"only 5 weeks permanently? comon, you can do better then that!"

Quote :

"August 4, 2005 (The New York Times) Democratic Fund-Raiser Unit Is Curtailing Most Operations By GLEN JUSTICE WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 - A primary Democratic fund-raising engine in the 2004 presidential race, America Coming Together, is shutting down most of its operation, leaving unclear its role in the elections next year and beyond. The group, known as ACT, engineered an extensive effort to mobilize Democratic voters in 12 closely divided states last year while an allied organization, the Media Fund, backed the plan with thousands of television commercials. The strategy resonated with liberal donors, and the two groups together raised almost $200 million to become a crucial component of the Democratic effort to retake the White House. George Soros, the philanthropist and financier, alone gave almost $20 million. But President Bush was re-elected, and officials say sustaining major donors' interest after a bitter defeat has been difficult. ACT ran 78 field offices and had almost 6,000 employees at its peak. It is now cutting all but a handful of its 28 remaining staff members as leaders re-evaluate its future. "The bottom line is that it is very hard to raise the money you need to sustain an organization like this year-round," said Steve Rosenthal, the former political director of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., who was the mastermind behind the ACT voter mobilization. "It is very hard to generate interest in the donor community." The move into hibernation, first reported on Wednesday in The Washington Post, raises questions about where major Democratic donors will place their resources in the 2006 Congressional elections and the presidential race in 2008. Wealthy individual donors played a major role in 2004, thanks in part to new campaign finance laws that caused corporations to scale back on large political contributions. Although it is axiomatic that independent organizations will have large roles in future elections, it remains unclear which groups will win favor. "Everybody is ready to give money, but there are so many ideas," said Agnes Varis of New York who, together with her husband, Karl Leichtman, gave roughly $2 million to ACT and the Media Fund. "Democrats always do that. They just spawn groups. It takes a while to figure out where to do it." Mr. Soros, whose total spending in the election was roughly $27 million, also indicated that he was uncertain how he would proceed in politics. His spokesman, Michael Vachon, said that Mr. Soros's commitment to ACT was for the 2004 election and that he was unlikely to give the group more money in the immediate future. "That was what he said he would do, and that was as far as it went," Mr. Vachon said. "He never said he'd create an ongoing institution. That wasn't part of the program." ACT and the Media Fund were born over dinner conversation at a restaurant on Dupont Circle here months before Senator John Kerry secured the Democratic presidential nomination. Several top Democratic operatives met to discuss how to raise money and help the Democratic candidate under new more-restrictive campaign finance rules. What emerged was a plan to tap large donors using so-called 527 committees that, unlike candidates or political parties, are allowed to collect unlimited contributions. ACT and the Media Fund raised enough money to alarm Republicans, who initially tried to fight the use of 527 groups through legal challenges. When the Federal Election Commission declined to pass tough regulations, Republicans turned to groups of their own. The largest, Progress for America, raised almost $45 million in a matter of weeks to support Mr. Bush. Many groups on both sides that made a splash in the election have continued their work this year, raising money to fight on issues like Social Security or Supreme Court nominations. Progress for America has, for example, continued to raise millions to support Mr. Bush's policies. On the left, MoveOn.org has done the same in opposition. Although the Media Fund was created as a temporary outfit that would close its doors after the 2004 election, many people envisioned ACT as an ongoing organization dedicated to mobilizing voters. Its assets include detailed voter files with millions of names in crucial states, as well as long lists of Democratic volunteers. The group's leaders now say they want to evaluate how best to use those resources and are unsure whether the organization will wade heavily into coming elections the way it did last year. It is also unclear what limits 527 committees will face next year, as Congress and regulators continue to mull proposed restrictions. "Everybody wants to step back and figure out what's next," Gina Glantz, a longtime Democratic operative who is chairwoman of ACT, said. "It's time to take a hard look at that." Mr. Rosenthal, chief executive of ACT, said it would continue to conduct research, focusing on Virginia as board members and other leaders decided how to steer the organization. "The year 2004 was the perfect storm; everything lined up exactly right," he said. "Whether that happens again is anybody's guess. This is an extremely unpredictable business.""

[Edited on August 4, 2005 at 11:07 AM. Reason : ---]

8/4/2005 11:06:36 AM

Vacation?

I wasn't aware that signing a couple checks from the comfort of your own mansion amounted to a full time job.

[Edited on August 4, 2005 at 11:12 AM. Reason : ...]

8/4/2005 11:12:05 AM

I'm glad he's getting out. He had no business in America. Go back home soros. Influence your own elections.

8/4/2005 11:13:46 AM

silly conservatives

8/4/2005 11:14:42 AM

Quote :

"Gamecat: Vacation? I wasn't aware that signing a couple checks from the comfort of your own mansion amounted to a full time job."

The thread was originally "enjoy your vacation ACT!", but throwing the caps in there ruined the aesthetics (and had I left it lower-case, someone would have the title made no sense, was bad grammar, etc)

Speaking to your point though, Soros did a lot more with both of these groups then just underwrite them. The man was practically an overlord when it came to operational control / influence.

[Edited on August 4, 2005 at 11:16 AM. Reason : ---]

8/4/2005 11:15:25 AM

i wasnt aware that he was a publicly elected official.

i guess you learn new things every day.

8/4/2005 11:18:03 AM

8/4/2005 11:28:10 AM

Quote :

"sober46an3: i wasnt aware that he was a publicly elected official."

what, exactly, does that have to do with anything at all?

8/4/2005 11:32:28 AM

WMDs!!

8/4/2005 11:33:11 AM

ah, gotcha. carry on.

8/4/2005 11:42:58 AM

Quote :

"leaving unclear its role in the elections next year and beyond"

8/4/2005 12:58:07 PM

the fucking dropped the ball. Did they actually swing any state??

8/4/2005 10:30:33 PM

anybody remember when one of Soros' cronies overbought Kerry futures on Tradesports.com?

haha that shit was hillarious roflmaolollers

8/4/2005 11:13:56 PM

I was expecting a thread about sorority girls vacationing in Aruba

8/5/2005 1:01:24 AM