Something Recent... 'Hillary Clinton Faces a More Liberal Democratic Fund-Raising Landscape' - NYT

[WillyT]

Hillary Clinton Faces a More Liberal Democratic Fund-Raising Landscape
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and DEREK WILLIS - NYT
JUNE 29, 2015


Hillary Rodham Clinton at an event held by Emily’s List, a group dedicated to electing female Democrats, in Washington in March. Credit Jabin Botsford/The New York Times

<snip>

Hillary Rodham Clinton will seek out donors to her presidential campaign from a Democratic fund-raising landscape vastly altered since her first presidential bid and far more ideologically aligned with the party’s liberal activists.

Democrats now get far less money from Wall Street, military contractors, health care companies and other industries that for decades ladled out cash more evenly to both parties, according to a New York Times analysis of data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group. And the party now relies far more on constituencies that have achieved new clout in the era of “super PACs” and carefully targeted digital fund-raising.

As many as one-fifth of elite Democratic “bundlers” — volunteers who raise money from friends and business associates — are active in gay-rights causes or are themselves gay or lesbian. Outside Democratic groups rely heavily on wealthy environmentalists, such as the billionaires Tom Steyer and Michael R. Bloomberg, and on labor unions, whose financial might has been magnified by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 even as their membership rolls decline.

Female donors and bundlers have become both a bigger source of funding and a more organized financial force in party affairs: Emily’s List, a political group dedicated to electing female Democrats, now has five times as many members and twice as many donors as it did when Mrs. Clinton ran for president in 2008. And Democrats now rely far more on grass-roots donors to be financially competitive with Republicans. Democratic Party committees raised $200 million from donors giving $200 or less in 2014, according to Federal Election Commission records, twice as much as in 2008.

The shift in the party’s donor base is being driven, in part, by the same polarizing demographic and political trends that have made the Democratic Party more ideologically liberal and have aligned business more closely with Republicans.

“Historically, business was very pragmatic and played both sides,” said Simon Rosenberg, president of NDN, a left-leaning think tank with ties to business leaders in Washington. “Now, business had thrown its lot in with the Republicans. It means that the traditional arguments of business are losing their grip on Democrats, in part because business isn’t any longer investing in Democrats.”

The transformation is already reflected in Mrs. Clinton’s campaign and speeches...

<snip>

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/30/us/politics/hillary-clinton-faces-a-more-liberal-democratic-fund-raising-landscape.html

[onehandle]

1. Women, who tend to be liberal Democrats, are going to elect Hillary as our next President.

I agree. Thanks for the help.

Emily’s List, a political group dedicated to electing female Democrats, now has five times as many members and twice as many donors as it did when Mrs. Clinton ran for president in 2008.

[WillyT]

2. Not All Women... Not By A Longshot.

[onehandle]

3. Enough Women... By A Mile.

[winter is coming]

5. Heard this argument in 2008. Wishful thinking then. Wishful thinking now. n/t

[okasha]

6. Women. People of color. LGBT's. Environmentalists.

Enough to do the job.

[sheshe2]

28. Kick!

[ReallyIAmAnOptimist]

8. I'm a woman, but I think being the best candidate trumps plumbing.

This NYTs article is trying to make the case that HRCs top contributors aren't the usual finance, insurance, pharma, etc., etc., but offers no evidence to back this up. As far as I know the public doesn't yet have access to those numbers...

[HooptieWagon]

13. 9 of top 10 Hillary donors are Wall St Banks.

After deliberately crashing the economy in '08, and only getting a slap on the wrist from Obama Admin, the Democratic base is justifiably leery of Wall St backed corporatist Third Way democrats.

[freshwest]

18. She was invited to speak at EMILY's list in March of this year:

"When I look at this room, I see leaders," Clinton said, adding that it was time for Emily's list supporters to redouble their efforts to get more women elected to political leadership roles...

Clinton also used the speech to highlight the careers of other Democratic women, including retiring Maryland Senator Barbara Mikluski and former Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

EMILY's Listis an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect pro-choice Democratic female candidates to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985.[4] According to the Washington Examiner, EMILY's List is "the nation's most influential pro-choice political action committee."[5]

The name EMILY's List is an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast" (i.e., it raises dough).[4] The saying is a reference to a convention of political fundraising: that receiving lots of donations early in a race is helpful in attracting subsequent donors.

EMILY’s List bundles contributions to the campaigns of pro-choice Democratic women running in targeted races.[6][7]

From 1985 through the 2008 election, EMILY's List had raised and spent $240 million for political candidates.[1] EMILY's List spent $27.4 million in 2010, $34 million in 2012, and $44.9 million in 2014.[3]

EMILY's List was founded in 1985, when 25 women met in the home of Ellen Malcolm. Founding members included Barbara Boxer, Ann Richards, Anne Wexler, and Donna Shalala.[7] In 1986, early financial support from EMILY's List helped elect Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right.[1][8]

The group's mission is to cultivate a donor network to raise money for pro-choice female Democratic candidates. To become an official EMILY's List member, an individual must pay $100 to join EMILY's List, and agree to donate a minimum of $100 each to two U.S. Senate, U.S. House, or gubernatorial candidates. Members make their donations directly to EMILY's List, which bundles the checks together and forwards them to candidates.[9]

For the 2006 election cycle, EMILY's List raised about $46 million for candidates in the 2006 contests and the group was listed as the biggest PAC in the nation by Political Money Line.[10] EMILY's List endorsed 31 candidates in 2006, eight of whom were victorious.[7]

In 2008, EMILY's List endorsed 22 U.S. House candidates, two U.S. Senate candidates, and three gubernatorial contenders.[7] The PAC helped elect two new female senators, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and supported the gubernatorial election of Bev Perdue of North Carolina, the re-election of Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington, and the successful elections of twelve new women to the United States House of Representatives...[8]

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, when NARAL endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, EMILY's List was strongly critical. EMILY's List President Ellen Malcolm said, “I think it is tremendously disrespectful to Sen. Clinton - who held up the nomination of a FDA commissioner in order to force approval of Plan B and who spoke so eloquently during the Supreme Court nomination about the importance of protecting Roe vs. Wade - to not give her the courtesy to finish the final three weeks of the primary process. It certainly must be disconcerting for elected leaders who stand up for reproductive rights and expect the choice community will stand with them.”[15]

After the conclusion of the Democratic presidential primary, EMILY's List moved their support to Barack Obama and was vocal in their opposition to the McCain/Palin ticket.[16]

In 2012, 80% of the candidates endorsed by EMILY's List in the general election were victorious.[17]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMILY%27s_List

Main criticism of the group appears to be that their narrow focus on reproductive rights.

Since having agency over one's own body is tantamount to implementing the other interests quoted at the link some think are more, or as important, as abortion rights, they are wrong.

Obama has proven to be the most women friendly POTUS in my lifetime and this is a big focus for me as a pragmatic position.

If you are being denied choice over such a basic thing as family planning, everything in one's economic life may fall apart. If you are not going to be able to plan your personal life, your financial and and social situation is in jeopardy.

No amount of money, except the kind of money that the very wealthy possess, that most poor and middle class do not possess, in order to escape Orwellian laws dictating their most intimate and life changing choice, will make a difference.

Equality under the law in this area is something half the people in the world are not impacted by as women are. To claim otherwise is disingenuous and to lecture women on this is obnoxious.

EMILY's List is dedicated to getting Democrats into office and will give a worker for the rest of the issues.

Go to the official EMILY's list site for a rousing explanation of their vision and mission. I found it impressive and inspirational:

http://www.emilyslist.org/pages/entry/our-mission

[sheshe2]

29. Kick!

i also want to thank Willy for his support of Hillary.

Yup they had no clue.

[ismnotwasm]

4. Cool!

[sheshe2]

7. Thank you for supporting women, Willy.

A great change for you.

Hillary 2016!

[WillyT]

26. I've Done It All My Life... Especially For Me... And My Sisters...

You guys think YOU ALL are the ONLY ones wounded by this shit ???

I'm not gonna make your homework easy... I've done that before...

Suicide, family threats, homicide, stabbings, gang bullshit, it's not constrained to anyone race.

Get over yourselves.

We've all been there in one way or another.

[shenmue]

9. Yes!

[sheshe2]

20. Love this! nt

[Thinkingabout]

10. Yes, liberals are working for Hillary, it is an easy task for me.

She is strong and will take this country in the right direction, we need this leader.

[imthevicar]

11. Like her support of the TPP!?

Last edited Tue Jun 30, 2015, 03:28 PM - Edit history (2)

4 am just wake up, ok you can have that one, BUT IT was HER! not she! talk about my mistake hear. You folks could use a bit more sleep too.

[Thinkingabout]

12. Think you must have missed her statement but since I am reserving my opinion until the

Final agreement is presented I can also wait for Hillary to do the same.

[HooptieWagon]

14. She knows exactly what's in TPP, and who it benefits...

...she was involved in the negotiations. She's just keeping quiet and hoping it continues to stay off the radar.

[Thinkingabout]

15. Have a lot of knowledge of negotiations? Things changes from day to day, she is not privvy to

Negotiations.

[HooptieWagon]

16. 4 years as SoS, overseeing treaties?

The bulk of negotiations are long done, they're just working on minor details now. She damn well knows what 95% of TPP contains.

[Thinkingabout]

19. She hasn't been SOS since 2012, do you even suspect there hasn't been more negotiations since she

Left the position of SOS? In negotiating one proposed something and then there are counter proposals and then on to an agreement. You are saying something you don't have the info to back up. Dont jump into the water until the whistle blows.

[HooptieWagon]

22. Do you understand how treaties are negotiated?

The parties are in 90% agreement before they even sit down, otherwise they wouldn't even be there. 90% of the negotiations are over 10% of the agreement.

[Thinkingabout]

25. I understand negotiations, clauses changes from time to time, TPP is not finalized.

[HooptieWagon]

27. 95% of it is finalized. nt

[sheshe2]

21. He?

[freshwest]

23. Freudian slippage. Damn treacherous undies!

Or if we must be technical:

A Freudian slip, also called parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that is interpreted as occurring due to the interference of an unconscious ("dynamically repressed&quot subdued wish, conflict, or train of thought guided by the ego and the rules of correct behaviour. They reveal a "source outside the speech".

Correct sizing eliminates most slippage and embarrassment.

[hrmjustin]

30. He?

[marym625]

17. K&R

And the people are well aware where their supporters are and where their money comes from. Even looking at the history of the corporate donors. Do they fire transgender people? Do they promote minorities? .do they ruin the air and water?

We know and we don't support those that take money from corporations that steal.

[freshwest]

24. Actually, not too recent. They wanted her in 2008 and before that they supported her, as well. TY.

[NCTraveler]

31. She has support from so many good progressives, liberals, and democrats.

Thanks for the op WillyT. She is a force to be reckoned with. Equal representation at the highest level of government for all. That is where we are headed.

[KoKo]

32. And, then there's this....further along in the article......

But Mrs. Clinton’s campaign is particularly sensitive to criticisms that she is moving left or tailoring her message to the party’s liberal base. (A spokesman declined to comment for this article.) And there are signs that Mrs. Clinton, whose husband, former President Bill Clinton, became a successful fund-raiser by rebranding the Democrats as business-friendly, will seek more of an equilibrium.

Unlike Mr. Obama, her campaign is aggressively raising money from business PACs, according to two Clinton fund-raisers. And Mrs. Clinton, like the Republicans who wish to run against her, has not yet pledged to voluntarily disclose the names of her bundlers.

Mrs. Clinton’s most delicate dance may be with Wall Street. Investment banks like Goldman Sachs have for years been a source of personal, political and philanthropic wealth for the Clinton family. But the industry is now closely allied with Speaker John A. Boehner and congressional Republicans seeking to roll back or repeal elements of the Dodd-Frank financial reforms.

Almost two-thirds of money from investment banks and three-quarters of donations from credit card companies and lenders now flow to Republicans, and donations from hedge fund and private equity executives were a significant source of cash for Republican super PACs during the 2012 election cycle.

Mrs. Clinton backed the Dodd-Frank bill and other financial reforms, including elimination of the “carried interest” loophole used by private equity executives to lower their tax rate. But several Democratic donors and bundlers with Wall Street ties said they believed shewould be well positioned to repair that relationship; many financial executives, they said, viewed her more barbed language in recent weeks as necessary posturing.

“The Clinton operation would like to have everybody in, and everybody giving,” said one longtime Clinton fund-raiser, who asked for anonymity so as not to damage his relationship with Mrs. Clinton’s team. “They usually try to find a way to have everyone on board.”

[Arkana]

33. Personally, if a further-left landscape pushes Hillary to the left, why is that bad?

It's the analogy of the disobedient kid: you have a kid who won't do his chores. As a consequence, you threaten to withhold his allowance. As a result, the kid does his chores.

Are you then going to tell the kid "You only did those chores because you wanted your allowance, not because you really believed in the need for those chores to get done."?