It's the Money, Stupid

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May 2009
- Specter to Dem Donors: Show Me the Money
  
  Politico | May 12, 09 9:18 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Arlen Specter may have brought his years of experience in the Senate across the aisle with him, but that doesn’t mean all his donors will follow. And the timing—it’s 2010 campaign season—complicates matters, Jeanne Cummings notes for Politico. “He’s not the world’s most humble person, even for a US senator, and it’s going to be a humbling experience,” warns the campaign manager for another party-switcher. More »
March 2009
- American Dream Dies in Our Wallet
  
  Vanity Fair | Mar 8, 09 7:26 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - To the dreary lexical suite that defines our times—greed, foreclosure, stimulus and debt—we must add humility, David Kamp writes in Vanity Fair. O ur gluttonous pursuits and ridicule of middle-class life has landed us in the grip of a recession and twisted the shape of the American Dream, he notes. “What needs to change is our expectation of what the dream promises,” Kamp writes. More »
February 2009
- Hey Big Spender, Flaunt Your Scrimping
  
  Los Angeles Times | Feb 21, 09 3:42 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Recessions would be great for the rich—whose wealth insulates them from mercurial fluctuations in the economy—if it weren’t for the guilt they feel over rising poverty. But Chris Ayres has a solution for the loaded that may also revive the economy: “Flaunt your parsimony,” he advises in the Los Angeles Times , because “without spending, we all go bust.” More »
January 2009
- Dems Expect Fundraising Decline
  
  Politico | Jan 26, 09 12:11 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The economic slowdown is having its expected effect on Democratic fundraising, and the added effects of “donor fatigue” and the magnetic force that draws campaign cash to Barack Obama could leave them pinched for the next election cycle, Politico reports. But things could be worse—like they are for Republicans. More »
- Bailout Bucks Go to Lobbyists
  
  New York Times | Jan 24, 09 6:59 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A surprising number of firms that reaped billions in bailout funds from the government have been spending big to lobby the government for more, the New York Times reports. Citigroup, General Motors, and at least seven others have paid lobbyists millions since October. Some recipients actually increased the amount they spend to promote their interests in Washington. More »
December 2008
- Plouffe Plans How-to Book
  
  Associated Press | Dec 4, 08 11:14 AM CST
  
  (AP) - Barack Obama's media-evading campaign manager is writing a book about the historic election victory, and has retained his old boss' literary rep to shop the proposal to publishers. The Audacity to Win will give an inside look at the Obama run and also advice for how to manage a large organization. David Plouffe says the book will be high on tactics and low on gossip. More »
November 2008
- Secretive Gay Donors Back Candidates Nationwide
  
  Time | Nov 1, 08 7:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A secretive group of wealthy gay activists who call themselves the Cabinet has been pouring huge sums into defeating anti-gay political candidates across the country, Time reports. The seven members of the Cabinet are estimated to have injected at least $7.8 million into races nationwide since 2004, and have earned a reputation in the gay community as a sort of "homosexual justice league." More »
October 2008
- Obama Donors Get to Hang With the Big Kids
  
  Politico | Oct 29, 08 2:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama’s money machine has kept rolling thanks, in part, to a series of intimate fundraisers headlined by his top advisers, Politico reports. In exchange for a mere $28,500, Obama supporters could snag seats at a dinner with Warren Buffett or a “Round Table Discussion” with Robert Rubin. Slimmer wallets could attend a reception with John Kerry for as low as $250. More »
- Small Print Lets Donors Write Big Checks
  
  New York Times | Oct 21, 08 12:38 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama’s small donors have grabbed the headlines this election, but the latest campaign finance reports reveal that big donors have been playing their biggest role in ages, the New York Times reports. Both candidates have used joint committees, which raise money for both the candidates and their parties, to subvert the $2,300 individual donation limit, allowing donors to give tens of thousands with one check. More »
- Obama Shatters Records With $150M Sept.
  
  Wall Street Journal | Oct 19, 08 8:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama scored $150 million in September, he said today, a monthly record that brings his fundraising total to another record topping $600 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. The previous monthly record was Obama’s $66 million in August. Those figures give the Democrat a big leg up in TV advertising in battleground and typically red states. More »
September 2008
- Goldman Sachs Is DC's Top Sugar Daddy
  
  ABC News | Sep 26, 08 2:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Goldman Sachs has given Washington plenty of reasons to help it out—43 million reasons, to be precise. Goldman bankers have been the nation’s biggest campaign contributors this year, and have poured more than $43 million into lobbying and campaign war chests since 1989, ABC News reports. “They are almost in a class by themselves,” one analyst said. More »
- Freddie Mac Paid Monthly $15K to McCain Aide's Firm
  
  New York Times | Sep 24, 08 5:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A firm owned by John McCain's campaign manager received $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac until the mortgage giant was taken over by the government this month, insiders tell the New York Times . McCain insisted just days ago that it's been years since aide Rick Davis had any contact with Freddie Mac. More »
- McCain Camp Slams 'Biased' NY Times
  
  Washington Post | Sep 23, 08 3:38 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The McCain camp launched another attack on the media yesterday, this time blasting the New York Times as "biased" for its report linking the campaign to lobbyists for Freddie Mac and Freddie Mae. A spokesman called the Times a "pro-Obama advocacy organization" after the paper revealed that campaign manager Rick Davis received $2 million when he was a lobbyist to shield the loan giants from tougher regulations, reports the Washington Post . More »
- Campaign Skirts Obama Lobbyist Ban
  
  Portfolio | Sep 18, 08 3:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama has built his campaign on being a Washington outsider, and won’t accept contributions from registered federal lobbyists. But Obama’s candidacy is far from untouched by special-interest cash, Matthew Cooper writes in Portfolio . The wives of more than 20 Washington lobbyists have donated to the Democrat, who also accepts contributions from state lobbyists, partners of law firms that lobby in Washington, and CEOs. More »
- Star-Studded Wallets Come Out for Obama Fundraiser
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 17, 08 8:29 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama pulled down $11 million between two star-studded Hollywood fundraisers last night, in the biggest single-night take of his campaign, reports the Los Angeles Times. The candidate mixed it up with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Chris Rock, and Barbra Streisand —who capped off the night with a performance —as John McCain took the opportunity to mock the celebrity shindig before a working-class Ohio crowd. More »
- GOP Has Twice as Much Cash as Dems
  
  Bloomberg | Sep 16, 08 8:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Coming into the home stretch, the Republicans have about twice as much campaign money on hand as the Democrats, reports Bloomberg—about $200 million to $95 million. Though Barack Obama has raised record sums, the Democratic National Committee’s current $17.5 million lags far behind the GOP’s $76 million. These committees may continue to raise and spend money to support their candidates, so long as they don’t coordinate strategy. More »
- Despite $66M August, Obama Needs Money
  
  Politico | Sep 15, 08 10:55 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama raised more money in August than any presidential candidate ever, but he’s still desperate for cash, reports Politico. Obama has $77 million in the bank, close to the $85 million John McCain has to spend this general election. But McCain will benefit from outside “independent” groups Obama has spurned, and a brimming RNC war chest. More »
- Obama Pulls in Record $66M in August
  
  Politico | Sep 14, 08 10:04 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama raised more than $66 million in August, besting his past fundraising record and pulling in the best monthly tally in US political history, says an aide. Topping February's $55 million, the take "demonstrates how the increasingly heated, nasty race has energized Obama's fundraising," writes Ben Smith in Politico. The campaign also added 500,000 new donors during the month. John McCain raised $47 million in August. More »
August 2008
- Lawmakers Get Most Funding From Outside Districts
  
  Miller-McCune | Aug 30, 08 8:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Candidates running for Congress are increasingly using affluent ZIP codes outside their own districts as "political ATM machines" to fund their campaigns, a new study finds. In the majority of House races in 2004, almost three-quarters of contributions came from donors outside a lawmaker's district—often from Hollywood, Manhattan's Upper East Side, and other white, moneyed areas. Today's donors are “urban, highly educated, and employed in elite occupations," reports Miller-McCune magazine. More »
- Obama Scores $7.8M in San Francisco Blitz
  
  Los Angeles Times | Aug 18, 08 9:45 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama raised $7.8 million at a series of San Francisco fundraisers last night, the Los Angeles Times reports, reportedly a record single day's take for the candidate. Obama spoke before three separate groups in the same hotel, including one ballroom filled with 350 VIPs paying a reported $28,500 per couple. More »