The
hand-wringing is officially over: Democrats have joined the super PAC game.
They might not be the
Koch brothers or
Sheldon Adelson,
but wealthy donors on the left are finally answering the call in force
and giving big bucks to Democratic groups such as Priorities USA Action
and House Majority PAC.
Fred Eychaner, president of Newsweb , has led the
liberal charge since the beginning of September, giving $2 million to
Priorities, $2 million each to House Majority PAC and Majority PAC
(which supports Democratic Senate candidates), and $1 million to Women
Vote.
Eychaner (pronounced
eye-can-er) has given at least $11 million to Democratic candidates and causes thus far in 2012.
The grandaddy of Democratic mega-donors — billionaire financier George Soros — also stepped up, giving
$1 million
to Priorities USA Action and a $250,000 check to House Majority PAC in
early October. Soros, who became a conservative target after
contributing $24 million in 2004 to efforts fighting President George W.
Bush, this year has pledged at least
$4.3 million to various liberal outside groups.
Meanwhile, his son, Jonathan Soros, launched Friends of Democracy, “a
super PAC to end all super PACs” earlier this year. Soros’s super PAC
has raised a total of $2.1 million since its founding and has spent $1.2
million mostly on direct mail.
Whatever the reason — President Barack Obama’s attacks on big money
donors and Wall Street, the 2004 failure to beat Bush or simply
philosophical concerns about unlimited money in politics —
rich Democrats simply weren’t flocking
to the super PACs and outside nonprofits the way Republicans embraced
groups like Karl Rove’s American Crossroads or the pro-Mitt Romney super
PAC Restore Our Future. Those two groups have already raised about $164
million this cycle, and conservatives are expected to
spend $1 billion in efforts to elect Republicans this year.
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