Democrats find many big donors cutting support

Democrats find many big donors cutting support

Democrats find many big
donors cutting support
By Michael Luo and Jeff Zeleny New York Times
Posted: 09/29/2010 07:11:00 PM PDT
Updated: 09/29/2010 09:39:12 PM PDT


Many wealthy Democratic patrons, who in the past
have played major roles financing outside groups to
help elect the party's candidates, are sitting out
these crucial midterm elections.
Democratic donors like George Soros and fellow
billionaire Peter Lewis, who each gave more than
$20 million to Democratic-oriented groups in the
2004 election, appear to be holding back.
"Mr. Soros believes that he can be most effective by
funding groups that promote progressive policy
outcomes in areas such as health care, the
environment and foreign policy," said an adviser,
Michael Vachon. "So he has opted to fund those
activities."
The absence of these Democratic megadonors is
contributing to a huge disparity in spending
between pro-Republican and pro-Democratic
groups. The groups wield huge influence in many
House and Senate races because they can take in
contributions of unlimited size.
In the past week, Republican-leaning groups
outspent their Democratic counterparts on TV by
more than 7-1 on Senate races and nearly 4-1 on
House races across the country, according to data
from the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising. The gap shows few
signs of abating, even with the midterm election
season in full swing.
The donors' reluctance stems from a variety of
factors, including pessimism about the party's
prospects in November but also President Barack
Obama's strong condemnations of this kind of
independent
activity, both during the 2008 campaign and after
he was elected.
Vachon said Soros, who was also a big donor in
2006 and to a lesser extent in 2008, had been more
focused on pushing to get the policy outcomes he
wants. He gave $5 million each last year to
organizations advocating for the health care
overhaul and the climate change bill, Vachon said.
He also contributed $1.25 million this year to
America Votes, an umbrella organization for a
variety of liberal-leaning groups, which focuses on
the voter mobilization that Soros has supported.