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Candidates Thank Big Donors With ... Fancy Titles

Give Rick Perry $50K and you're officially a "Pilot"

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 18, 2011 3:47 PM CDT

(Newser) – Consider yourself a Patriot? Not until you’ve given Rick Perry $500,000. If you’re a little less flush, you can be an Entrepreneur for $250,000, an Explorer for $100,000, or a Pilot for $50,000. Perry’s not the only one handing his donors special titles in exchange for big bucks: Mitt Romney, who headed the Olympics in Salt Lake City, offers gold, silver, and bronze designations; John Kerry labeled top donors “vice chairs," Hillary Clinton used "HillRaisers," and Rudy Giuliani offered “Slugger” and “MVP” titles, the Washington Post reports.

The practice dates back to George W. Bush, who named his donors after cowboy types: Pioneers, Mavericks, and Rangers. Indeed, President Obama seems to be about the only candidate not giving out such titles. What’s behind the donor-naming phenomenon? It was originated by charities as “motivation to move up the ladder,” says the head of a charity watchdog. “If these are very Type-A, competitive people, they want to be at the top level, so you give them the structure to aim for that.”

Texas Governor Rick Perry greets visitors at the Iowa State Fair August 15 in Des Moines. (Getty Images)

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Candidates Thank Big Donors With ... Fancy Titles

Give Rick Perry $50K and you're officially a "Pilot"

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campaign fundraising • presidential candidates • political donors • Election 2012

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And, simultaneously, not-so-rich ones

For 2012, Obama Wants 'Fat Cats' Back on His Side

The president reaches out to Wall Street donors

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He's got about $3M, and she's got $2.1M

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