After another reversal Obama Camp fears battle ahead
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Although federal election laws prohibit Super PACs from coordinating their spending with campaigns they support President Obamas Campaign is exploiting loopholes that allow the presidents aides to court donors.
In February the presidents campaign manager Jim Messina addressed prospective Priorities USA donors in the Chicago offices of an investment manager and Obama fund-raiser while at another event earlier this month Obamas top political adviser David Plouffe was hosted by a California venture capitalist and major Obama donor.
While Mr. Obamas decision last month to endorse super PAC fund-raising a reversal of his long-standing opposition to campaign spending by independent groups has made potential donors more receptive to Priorities USA and similar groups so farfew have written the 6-and 7-figure checks Republican super PACs are collecting.
With the general election looming closer every day and no clear Republican candidate to focus on Mr. Obamas allies are under growing pressure to rapidly raise money for Democratic-leaning independent groups warning supporters that huge cash advantages mustered by Republican groups could overwhelm Mr. Obama this fall despite his own formidable fund-raising apparatus.
Early indications are that the Democratic super PACs are facing an uphill climb. Significant obstacles remain according to leading Democratic donors & consultants.
Priorities USA Action a super PAC supporting the presidents re-election will reportedly show $2 million in February donations including $1 million from the television host Bill Maher. Those amounts are substantial for Priorities USA and related groups which together have raised approximately $6.1 million through the end of 2011.
Mr. Maher said he decided to contribute to Priorities USA after attending the Grammys in mid-February and being told by several Hollywood friends that the election was in the bag" for Mr. Obama.
One reason I was doing this was to try to throw a snowball and create an avalanche among rich people on the left" said Mr. Maher who did not inform Priorities USA of his plans before announcing the donation.
But it leaves them far behind American Crossroads the leading Republican super PAC which took in $51 million in 2011 and expects to raise $240 million during the 2012 Election.
The disparity leaves the president largely reliant on the 10s of millions he is raising for his own campaign to counter an expected onslaught of negative advertising.
Still some potential and traditionally Democratic donors are unhappy with the presidents stance on climate change or other issues. Obama backers on Wall Street are leery of their money being used for attacks on Mr. Romneys background in private equity which is already the topic of millions of dollars worth of slash-and-burn advertising this year from a super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich.
Others are not persuaded that Mr. Obama faces any real threat with the economy improving and the Republican field in the midst of a long bruising primary.
Im undecided" said Mark Buell a philanthropist and a major Democratic donor. Its really about whether we can afford to take the high road on this. And that is going to be decided by some of the poll data going forward."
Democratic super PACs have also had mixed results wooing the small circle of wealthy liberals who have helped finance Democratic-leaning outside groups in the past some of whom are not persuaded that a super PAC controlled by Mr. Obamas former aides is the best use of their millions.
Among them are Peter B. Lewis the billionaire chairman of Progressive Insurance and the investor George Soros who together donated more than $40 million to Democratic-leaning independent groups in the 2004 election cycle
when Democrats were able to muster these kinds of large donations.
The biggest warning earlier this month came from David Plouffe President Obamas top political adviser. The Koch brothers and Republican super PACs" Plouffe told a dozen wealthy Democrats gathered in a Silicon Valley office suite have pledged 100s of millions of dollars to defeat Mr. Obama. Do not believe what you read about all the money the president will raise himself Plouffe urged them. He needs your help.
Democratic super PAC officials have beseeched donors with slide shows illustrating how a group backing Mitt Romney has spent millions of dollars pounding Mr. Romneys rivals in the Republican primary an object lesson in the power of super PACs they say. They have also presented expected fund-raising figures for the Republican National Committee and various conservative groups which they say will negate Mr. Obamas advantage in traditional fund-raising.
Mr. Soros recently declined to provide seed money for a joint Super PAC fund-raising effort according to people involved in the discussions. He is unlikely to contribute to Priorities USA a person with knowledge of his thinking told news sources last week though he has not ruled it out.
In February Priorities USA hired Diana Rogalle who was chief fund-raiser for America Coming Together which spent $200 million on behalf of Democrats in 2004. But with support from long-standing Democratic meg-adonors in question the group is focusing on other constituencies: African-American business executives & Silicon Valley entrepreneurs gay donors and longtime Obama supporters from Chicago.
Like Restore Our Future the Super PAC backing Mr. Romney Priorities USA is turning to people who are already among their candidates top bundlers" who raise money for a campaign from friends family & business associates. The group secured checks or commitments from Sandra Thompson a California lawyer who raised more than $200000 for Mr. Obamas campaign and Michael Kempner a public relations executive who raised more than $500000 for Mr. Obama.
Priorities USA officials held fund-raising meetings last year in conjunction with gatherings of the campaigns national finance committee in Chicago & Washington but without the help of White House or Obama campaign officials. The group is hoping that a significant number of the finance committees roughly 400 members each of whom has committed to raising $350000 for Mr. Obamas re-election will eventually become Priorities USA donors.
Officials at Priorities USA and other Democratic super PACs were also invited to address donors at a recent retreat of the Democracy Alliance a partnership set up in the mid-2000s to funnel money to liberal groups. That decision
angered some involved in the alliance which has tended to emphasize building a progressive infrastructure" of research groups and issue advocacy organizations rather than winning elections.
And many big liberal donors simply are uneasy about the unlimited money already sloshing around in the Obama Campaign according to interviews with donors and consultants.
Some of the major donors on the left see it as a bit unseemly" said Steve Phillips chairman of PowerPAC.org which ran advertisements backing Mr. Obama in the 2008 primaries and raising more than $10 million to organize voter mobilization much of it from a half-dozen big donors.
Beginning in December 011 and continuing through early this year the founder of the Democracy Alliance Rob Stein helped spearhead talks among independent Democratic groups about how best to coordinate their efforts. But plans to set up an ambitious fund-raising operation across the super PACs and other Democratic organizations were abandoned after major donors backed out.
Instead the groups have established joint bank accounts to allow donors the convenience of writing a single check for multiple groups.
Mr. Phillips and his wife Susan Sandler the daughter of major liberal benefactors Herb & Marion Sandler contributed $2 million to PowerPAC.org during the 2008 election and would seem to be prime candidates to give to Priorities USA this year. But Phillips said he and his wife were focusing on building political organizations that emphasized smaller donations.
Jennifer Frutchy who advises Progressive Insurances chairman Lewis on philanthropic issues sai he mostly concentrated on longer-term investments in liberal policy & advocacy groups and generally had a distaste for having his donations used for political advertising particularly negative ads.
Lewis did contribute $200000 last year to the start-up of American Bridge 21st Century a Super PAC that provides opposition research for other Democratic-aligned independent groups. But Ms. Frutchy said he was
unlikely to give to other super PACs this year. Mr. Soros who like Mr. Lewis gave more than $20 million to Democratic groups in the 2004 elections contributed $100000 last year to Majority PAC a group supporting Democratic candidates in Senate races.
February was obviously a much better month than weve had in a while" said Bill Burton a spokesman for Priorities USA. But Democrats who want the president to win re-election are going to have to ramp up the numbers in order to stay competitive with the avalanche of Republican money coming at him."
