Note: Dual citizens have more than one love for a Homeland.. Let It Be Stipulated... About all New-Cons.
The race is about as joyous as spending dinner with Jack Cafferty after he stews on a question ''waay-2-long".. Pesky text messages even see stress in Wolf.. see his eyes.. The window of the Soul...
Too bad for the dupers.. too many lies they propagated.. they must have hated God
Obama Barry is about 16% POPULAR
RobMe is about 21%
BUT MSM Says they're 50% each
I don't think MSM believes in the One.. Do You?
Alex Jones at Noon is pretty nice to hear if you need truth
This story must run counter to "Perceptions" daily brief since he has conspicuously not posted on it. Mitt's big money buddies are no surprise to anyone. It's laughable to hear Conservatives whine about Obama's "Hollywood elite" when we all know Mitt has not yet begun to tap into the money of all his trust fund baby friends. Obama still has more donors than Mitt and that is what translates into more votes.
RENT-A-PREZ
Why is the extreme right, extreme rich, so lathered up about defeating Obama?
Regulations.
They want profits--lots of profits.
Power, lots of power.
Democracy? To the extremist conservative evangelicals, that's a silly notion.
God and Money, lots of money, not so thrilled with God except to bounce him off the stupid church people.
Romney will support, no defend to the death, to keep the profits high.
Romney has promised to remove nearly all regulations.
The Power Corporations are slobbering over him.
These are his people.
http://www.hollywoodreporte...
The biggest difference between the way Romney raises money and the way that Obama does is that Romney and his donors willingly give the money to finance Romney's activities. Obama forces the taxpayer to finance his campaign - and his vacations, and his 100 golfing outings since being elected.
Plastic Man is such a pitiful canidate that's the only way he's been able to get as far as he has. Plastic Man has to over power his opponets with money or he has no chances! And believe me it's going to take a lot more money than Obama to get Plastic Man over the finish line! It's pretty sad tho to see our elections decided now by who can get the most money from the billionares! Now our elections are decided by the 1%ers. This country has seen it's better days no matter who is elected. The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer! Take me back to the 50's!
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LOL We don't care where Obama gets his donations. We are merely pointing out liberal HYPOCRISY! But I bet you wouldn't notice your hypocrisy even if we highlight it in red! :P
Feaux News is the nation's leading Right Wing Propaganda machine and Liars Extreme.
How much anonymous cash have they scooped up to defeat Obama?
And, why do they want to defeat Obama?
Because he is progressive.......they are regressive
Because he is black.......they have a few tokens on staff.
Because Rupert Murdock hates minorities of all races other than whites...but poor whites he calls minorities.
The rich conservatives have been unable to buy Obama--the rich Liberals own him.
But RawMoney---there's the boy for them! He's one of the rich guys....he giggles about the stupid poor....he snears about the illegals.....he says whatever they want to hear.....he gets their millions. Hee hee. He really, really likes women.....the ones that stay at home and shut up.
Obama will probably win in a landslide! Plastic Man is a draft dodging flip flopper and a wimp at that. Hides on Fox News and afraid to show the american people his past taxes. Romney has only one voter base and thats white people. Obama has Blacks, Gays, Hispanics, Asians,unions, poor people plus new poll out 18% won't vote for a Mormon! I don't think there's enough 1% ers to get Romney over the finish line!
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So Wall Street rich people who hire millions and millions of people are bad, but Hollywood rich people who only hire themselves for the big money but pay $40 to unemployed or part-time extras in movies are good?
When was the last time President Obama demanded that the rich movie stars paid more in taxes?
I SUPPORT PRESIDENT OBAMA'S TAX ON HOLLYWOOD MOVIES AND THEIR PROFITS. Do you? If he had one!
Poor Barry - better set up another dinner date with his boy toy Clooney...
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