Obama Did It — He’s Achieved A Level Of Fundraising Unimagined Before This Year: $150 Million in September
[Posted By WLS]
I generally live by the proposition that I never assume someone can do something that has never been done before.
Well, the Obama campaign proved me wrong about their fundraising numbers — nearly tripling what they raised in June and July by raising $150 million in September alone. There is one critical factor that was mentioned by them in August that I think was the key to this success.
When they were continuing to raise “primary money” in June and July, they noted that they were specifically NOT asking their contributors for general fund money at the same time. A person can contriubte $2300 to each the primary and general campaign of a candidate. General fund money must be returned if the candidate doesn’t secure the nomination.
Primary money can be spent by a campaign until the candidate is formally nominated. The Obama campaign “kept its powder dry” by tapping its donors only for primary money all summer, and waiting until after the convention to go back and hit them again for general campaign funds. Given the amount they had raised in the primaries, it even half their donors came through in the first month, if was going to be a torrent of funds.
And that appears to be just what has happened. When they went to the huge fundraising database they had collected over the last two years and asked for general fund contributions, the money poured in.
The consequence of this is: we are rapidly approaching the moment when it will take a candidate $1 billion in fundraising money to win a race for the White House.
— WLS
John McCain has fought so hard for so many years to minimize the “corruption” of money in political campaigns, that today, he finds himself holding a knife at a gunfight.
Another Drew (b13f9c) — 10/19/2008 @ 10:01 amso why can’t the 527 groups advertise the foibles of the messiah and his merry band of acorn thugs? Oh, fawning media and o bosses george soros and richard daley would take umbrage.
madmax333 (0c6cfc) — 10/19/2008 @ 10:11 am3.1 million donors, and an $86 average contribution. A bottom up approach to ending special interest corruption, rather than the top down mccain-feingold, with all its first amendment problems.
I wonder how much sarah palin fired up the obama donor base.
imdw (b7e903) — 10/19/2008 @ 10:29 amObama doesn’t need 527 groups. He has the MSM doing his bidding. I wonder how many of those donors to Obama’s campaign can speak English. And how do you return illegal contributions to qwert yuiop ?
Gore and his Peoples’ Liberation Army donors were pikers. This is the major leagues. I suppose we will eventually find out what those donors want in return.
Mike K (d8deba) — 10/19/2008 @ 10:30 amThis is the major leagues.
Major league corruption. Bringing all that it entails.
Apogee (186a12) — 10/19/2008 @ 10:40 amMajor league corruption is right!
It is so easy to program a bot to hit a website again and again making random donations and purchases.
A hamstrung Obama Justice department will figure it out just before the end of his second term and track the money back to Soros.
If this communist wins America will be in for a long slow recovery or a series of states succeeding.
Given the big spending idiots who inhabit the GOP I vote for the latter!
MaaddMaaxx (4ba7dc) — 10/19/2008 @ 10:52 amFBI? Hello? Anyone there? I guess not.
twolaneflash (6c1719) — 10/19/2008 @ 10:58 amWe might have to move to Canada to live under a conservative government. That’s a joke as I am not a Muslim and nobody but Muslims are allowed in anymore.
Mike K (d8deba) — 10/19/2008 @ 11:00 amYup. The question is where did the money come from. Mayor Daley’s off-shore accounts, Iran, Hezbollah, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Colombia, Russsia …?
Manchurian candidate? We should be so lucky.
nk (6367bf) — 10/19/2008 @ 11:08 amI hope he loses for many reasons, but for that reason primarily, to prove that money can’t buy an election.
Patricia (ee5c9d) — 10/19/2008 @ 12:29 pmJust how much did BO raise in Primary and after nomintion time frame? How many mortgages could that have saved? How many health care premiums could that have paid? Just wondering.
LYNNDH (66e68f) — 10/19/2008 @ 12:34 pmmadmax
527’s still have to get their ads on air. And Barry’s Brownshirts are frustrating those attempts.
Darleen (187edc) — 10/19/2008 @ 12:49 pmAn army of qwertyuiops.
Karl (1b4668) — 10/19/2008 @ 1:53 pmDo you suppose we will ever find out how much money laundering and credit card theft and other fraud went into those numbers?
Roberta (92fd54) — 10/19/2008 @ 1:58 pmRoberta – Do you suppose we will ever find out how much money laundering and credit card theft and other fraud went into those numbers?
No.
Apogee (366e8b) — 10/19/2008 @ 2:06 pmWhat’s the over under on how many of these contributions are blatantly illegal and will have to be refunded AFTER the election.
Nice way to take out a loan.
Ronsonic (986aaf) — 10/19/2008 @ 2:23 pmSo, how much of it is legal?
N. O'Brain (453dd2) — 10/19/2008 @ 2:54 pmHilary Bok
A lot of people have given small amounts. Obama spoke to a crowd of 100,000 people in St Louis yesterday then went to Kansas City where the crowd was 75,000.
Nanker Phelge (bec964) — 10/19/2008 @ 2:55 pm“Democratic hopeful Obama and Republican rival McCain portray themselves as meticulously abiding by campaign finance laws. But the fundraising review of hundreds of thousands of donations — involving AP bureaus around the globe — found clear evidence that both campaigns took money first and asked questions later, if ever. Shining a light on a weakness in the nation’s campaign finance laws, the review turned up a smattering of illegal foreign donations to Obama as well as missing details from both Obama and McCain in federal paperwork the law requires.”
Also: Deployed Troops Donate to Obama 6-1 Over McCain
Nanker Phelge (bec964) — 10/19/2008 @ 3:04 pmWhat’s the over under on how many of these contributions are blatantly illegal and will have to be refunded AFTER the election.
Nice way to take out a loan.
Comment by Ronsonic
How are you going to refund to fake names and addresses ? Soros is laughing somewhere at how dumb campaign finance laws are.
Mike K (d8deba) — 10/19/2008 @ 3:08 pmIIRC, Palin won the governorship of Alaska with negligible financial resources against all of the vested interests of both parties. Despite all that, word does get around. And some words, or phrases for that matter, travel faster than others; like “rape the tax payers”.
Morowbie Jukes (c58d15) — 10/19/2008 @ 3:27 pmWLS
love2008 (a54233) — 10/19/2008 @ 3:51 pmWell, the Obama campaign proved me wrong about their fundraising numbers
Thanks wls. You are the man!
And you are The Bobo!
Dmac (cc81d9) — 10/19/2008 @ 3:57 pmThere is a simple solution to campaign contributions and the transperancy issue:
Another Drew (b13f9c) — 10/19/2008 @ 3:58 pmAll contributions would have to be made to the FEC, and earmarked for a particular candidate.
If the required contributor information was incomplete and/or not truthful, the money would be returned.
If the true donor could not be determined, the money would go a pre-announced list of charities, or the Federal General Fund.
Only when the donation is determined to be legal, would the money be released to the designated candidate, or political orginization.
All donor information would be posted on the internet within 24-hrs of receipt.
Any circumvention of these regulations would be a Federal Felony, with a minimum sentence of 5-years incarceration.
There would be no limits on how much money any person could donate, or that any candidate could spend;
but there must be full, instant disclosure of both.
There could be no contributions from companies, corporations, labor unions, or non-profits.
There could be no “bundling”.
Comment by Dmac — 10/19/2008 @ 3:57 pm
(Holding nose..) Doofy. Did you flush the toilet? Disgusting.
love2008 (a54233) — 10/19/2008 @ 4:07 pmI’m looking for my notes from 2000 and 2004–does that head line say “Obama bought the election”?
Larry Sheldon (86b2e1) — 10/19/2008 @ 4:28 pmSome other interesting stats from the release that should raise eyebrows.
The campaign claims to have picked up over 600,000 first time donors in September.
Did ACORN give them their registration list?
More new donors in one month than most people get for their entire donor list over a two year campaign?
Nope if they were that obsessed with the ONE they would have chipped in much earlier.
Also a lot of this , when the reports hit the FEC, will show it is from those big donors working via the Joint Victory Fund that was set up 3 months ago and then transferred in to the Obama camp.
In the first month and a half they raised 65 million that way since the donor cap is 28k and independent from your 4600 limit for general donations.
daytrader (ea6549) — 10/19/2008 @ 4:30 pmBut Republicans buy elections …
All of tg poiuy qwerty’s of the world are rejoicing. If Sep is like this, just wait until Oct, when there is no time to police them.
JD (5f0e11) — 10/19/2008 @ 4:56 pmI’m just glad to help!
Doodad Pro (592cb4) — 10/19/2008 @ 5:20 pmMe too!
Good Will (592cb4) — 10/19/2008 @ 5:21 pmI think a lot of undecideds heard Palin speak unscripted for the first time and wrote Obama a check, day.
snuffles (677ec2) — 10/19/2008 @ 5:29 pmIf you’re talking about her appearance on SNL,
I thought the one who showed a lack of speaking ability was Alec Baldwin.
For a “professional thespian”, he sure had difficulty reading the cue-cards/teleprompter, and obviously had no idea what his lines were, or he wouldn’t have had to focus on the prompter instead of the two people he was on-stage with.
Or, was that stage-craft to make Gov. Palin look good? Except, she demonstrated a better stage-presence than he did, throughout her time on the show (plus, he needs Jenny Craig, BAD).
Another Drew (b13f9c) — 10/19/2008 @ 5:41 pmI’m talking about the Couric interview, AD, which was, you know, back in Septemeber.
snuffles (677ec2) — 10/19/2008 @ 5:45 pmAncient History!
Plus, we don’t know what fell onto the editing room floor, do we?
Another Drew (b13f9c) — 10/19/2008 @ 5:53 pmIt wouldn’t be the first time that an interview was edited to make the subject look bad.
snuffles the astroturf pig refers to a Bowdlerized “interview” and declares it unscripted.
For a significant portion of the population, a vote for Obama is a religious experience. For a significant part of the population, McCain and Palin cause class-anxiety because they aren’t part of the upper-middle-class (waves at Peggy Noonan).
Darleen (187edc) — 10/19/2008 @ 5:55 pmHussein O, the closet Islamist, has no problem raising $150 million a month. He instructed the terrorists nations (right on his very own web site which has now been scrubbed with lysol and clorox) on how to set up a system many months ago to feed it to him is chunks they he does not have to and will not identify the donar.
Scrapiron (6afa35) — 10/19/2008 @ 6:01 pmNo matter what happens the democrats have managed to run the most criminal election in the history of the country and destroy the election system in the process. If Hussein O wins everyone in the world will know it was not a legit free election, but more in line with a Castro/Chevez event. Why do you think he referenced being president after 10-12 years. He thinks, well knows, the gutless American left won’t force him out. He’ll scream, racist, racist until the democrats annoint him president for life.
AD #31, I would’ve given my right arm had Palin gone off script, looked at Baldwin and drily said, ‘So Alec, I hear you’re leaving the country November 5th. How’s the house hunting going?
Dana (658c17) — 10/19/2008 @ 6:15 pmComment by Dana — 10/19/2008 @ 6:15 pm
That must be why he never left the last time….
Another Drew (b13f9c) — 10/19/2008 @ 6:20 pmNo one wanted him in their neighborhood.
You people are definitely all crazy…..
JUDI (e85aad) — 10/19/2008 @ 6:22 pmYes, we all need to be institutionalized under ObamaCare.
Feed Me!
Another Drew (b13f9c) — 10/19/2008 @ 6:25 pmA question to any medical professionals…
Does signing your name in ALL CAPS indicate a personality disorder of some sort?
Another Drew (b13f9c) — 10/19/2008 @ 6:27 pmRecall that to be a Democrat you have to be convinced that an unrepentant Weather Underground terrorist named Bill Ayers is a fine upstanding citizen and that Sarah Palin is an evil threat to the US.
SPQR (26be8b) — 10/19/2008 @ 6:42 pmRe “Deployed Troops Donate to Obama 6-1 Over McCain”
Vermont Neighbor (c91cfe) — 10/19/2008 @ 6:53 pmI’ll just do a quick c&p from the link you provided:
Uh, and, uh, I’m, uh, glad, uh, they, uh, did.
Hey, you know what happens when I’m unscripted? I start talking about the socialist viewpoints I’m supposed to be hiding so I can get elected. Whoops!
Barack Milhouse Nobama (592cb4) — 10/19/2008 @ 6:58 pm#34,
An aside – – the responses to Peggy Noonan were priceless. I mean, really good stuff. According to the good folks who posted, she’s jumped the shark… or should be put out to pasture… or maybe breaded and fried and served for lunch. Any analogy to say that that column was a total hoot. We have a serious problem in this country and it has nothing to do with color.
Vermont Neighbor (c91cfe) — 10/19/2008 @ 7:00 pmVN – Nanker/JAR is a few sandwiches short of a picnic and makes a habit out of not reading his links.
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 10/19/2008 @ 7:05 pmIt has been hilarious how many times we caught JAR / Nanker posting links that said the opposite of what he thought.
SPQR (26be8b) — 10/19/2008 @ 7:10 pmBut for supporters, though – they love this. They love this anti-American stuff. Socialism, the UN as a super power base, the crumpling of the Constitution…
I’m saddened that McCain and millions of nameless heroes gave their all so that people like love2008 could help take America down. The j.harps and others who speak freely for now but ignore the Obama campaign’s “TRUTH SQUADS” with its aggressive censorship of critical discussion. These great men and women, patriots all, defended trash. And now the chickens are coming home to roost, to borrow a phrase from another great racist, Rev. Wright.
George Soros has always had oodles of money. Now his worker bees are in place (Obama et al). They get the real goodies & perks; the $800,000 beach pad, the fancy house and big salary, the caviar and lobster from room service. Dumb, dumb fools you ‘Bots are… dumb.
Vermont Neighbor (c91cfe) — 10/19/2008 @ 7:18 pmdaleyrocks, thanks. That answers that!
Vermont Neighbor (c91cfe) — 10/19/2008 @ 7:20 pm600 million Obamanablers
EricPWJohnson (47b9ab) — 10/19/2008 @ 7:45 pmAll that tainted money that is burying McCain in ads, not to mention all those “endorsements, free media support and media vetting Palin/Plumber Joe’s rectums and ignoring any questions about Obama’s record and associations and yet Zogby Poll has it Obama 47.8 vs.McCain 45.1
Obama and his media masturbators want you to get discouraged and give up because of a “tidal wave” of support for the Big Nothing. Looks to me like it is still possible that O! is in deep shite. Of course I see that latest news has O’s thugs actually in peoples’ faces. How many dead people, felons, make believe people, illegal aliens, double voters, etc. will be voting for Obamalamdingdong? And if he somehow loses, how will the sick mofos get over it? I thought Lurch and algore were sore losers. But who knows? All I have to do is read what kind of crap my local papers spew and I know O is NOT the one for America. Judgment, Record and Temperament mean Obumbler is the choice? Bwaahhhh.
madmax333 (0c6cfc) — 10/19/2008 @ 7:47 pmDoofy. Did you flush the toilet? Disgusting.
The Bobo’s still coming on to me, but this time stronger than ever – could it also be the beginning of a stalker?
Dmac (cc81d9) — 10/19/2008 @ 7:56 pmDefinite concern, who ACORN digs up out of the graveyard – or just type away for Mr. Qwertyuiop and his whole lib-lovin’ family. (Actually, a far-left radical doesn’t qualify as a Lib… in all fairness.)
Seems Barry should be double-digits ahead, what with the campaign chest, more money than God, rampant BDS, the MSM as his personal campaign staff 24/7… How great is Barry doing ? The numbers are close considering his many advantages.
Vermont Neighbor (c91cfe) — 10/19/2008 @ 8:01 pmSince B.O. has sooo much money, maybe he should take his own advice and “spread the wealth around” by donating a large portion of the money to some worthwhile charities. That would be the patriotic thing to do.
Angry in Pa. (62e64b) — 10/19/2008 @ 8:43 pmRepublicans complaining about “the crumpling of the Constitution” Vermont?
Priceless.
Your lack of irony might just sustain you guys over the next 8 years.
snuffles (677ec2) — 10/19/2008 @ 9:45 pmYeah, look at the way Bush crushed free speech by organizing Internet campaigns against media outlets that criticized him, using the criminal justice system against dissenters, and even tearing apart a humble plumber for asking him a simple question.
Stinkin’ RethugliKKKan$!
Jim Treacher (592cb4) — 10/20/2008 @ 12:12 amI hope many rep leave this country after obama victory . Ther is a place in Iraq . apply for international passport if u dont have one
Reid (41fb29) — 10/20/2008 @ 1:27 amYou all sound like a bunch of whiners. The fact is, average everyday normal people like myself funded Obama. I donated through paypal, and will donate again if I can afford it this week. You guys never have anything nice to say. At least he didn’t sell out to lobbyists like most republicans and a good number of democrats do. What is really funny, is that most of you so called republicans keep voting for these elite republican jerks, even though they don’t give a rats ass about you. You actually vote for McCain, even though he will give tax breaks to the rich. You all need to wake up.
Ken K (797c8a) — 10/20/2008 @ 1:40 amIffin ya’al desire equity in national elections, then put a TOTAL limit on expenditures!
Limit it to check off dollars, and that will be distributed to ALL candidates that make the/a ballot!
If you have a party, and I really do not care what it may be, then you get an equal split in the check off monies. End of line!
After convention, that is your TOTAL budget! As well as your sole source of budget!
Oh and any excesses go directly back to the govt. none are allowed EVER for use by the candidate, in ny way shape or form no matter the source
“The One” has actually purchased a 24/7 channel! WTF is with that? I hope he feels the 25 viewers worth it. Rating? Who cares. But the very idea that such could e remotely possible…!
Take the profit from the MSM, and one will soon see some very different reporting. I’d bet money on that!
I still can’t believe out of 300 million people eligible for the job, we, the voters, are confined to the stuff that is presented and nothing else!
TC (0b9ca4) — 10/20/2008 @ 2:36 amOr maybe better yet, equate it to sports figures taking roids!
You use it, and you lose it!
End of Line!
TC (0b9ca4) — 10/20/2008 @ 3:32 amI resent your implications, Another Drew.
JD (f7900a) — 10/20/2008 @ 4:52 amRedi and Ken K have so eloquently stated their positions, that I have changed my mind. I will now go out and donate all of my family’s money to Barack Obama.
asderfg loiuyt (f7900a) — 10/20/2008 @ 4:58 amThis is how you buy the election, by raising unlimited amount of money from questionable donors and funding a shady liberal organization to register felons, mickey mouse, everybody that they can register numerous times. Way to go America, this is the CHANGE you are looking for.
chris (e51c5d) — 10/20/2008 @ 6:29 amAnd?
CW Desiato (614aa7) — 10/20/2008 @ 6:55 amWhats the matter with you guys?
SpreadtheWealthAround2008 (a54233) — 10/20/2008 @ 7:01 amI love how the enlightened intellectual Dems, every year around election time, act like they care about those rubes that cling to their guns and religion.
JD (f7900a) — 10/20/2008 @ 7:07 amIf any Republican had raised and spent this kind of money, what do you think would be the media and Leftist narrative (not that the media and the Left should necessarily be differentiated)?
JD (f7900a) — 10/20/2008 @ 7:10 amThe people who used to speak so vehemently and frequently about the “obscene” amounts of money in political campaigns are strangely silent today.
Person of Choler (4d2a50) — 10/20/2008 @ 7:34 amIronic that John McCain is being beaten by someone taking advantage of the anti-free speech system that John McCain helped create by way of McCain-Feingold. Were this not going to result in Baracky being President, this would please me.
JD (f7900a) — 10/20/2008 @ 7:43 amThis country has always run on money. What’s the problem now?
Michael A. (03f057) — 10/20/2008 @ 7:45 amRepublican money bad. Democrat money good. It is all about the intentions.
JD (f7900a) — 10/20/2008 @ 7:47 amWouldn’t it be nice if we publicly funded our campaigns so people couldn’t buy an office on TV (which allows powerful special interests to buy the politicians). Public finance of campaigns….you won’t hear that mentioned on NBC, Fox, CBS, or ABC! This money is a gold mine for TV stations and the companies which own them.
We need T Boone Pickens to focus on this transfer of wealth!
timb (a83d56) — 10/20/2008 @ 8:26 am“At least he didn’t sell out to lobbyists like most republicans and a good number of democrats do.”
Ken K – Obama has sold out to socialists and radicals instead. Do you think being the butt boy of George Soros and Bill Ayers is a good thing for this country?
Obama is completely in the pocket of the ethanol lobby for one. Developing.
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 10/20/2008 @ 8:54 amI just downloaded the submission to the FEC for the Joint Victory Fund that Obama and the DNC have set up.
For this months report I put it into Excell and sorted on the total donor amount which adds up all their individual donations for a person.
Well it seems that even with the 28,500 dollar limit with this type of fund that over 400 line items exceeded that amount.
Also I just quick scanned through the data and saw things like donations from Mr Anonymous Anonymous.
daytrader (ea6549) — 10/20/2008 @ 9:34 amdaytrader – That is soooooooooooooooo racist on soooooooooooooooo many levels. You should denounce and condemn yourself, and save me the effort.
JD (f7900a) — 10/20/2008 @ 9:43 amFor this month alone the fund received total donations of 70,693,454.75
Since it was formed only 3 months ago it has taken in a total of 134,586,167.34
http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00451393/371657/
daytrader (ea6549) — 10/20/2008 @ 9:46 amFor this month alone the fund received total donations of 70,693,454.75
Since it was formed only 3 months ago it has taken in a total of 134,586,167.34
Report link
daytrader (ea6549) — 10/20/2008 @ 9:50 amFor this month they transferred 31,500,000 to the general election fund for the Obama Campaign or the Obama America fund.
Disbursement Transfer Report
daytrader (ea6549) — 10/20/2008 @ 9:55 amIt won’t take a candidate a billion dollars. Some candidates are worth more, and inspire millions. Grass roots movements of this magnitude are rare, and won’t be an every election occurrence.
This is a zeitgeist, not a new paradigm.
Bobby (2e9cbd) — 10/20/2008 @ 7:05 pmSo, Obama’s got more money than Allah. Now that I know that tidbit, he’s got my vote. I can’t wait to buy his best-selling book, “How to associate with terrorists and come out smelling like a rose.” Or his sequel, “How to push your leftist illuminati view down America’s throats and make them seem patriotic.”
Jeff (9f2f2a) — 10/20/2008 @ 9:04 pm