Democratic donors and tacticians independently plotting their political recovery

[woo me with science]

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/18/nation/la-na-democrats-2012-20101119

Democrats unhappy with Obama's tactics plot change
Prominent party members discuss going their own way to fight back – especially on fundraising issues.
November 18, 2010|By Tom Hamburger and Matea Gold, Tribune Washington Bureau

Reporting from Washington — Frustrated by what they see as President Obama's weakness in battling Republicans, leading Democratic donors and tacticians have begun independently plotting their political recovery — including building a network of outside fundraising and campaign organizations to compete with those formed this year by Republicans.

This week, more than 100 wealthy Democrats gathered in a posh Washington hotel for a closed meeting in which participants repeatedly called for Obama be more aggressive in his agenda and tactical combat with the Republican right.
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"I am used to fighting losing battles, but I don't like losing without a fight," said financier George Soros, a longtime donor to causes on the left, in a comment confirmed by his staff as part of a call to arms in private conversations at the postelection meeting of the Democracy Alliance, an organization of wealthy Democrats that provides funding to liberal groups.

.....

Such a move by Democrats comes despite Obama's longstanding opposition to political spending by outside groups — particularly those that refuse to disclose their donors — and underscores the deep dissatisfaction with the White House's strategy on several fronts.

The White House declined to comment....

(more at link)


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[Me.]

1. Thank God Somebody Is Doing Something About This

B"But after two years of complete noncooperation and vicious distortion, the time for compromise has ended"

[ProSense]

2. "Such a move by Democrats comes despite Obama's longstanding opposition "

All based on an piece that includes the following statement: "Mr. Soros fully supports the president as the leader of the Democratic Party"

Gearing up: David Brock to launch outside group for 2012

By Greg Sargent

With the White House now signaling it wants outside groups on the left to ramp up for 2012, Media Matters founder David Brock is in discussions to form a new group designed to raise and spend big bucks to counter the right's powerful new infrastructure, a person who's spoken directly with Brock about his plans tells me.

Brock's move represents the first clear sign that lefty Beltway power players will heed the White House's call to arms. It also indicates that they've decided the quasi-collapse of the campaign finance system has left them with no choice but to gear up in order to counter the massive spending of outfits like the U.S Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove's groups.

more

The HuffPo piece even mentions the group:

<...>

One of those "movement" ventures is an outside-government arm to match conservatives in the 2012 elections. For several weeks, discussions have been led by Media Matters for America founder David Brock about the need to create a group that will run advertisements, conduct opposition research and perform rapid response functions. Those talks continued this past week, though disputes have begun to emerge about the most effective role for such a group. As one activist who is involved with the Democracy Alliance noted:

"There are a handful of funders committed to the idea of taking on corporate interests in politics... I think the (Supreme Court's) Citizens United decision (allowing unlimited corporate donations in campaigns) intellectually caused a shift to want to deal with corporate money. The election results split the partners in the Democracy Alliance, not down the middle, between those who say let's fight back and those who say we have to change the rules."

George Soros, who supports the President, tried to send a message to progressives to organize and combat the RW only to have it interpreted as a call for a primary challenge.



edited for clarity