Leading Democratic fundraisers were predicting to The Hill at the beginning of the month that Barack Obama could raise $100 million in June and could attract 2.5 million to 3 million new donors to his campaign, once he opted-out of public financing:
“One hundred million dollars this June  it’s definitely within reach,†said Wade Randlett, who has raised more than $200,000 for Obama.
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Randlett said there are three reservoirs of Democratic money available.
“First, there are the people who have not maxed out to Obama,†he said, citing donors who may have given a total of $500 in small chunks. “Then there are the Hillary folks  that’s a second very large bucket. The third large bucket are the people who thought, ‘I’m not sure who’s going to win’ and put small bets on either candidate.”
There has not been much follow-up on that claim. Obama has been shaking his moneymaker in New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Jacksonville — but those funds appear to be marked for the primary account.
Yesterday, Obama held a star-studded fundraiser at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, including a a VIP dinner for donors giving $28,500 per couple to the DNC Victory fund and a $2,300-per-person reception — but organizers estimated that the event raised only $5 million (some of which would go to the DNC). That is roughly what Kerry did at Disney Hall in 2004. And some of Hollywood’s big Clintonites were cool to Obama’s appeal.
Speaking of Hillary Clinton, the New York Times recently reported:
Last week, around 20 to 30 Clinton supporters met with Mr. Obama’s national finance committee in Chicago, each pledging to raise $250,000 for him. Mr. Obama is scheduled Thursday to meet with Mrs. Clinton and some of her top financial supporters at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington in a first, and very visible, step toward party re-unification. A big topic will be the fund-raising challenges facing both Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton.
It appears that another such meeting is planned for today. But even assuming that the sums could be raised immediately, these bundlers would not make a huge dent in a $100 million goal. Indeed, Clinton’s big bundlers might bring in $100 million by November, but not by June.
The $28.5 million in Hillary Clinton’s general election fund would make a big dent in that goal, which is why Obama is asking his own donors to help her retire her debts to vendors. But under federal law, Clinton has to return the funds she collected to her donors. She can ask them to redirect that money to Obama’s campaign. How many will remains to be seen — and the process will likely not play out by the end of June.
Thus, Obama’s ability to raise $100 million in June appears to rest primarily on those small online donors. But so far, small donors have accounted for about 45% of Obama’s receipts. I am sure Team Obama has been contacting his small donors for repeat business via e-mail and social networks, but to hit $100 million, he would probably have to hit a peak similar to his best month of February. Perhaps there was a surge after Clinton withdrew, but this remains the unknown “x-factor” in the equation.
Alan Kessler, one of Clinton’s national finance co-chairmen, told The Hill that Obama may not break the $100 million mark until July. Unless the small donors stepped up big already, July seems much more realistic.
Hillary must repay her debt to herself before the Democratic convention or she will only be eligible for $250,000 reimbursement on her debt of millions. Obama needs an extra $20 million or so to buyout Hillary before the convention, so he’d better get crackin’. I hope he raises a billion dollars from the lefty losers and ends up to his ears in debt after getting his clock cleaned in November.
Of course, there are those $199 donors who can give again and again and again, because they are not reported to the FEC, even if the total goes above the allowed limit.
That’s the beauty of the small donors.
Under public financing, would Obama be allowed to “buyout” Hiliary’s debt ?
I seem to remember reading that he couldn’t.
I think we’re forgetting about the Democrats’ skills in frugality. You know they’re carefully scrutinizing every expense and getting the most from their Soros’ money.
Randlett’s three “resevoirs” don’t make sense.
First, for those who haven’t maxed out, who could they be? If you have dough and you’re drinking the Kool-Aid, aren’t you maxed out? And if you don’t have dough, don’t you look hear the reports and say, “Go look to someone else, I gotta fill up my tank”? And if you’re a dreamy college kid, do you wonder if that kid isn’t getting a three-month primer from mom and dad about why Obama is bad for the country?
Second, I thought Hillary’s women are all waitresses (just kidding). Still, are they going to drop dough on Obama? They may not even drop dough on Obama if it’s going to retire HRC’s debt. Hillary looks a little pathetic begging for money when she and Bill have rolled up, say, $60M after income taxes and after contributing $10M to the family’s private foundation. If Hillary and Bill don’t have employment prospects, she might look into positions at any of those bars where she was downing shots during the primaries. Could you see her with Alice and Flo at Mel’s Diner?
Third, at the level of giving (no more than $2,300 a donor), do donors actually “hedge bets.”
Maybe I have my head up my a**, but I’m still trying to figure out how Randlett–whoever he is–could come up with this stuff.
Oops. Meant to slash out ‘their.’ Because all their money are belong to Soros.
#3: Neo, you’re right — he can’t pay off he debt, which is why he’s asking his donors to do it.
And the lack of transparency on these small donations — which can come into his website from about 126 countries, btw — is troubling and a big reason why his claim about being his own public financing is a crock.
There are probably plenty of small O donors who are not maxed out; there is a substantial percentage that is giving only (say) $25 at a crack. And if he got a big surge from the small donors when HRC finally suspended her campaign, there are potentially big bucks to be raked in. But I think that number would have to surpass his prior February peak to get near $100 million in June.
I smell fish (Soros) when I hear how much money O! has gotten.
I just don’t understand how a candidate who is not really that popular outside of the moonbat set could be raising that much money.
I live in a liberal bastion, and even a lot of my liberal friends are no friend of Obama’s.
Maybe I am just serving up sour grapes, but something (at least for me) doesn’t compute.
Obama had better pray the price of gas doesn’t go up appreciably. If petrol hits $5/gallon this summer, his legendary “money well” of small donors–many of whom own SUV’s–will go drier than a popcorn fart.
Maybe Hillary can fall back on pole dancing to retire her debt, its supposed to be more lucrative than waitressing.
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