Actually, I think I'll pass.
"Hedge fund chiefs lead donors group backing Romney" by Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent / February 2, 2012
Hedge fund moguls and other high-flying capitalists dominate the top of a recently unveiled list of donors to a group supporting Mitt Romney’s bid for the presidency, a reflection of his years as head of Bain Capital as well as his probusiness approach to improving the economy.
Also see: The Bain of Mitt Romney
Restore Our Future, a super PAC supporting Romney, reported late Tuesday night that it raised $30.1 million in 2011, with 10 donations of at least $1 million. But the largesse comes with potential pitfalls - donors with histories of contributing to causes ranging from promoting gay marriage to backing a group attacking 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry’s military record.
The political action committee has been credited with playing a major role in giving Romney an edge in the presidential race, bankrolling attack ads against former House speaker Newt Gingrich while allowing Romney to maintain some distance from the attacks because such groups cannot coordinate activities with candidates. A broadside of ads in Iowa and Florida preceded a fall in the polls for Gingrich in each crucial state....
One of the most prominent of its donors was Paul Singer, founder of the hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. and chairman of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. He gave $1 million to the PAC. Singer, who is a fund-raiser and adviser to Romney, has given hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and contributed to numerous Republican politicians.
He is also known for supporting gay marriage. Singer’s son is gay, and Singer was one of three wealthy Republicans who helped bankroll New York’s campaign to legalize gay marriage, donating $425,000 and marshaling other Republican donors, the New York Times reported....
Another $1 million donor is Robert Mercer, a hedge fund manager and co-chief executive of Renaissance Technologies Corp. Politico reported last year that Mercer funded an ad campaign opposing an Islamic center that would be built near Ground Zero in Manhattan, through a $1 million donation to the New York State Conservative Party.
Among the top donors not tied to the financial industry, Bob Perry, chief executive of Perry Homes in Houston, gave Restore Our Future $1 million. Perry, who made millions in the home building industry, is a major donor to conservative politicians in Texas and elsewhere, including to President George W. Bush. He is most well-known as the primary backer of Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth, a group established to attack the Vietnam military record of Kerry. Perry gave $4.35 million to the controversial group.
He has also given over $8 million to American Crossroads, a group run by conservative strategist Karl Rove. Perry was also a major donor to former presidential candidate Rick Perry.
So all that Bush-Perry feudin' was just a bunch of bull, huh?
Some donations were likely the result of Romney’s personal connections. Officials at Bain Capital, where Romney was chief executive in the 1990s, donated more than $3 million. Brothers J.W. and Richard Marriott, who run the Marriott hotel chain, each donated $500,000. The Marriotts are longtime friends of the Romneys.
Jenzabar, a technology company run by the chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, Robert Maginn, gave $250,000 to the super PAC. Maginn worked with Romney at Bain and was finance co-chairman of Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign.
A quartet of four Melaleuca companies, which sell home and personal care items, gave $1 million. Company president Frank VanderSloot is a national finance co-chairman of the Romney campaign and also raised money for Romney in 2008.
A handful of the donations are harder to identify. This summer, former Bain official Edward Conard created controversy when it was revealed he had donated $1 million to the super PAC anonymously under the company name W Spann LLC. Two other $1 million donations disclosed this summer were from Eli Publishing and F8 LLC, Utah companies with the same address and no apparent business dealings.
But most donations are clearly tracked to executives and investors. Employees of Goldman Sachs gave $480,000. John Paulson, the hedge fund investor who made billions betting against subprime mortgages, gave $1 million.
That after he helped create and sell them.
Energy magnate William Koch and his company Oxbow Carbon, a Florida-based gas and coal company, gave a total of $1 million. Koch, who has a home on Cape Cod, has been active in opposing the proposed Cape Wind energy project there.
Ah, a Koch brother!
The cash flow gives Romney a major advantage over his opponents. Gingrich’s super PAC, Winning Our Future, raised just $2 million last year. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, contributed another $10 million in January. The biggest donors to Gingrich’s PAC last year were the Adelson’s daughters. Sivan Ochshorn contributed $500,000, while Yasmin Lukatz and her husband, Oren, gave $250,000 each.
See: Adelson Hedges Bet on Gingrich
Looks like Adelson is cutting his losses.
The candidates’ own campaigns, despite being more constrained by campaign finance limits, raised significant amounts last year as well: $56.1 million for Romney and $12.6 million for Gingrich.
President Obama remains ahead in the money chase, having raised $125.2 million for his campaign. He will also be getting help from the Democratic Party and from Democratic super PACs. But Democratic super PACs have been raising far less money than their Republican counterparts.
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Related:
"Governor Patrick’s PAC raises more than $575,000 in 2011" by Matt Murphy | State House News Service, February 02, 2012
Since forming in late March to help finance Governor Deval Patrick’s political work on behalf of President Obama, Together PAC received more than $575,000 in contributions in 2011, heading into the presidential election year with $248,783 in cash on hand.
The committee filed its year-end campaign finance report with the Federal Elections Commission Thursday night, reporting a fund-raising haul of $301,561 since July 1, just barely eclipsing the $274,180 collected over the first three months of its existence.
The report showed Patrick’s committee raised $575,741 in 2011 and spent $326,957 on items ranging from airfare, hotels, salaries, consultants and catering to the cost of his State Police security detail when Patrick travels and rent for office space in downtown Boston.
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"Donors pay $35k apiece for audience with Obama
WASHINGTON - President Obama met yesterday with around 25 wealthy donors who paid $35,800 each to talk with him behind closed doors at a Washington hotel....
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Also see: Obama's Luncheon With Spike Lee
"Romney spent much of the day fending off criticism that he, not the president, was the out-of-touch candidate after he made comments that seemed to downplay the plight of the poor. “I’m not concerned about the very poor,’’ Romney said on CNN. “We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.’’
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Either way we lose.
