President Obama winning battle for small donors -- Analysts cite enthusiasm factor

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"What we're seeing are two very different models of fund-raising."

As of the end of April, 43 percent of the donors who contributed to the Obama campaign gave $200 or less, generating a total of $88.5 million, according to the Campaign Finance Institute, a nonpartisan Washington research group. By contrast, only 10 percent of those who gave to former governor Mitt Romney’s campaign had made donations of $200 or less, accounting for $9.8 million . . .

While Obama has embarked on a grass-roots fund-raising drive based largely on small donations, as he did four years ago, Romney has relied on contributions from more generous donors to his campaign, and unlimited contributions from wealthy individuals and corporations to the independent super PACs sympathetic to his candidacy . . .

“Small donations matter a lot because they indicate enthusiasm and energy for a campaign,’’ said Rob Gray, a Boston political consultant who was an adviser to Republican John McCain’s 2008 campaign. “The shortage of small donors means the Republican and conservative base is not jumping on board with Romney in big numbers - at least not yet.’’

“Obama has a huge advantage there,’’ said Philip W. Johnston, an Obama fund-raiser and former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, noting Romney’s reliance on wealthier donors. “Wall Street bankers are unlikely to be knocking on doors in the neighborhood anytime soon.’’


read: http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/06/07/president-obama-attracts-far-more-small-donations-than-mitt-romney/qdpY8H4mNWrYThyJsGWIBM/story.html

[Wait Wut]

1. That's what I expected and hoped for!!

I donated this morning. Um...less than $200. Love knowing I'm part of that 98%!

Fuck the Koch Bros.

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2. +200

[uponit7771]

8. +1

[Tarheel_Dem]

12. Thanks for the reminder.

[1StrongBlackMan]

3. I loved ...

Former Justice Steven's argument regarding the problem with current campaign finance rules ... it gives a disproportionate naked advantage to the wealthy donors.

He used the analogy of a presidential debate where the various candidates' time to speak was determined by the amount of money they had. He correctly pointed out that this would be widely disparaged as "unfair"; yet this is the system under which we find ourselves.

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5. true. good argument.

putting a finer point on it:

“First, it did reverse a century of law; second, it did authorize unlimited election-related expenditures by America’s most powerful interests; and, third, the logic of the opinion extends to money spent by foreign entities.”

Stevens also said that he could not understand why, if “corporations have no right to vote,” they should have the right to sway elections.

[1StrongBlackMan]

6. No ... No ... No ...

Stevens also said that he could not understand why, if “corporations have no right to vote,” they should have the right to sway elections.

"You don't understand ... corporations are people, it says so in this Clerk's footnote, inserted to anopinion on a completely unrelated matter. We just haven't given THIS classification of people the right to vote ... just like the Blacks and the wimens. THAT'S DISCRIMINATION!

I demand that we end this unjust disenfranchisement of these powerless victims."

S/0

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9. .

[AverageJoe90]

4. And some in the media are doing everything they can, it seems, to discourage voters.......

I've seen this for a long time now. The Establishment REALLY doesn't want Obama to win a second term. They would be horrified if the Supreme Court was to see honest men and women on the bench, instead of sell-outs like Alito and wanna-be traitors like Antonin Scalia, etc.

A lot of ordinary working class people are standing up and giving their support to Obama, even if they may not be stalwart Dems, or perhaps even a few moderate Republicans tired of the GOP's extremist bullshit.

[uponit7771]

7. 2.5 million 25usd donations > than 7 10million dollar donations...

....if you're into the whole democracy thing

[Wait Wut]

10. I'm kicking this again...

...'cause these numbers make me happy.

What is it they say in that book (and 2112) about the "meek"???

Fuck the Koch Bros.

[Tarheel_Dem]

11. This is good news. I especially like the "New Donors" number.

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13. right

we're going to win by organizing. That part of the campaign doesn't look to have a ceiling right now.

[Tarheel_Dem]

14. I couldn't agree more.

[Kingofalldems]

16. I love that story

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17. so they think their profit-taking is 'helping everybody?

Of course they're enamored with Romney's economic policies . . .

Romney’s Tax Plan Would Save Him Millions

http://business.time.com/2012/01/25/romneys-tax-plan-would-save-him-millions-but-not-as-much-as-gingrichs/
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In a campaign speech in Columbus, Ohio, on May 5, 2012, Obama said the Romney's economic plan would raise taxes for millions of low-income Americans while cutting them for the wealthy. Obama told the crowd that Romney "doesn’t seem to understand" that helping the rich doesn’t automatically trickle down to benefit the poor.

"Why else would he want to spend trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Why else would he propose cutting his own taxes while raising them on 18 million working families?" Obama said.

How Romney would pay less

Romney’s tax plan would affect what he personally pays in federal income taxes. With a fortune estimated at between $80 million and $250 million and 2010 earnings of around $21 million, Romney falls in the top tax bracket. That class currently pays a 35 percent rate. His plan would reduce that to 28 percent.

"The tax plan would cut taxes on the rich a lot," said Roberton Williams, an economist with the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution think tanks that published an analysis of Romney’s plan.

The 20 percent cut, Williams said, is "a huge savings for the people at the top end."

read: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/may/08/barack-obama/obama-says-romney-would-cut-his-own-taxes-while-ra/

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18. kick